Your gift reaches the veterans who served, then were left to figure it out alone.
Every donation is a tithe to this work: guiding veterans to the benefits they earned, teaching optimal wellness, and walking with people through the hardest transition of their lives, here in Austin and around the world.
From the flight line, to the open sea, to finding my purpose
I come from three generations of military service on both sides of my family. I served in the U.S. Coast Guard, and I left with health conditions I acquired in service. It was acupuncture that helped me heal.
That healing became my calling. I earned my doctorate and for 20 years I have traveled the world as a Chinese medicine doctor, treating people with acupuncture, training practitioners, and teaching optimal wellness.
After school I ran into limits on where I could work, so I went back to sea. For 15 years I worked on luxury cruise ships and private yachts. It was one of the most incredible experiences of my life, until the industry changed and the quality of care we gave our guests was watered down. So I took a leap of faith and set down roots in Austin, Texas.
My faith in God has always been there. But in Austin I lost my sense of purpose. I didn't know where I could serve, and in the communities around me, nobody really saw me.
Then I became a notary signing agent and began meeting veterans in their homes. Men and women in their 50s, 60s, and 70s, with no one to turn to, and children who love them but don't know how to help. That's when I knew. These were my people, and this was my ministry.
No civilian can fully fathom what we faced in uniform, and then being expected to show up to work the next day and act like it was normal.
Rev. Dr. Antonika Chanel · U.S. Coast Guard VeteranThey carried it home. Most were never told what they were owed.
I hold deep reverence for the veterans I serve. Many lost friends in routine training exercises. Commanders and flight crews breathed in burn pits. Others were exposed to Agent Orange and toxic chemicals that still shape their health decades later.
Too many walked out of exit counseling without understanding the benefits they were entitled to or how to be compensated for what service cost them. Some who once led as officers now live with almost nothing.
Your donation helps close that gap, one veteran and one family at a time.
The work you make possible
VA benefits education
Free calls that help veterans understand the claims process and connect with accredited, no cost help through the DAV.
Health and wellness counseling
Pastoral leadership and guidance on optimal wellness, drawn from 20 years of practice around the world.
Life after service
Support for veterans learning to live in a civilian world that was never explained to them.
Families and legacy
Helping veterans and their children get organized so homes and property are protected for the next generation.
Make a tithe to this work.
If you've been looking for a place to offer financial support, or a cause worth standing behind, I invite you to give. Every gift of any size makes a real difference in someone's life.
Thank you.
Your support goes further than you know. It reaches veterans, families, and communities who have been waiting for someone to see them.
Rev. Dr. Antonika Chanel