Dryhootch
Year founded: 2009
Executive leadership:
- Bob Curry, founder and chief executive officer, recipient of White House Champion of Change Award
- Otis Winstead, director of Dryhootch WI
Annual budget: $765,000
Who you serve:
Dryhootch serves approximately 10,000 veterans and family members each year. Peer support services and activities are offered by trained Dryhootch staff and volunteers.
What you do:
The mission of Dryhootch is to “help veterans and their families who survived the war, thrive in the peace.” This mission is actualized via a successful peer support program that is our cornerstone. Peer support is essential in empowering veterans and their families to overcome issues such as drug and alcohol addiction, post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, moral injury, depression and other mental health illnesses, family issues, unemployment and homelessness.
The name “Dryhootch” denotes a sober environment while paying homage to the military jargon for “home.” Founded by a Vietnam veteran who envisioned becoming a home front to the new generation of veterans, Dryhootch began in 2008 selling coffee out of a rented tent at a military re-enactment event. In 2012, the Brady Street location opened with a coffee shop, space for peer support groups and office space. We also have locations across from Milwaukee’s VA Medical Center, in Waukesha and in Madison.
What you need:
Dryhootch receives no funding from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or the State of Wisconsin. Though foundations, corporations and individuals, we are able to fund our staff, operations and four locations in Wisconsin.
We need the following support:
- Financial support.
- Garage space for a new veteran mechanics program.
- Gym usage to help veterans stay fit, mind and body.
- Volunteers to staff our coffee house and offer technical skills like legal, accounting, marketing, etc.
- Social media expertise.
Buy our great coffee brewed by our friends at Stone Creek. Have some Army Bunker Brew, Air Force Jet Fuel, etc.
What makes you different:
Dryhootch has been recognized nationally as a leading veteran service organization and has received support and recognition from numerous organizations, such as the Bob Woodruff Foundation, Wounded Warrior Project, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Association, Medical College of Wisconsin, Marquette University, McCormick Foundation and Fisher House Foundation. In 2012, Dryhootch founder Bob Curry was honored as a White House Champion of Change for his trailblazing work in veteran peer support.
How to get involved:
Call us, email us, stop in; we can use your help.
