Welcome back to Taking Stock, everyone. Joining us now down here on the trading floor is Dave Forrester. He's private wealth advisor at BNY Wealth and member of the executive team at Stop Soldier Suicide. Joining us now, Dave, it's great to have you.
Thank you so much for having me.
A beautiful bell here today at the New York Stock Exchange. What does it mean to you?
I mean, it means a lot. After 20 years of service in the military, and especially with suicide being something very close to my heart, I think it's important that we're doing something that the rest of the world can see.
And tell me more about your role with Stop Soldier Suicide.
Yeah, absolutely. So I serve, luckily have the privilege to serve on the executive leadership team, especially for Wall Street Warriors. Wall Street Warriors is our annual gala. It's one of our largest fundraisers for Stop Soldier Suicide.
What is the support that you've seen among the Wall Street community for this initiative over the years?
You know, that's a great question. It's really, I just love seeing it. I love seeing it because although a lot of times people talk about how much they love veteran organizations and veteran service organizations, to see the outpouring not just of support but also monetarily towards this organization has just been amazing.
How does this organization help vets?
You know, for Stop Soldier Suicide, what's really important is that there's a couple of different options. First of all is the Roger Project, which allows anyone, regardless of their status of how they left the military, to have a conversation that doesn't feed back towards the VA or any other type of reporting industry. Secondly is the Black Box Project, where loved ones can donate their electronic devices of individuals who have unfortunately committed suicide, so that we can look at it and determine ways to keep that from happening in the future.
Interesting. And in terms of what this initiative means to you, tell me more about that.
Yeah, I mean, I think when you spend 20 years in the military and then you leave, you're always looking for another way to continue to give back. And so for me, Stop Soldier Suicide was just a great segue. Additionally, not only the fact that I've unfortunately dealt with suicide within friends and family, but simultaneously understanding how important that that can be and for us to be able to give back to the community.
How can people who are watching this segment give back?
Yeah, so Wall Street Warriors specifically feeds into Stop Soldier Suicide. If anyone feels predicated to give, stopsoldiersuicide.org is a great place to start.
And Wall Street Warriors obviously is tied to this too. Anything more viewers should know about Wall Street Warriors?
Not really. I mean, I guess it's just the fact that, you know, veterans are around us every day. Once we take off the uniform, maybe it's not as easy to identify us, but we're still here and always looking to give back.
Okay, and have you been to the Stock Exchange before?
I have, this is my second time, but always excited to be here.
Oh, we're so happy to have you. Thank you so much, and of course for sharing more about this organization, it's very important.
Thank you so much.
