![\"SIU](\"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/ton-veteran-adventures-web.jpg\")
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By Jeff Wilson<\/p>\n
Shane Brady graduated from SIU in May 2017, taking with him a bachelor\u2019s and master\u2019s in outdoor recreation resource management. He left behind much more.<\/p>\n
Brady, a U.S. Army veteran who served a 14-month tour in Iraq and a 12-month tour in Afghanistan, came to SIU in 2013. In the spring of 2015, he started working as a graduate assistant at Touch of Nature Environmental Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n While there, Brady spearheaded the creation of the Veteran Adventures program<\/a>. Offering outdoor activities to post-9\/11 veterans, the program has become a huge success.<\/p>\n \u201cVeteran Adventures was born out of the idea that there needed to be a program that brought veterans together in hopes of easing the transition from military life to civilian life,\u201d he said. \u201cGetting out of the military can be a very challenging life event. For veterans who are going to college for the first time it means trading your support group for a group of strangers and an experience that is completely new.\u201d<\/p>\n The program includes a number of activities, most of which take place near SIU. There are pheasant and deer hunts, hikes, backpacking trips and recently a whitewater rafting excursion in Tennessee.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are deeply discounted or cost-free programs,\u201d J.D. Tanner, director of Touch of Nature, said. \u201cThey can help relieve a little bit of the stress these veterans can face.\u201d<\/p>\n Early on, most of the funding for the program came from community-level fundraising. This included profit-sharing promotions at local businesses. In September, Touch of Nature received a $30,000 grant to fund the hiring of a graduate assistant to run the program.<\/p>\n Most of the trips include 10 to 12 veterans, but Tanner said he hopes to expand the program to larger groups, more trips and a wider array of activities.<\/p>\n Tanner and Brady are both hopeful that the importance of both Touch of Nature and the Veteran Adventures program won\u2019t go unnoticed during the Forever SIU campaign<\/a> and upcoming Day of Giving on March 7<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cSince its inception, Touch of Nature has been an important part of SIU and to the Southern Illinois region as a whole,\u201d Brady said. \u201cIt has done, and continues to do, amazing things for SIU and the community.\u201d<\/p>\n The next Veteran Adventures event is a backpacking trip along Southern Illinois\u2019 River to River Trail. It begins March 10 and is free of charge. To register or learn more, visit http:\/\/ton.siu.edu\/program-areas\/veteran-adventures\/trips\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n For more information about the Forever SIU campaign, visit www.foreversiu.org<\/a>. To make a gift benefiting the SIU Day of Giving, visit siuday.siu.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Engage with us on\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>,\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Jeff Wilson Shane Brady graduated from SIU in May 2017, taking with him a bachelor\u2019s and master\u2019s in outdoor recreation resource management. He left behind much more. Brady, a U.S. Army veteran who served a 14-month tour in Iraq and a 12-month tour in Afghanistan, came to SIU in 2013. In the spring of … Continue reading Veterans benefit from Touch of Nature program<\/span>