Veterans Breakfast Club

The Mission of the Veterans Breakfast Club is to give every veteran in western Pennsylvania a chance to share his or her story with the public. We accomplish this through the 25-40 programs held throughout the region each year that gather veterans with their neighbors, friends, and families, as well as through our Veteran Voices of Pittsburgh Oral History Project that captures and shares veterans' stories in audio, video, and written form. We believe that every veteran has a story, and that telling and listening to those stories can nourish us and help build a more compassionate nation. Veterans' stories--whether they be entertaining, instructive, commemorative, or healing--remind us that history is built one story at a time.

We hold 35-40 annual storytelling programs per year which offer an opportunities for veterans or all eras and ages a chance to share their stories of service with the public. Each event attracts between 50-180 people, and about two-thirds of these are veterans. In 2014, almost 3,000 people attended our programs. Guests come to share and to listen. The storytelling programs last 90 minutes with VBC Executive Director and Program Director Todd DePastino serving as host, interviewer, and 'master of ceremonies.' A typical program includes five stories that veterans have prepared to tell in advance, and ten to fifteen additional stories that veterans in the audience volunteer to share extemporaneously. Many deal with the emotional trauma of war. Other are funny or informative. All are inspiring. The programs are held at at least six and as many as twelve locations, from churches and banquet halls to universities and the Heinz History Center.