Vets2Success.orgwww.vets2success.org - Vet2Chef/Vet2Brew/Vet2AgroThe Vet2Chef program was created in 2014 by Bryan Jacobs, a Navy Veteran who fell upon hard times and became homeless after his military service was done. It was created to target veterans who have served their country honorably but have lost their way in the civilian world. Vet2Chef is a program of the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee but Goodwill Manasota has been a partner, along with Jewish Family & Children’s Service; the current iteration of Vet2Chef is a pilot program tailored to homeless veterans. Program partners are currently seeking funding to re-open the offering to all veterans in the community.Jacobs was a US Navy FMF Corpsman assigned to the 2nd Marine Division Battlefield who served two tours in Iraq. Upon his return to civilian life, Jacobs floundered, moving from job to job and battling an alcohol problem. One day, he woke up with a new resolve and – with inspiration born of cooking as a child with his grandfather, who was a chef – he enrolled in culinary school in Virginia. Once he graduated from culinary school, Jacobs had the opportunity to work with renowned chefs, including Hans Schadler, and Master Chef Peter Timmins. He graduated from USFSM with a Bachelor's in Hospitality, while acting as the executive chef for the Anheuser-Busch family.In May of 2014, Jacobs' younger brother, Kevin who had served in the USMC and also struggled following his discharge from the military, sadly one day took his own life. From that day forward, Jacobs made it his personal goal to help his military brothers and sisters who were struggling and to help them change their lives; Vet2Chef is dedicated to Kevin’s memory."We often don’t take the time to understand everyone’s scars – some are visible and some are not; most often, those who are scarred inside never truly heal," Jacobs said. "Vet2Chef was created to help heal these wounds and help veterans who are homeless and displaced find themselves as well as infuse direction, passion and purpose into their lives and the communities in which they live."