Vets Need a Hand--Who Will Lend it?

Last week I spoke here and on CNBC about how Toyota could generate good will among the red-state patriots by supporting veterans' organizations. Well look what's in the news.

The treatment of veterans at Walter Reed and other outpatient facilities has brought shame on the military system, and deservedly so. While I don't for a minute think the pressure should let up on the Pentagon and current administration to take care of our nation's wounded, there is an opportunity for corporate America to lend a helping hand to returning vets who were lucky enough to survive Iraq and Afghanistan but unlucky enough to face a broken treatment system. Let's look at some of the problems these vets are facing: Facilities in disrepair. Home Depot could sponsor a volunteer initiative to fix up quarters for outpatients and their families and generate good will at the same time. Families of outpatients lack proper accommodations. Marriott could provide help in this area. Disabled vets who have difficulty transporting themselves to their doctor's appointments could get transportation assistance from Toyota and General Motors. The facilities need equipment and proper networks. IBM and Xerox can provide solutions. Similarly, mobile phone companies can provide communications solutions.

Of course, we're only touching on the iceberg of the problems these vets face. If I were CEO of a Fortune 50 right now, I would be contacting veterans' organizations such as AMVETS and asking them: How can we help you? What do the vets need that we can provide? If it takes starting a foundation, start a foundation. What company wouldn't benefit from a banner at that ribbon-cutting ceremony? Then follow through, and gain the gratitude of vets and the public at large.

Again, don't take the heat off the government to do it's job. But corporate giving at its best meets a need at the right place and the right time. If there ever was a right place, a right time, and a right cause, this is it. Who will be the first to step to the plate?