Whiskey Valor Foundation is uniting veterans, here's how a 'crazy idea' became reality

Luis Martinez Jr. loves a good bourbon. He also loves helping his fellow veterans.

Martinez served for five years in the U.S. Marine Corps and wanted to do something to unify his love for both.

Earlier this year, encouraged by friends, he founded the nonprofit organization Whiskey Valor Foundation.

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Headquartered in Fredericksburg, Virginia, about 50 miles south of Washington, D.C., the Whiskey Valor Foundation is "a nonprofit where we use the bourbon community to help raise awareness and funds to support veterans and their families," Martinez told Fox News Digital.

Martinez decided there was a need for an organization like his while he was working with other nonprofits, such as the Pat Tillman Foundation and Travis Manion Foundation.

"I noticed that I was going to these events — we're doing great work for the community, and after we're done doing that, we would go have bourbon or beer," Martinez said. 

"And I'm a big bourbon-whiskey guy. And I was like, 'Well, what if we just had an organization that was centered on helping veterans and using bourbon to facilitate that and using that as a catalyst?'"

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At the time, it sounded like "a crazy idea that would never work," Martinez recalled.

"I pitched it to a couple of friends, and maybe I have crazy friends, but they fell in love with the idea, and they encouraged me to move forward," he said. "And here we are a few months later, slowly growing but growing steadily."

The organization is made up of Martinez, who works for the U.S. Department of Defense, and eight other volunteers: two active-duty service members and six military veterans.

"Raising a glass for a cause" is the Whiskey Valor Foundation slogan, emblazoned on its social media handles, which Martinez said has started to grow with "400 strong" on Instagram and a little more than 200 followers on LinkedIn.

The Whiskey Valor Foundation is "using barrel picks to raise awareness and funds for individual groups," Martinez said.

Its first barrel selection is scheduled for January in partnership with Texas A&M University's VET+MAP (Veteran Evaluation of Talent + Matching Assistance Program), Martinez said.

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"We'll work with them to highlight their message and the work they're doing," said Martinez, who graduated from Texas A&M. 

He said he hopes that "other people will come in and donate money toward their cause. And then we'll rinse-repeat with other organizations."

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Several other initiatives are also on the road map for the Whiskey Valor Foundation.

"Unfortunately, there's a negative stigma toward veterans and drinking, but we want to work towards getting rid of that," Martinez said.

That includes educating veterans about responsible drinking, and "providing them with mental-health resources and safe-drinking initiatives," Martinez said.

"One of the plans we have moving forward is to partner with a ride-share company and be able to provide free rides to veterans and their family if they're out drinking," he added.

The Whiskey Valor Foundation isn't just limited to veterans. It's open to all active-duty U.S. military members, reservists and their families.

"If you served, we want to build community with you and help you grow as an individual," Martinez said. "And, again, we're just using bourbon as a catalyst to help raise the funds to do so."

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Martinez's recent drink of choice is Blue Bolt 249, a limited-release bourbon selected by Maldonado's Whiskey Business, a non-producing distiller. 

Martinez said owner and Army veteran Ivan Maldonado Jr. donated a bottle to the Whiskey Valor Foundation to serve other veterans.

Anyone interested in getting involved can help in a few different ways.

"As much as we want to do good in our community, we need money to do so," Martinez said, noting that contributions can be made online.

As well, "you can donate bottles of bourbon and whiskey, and you get to determine how we use that," Martinez said. 

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"If you want us to use it for an auction to raffle it off to raise money, or if you just want some veterans to be able to try some bourbon that they've never had before and it's harder to find, we can do that as well."

The organization's first in-person event will be held on Thanksgiving.

"I'm going to open up my home to local veterans and active-duty service members who don't have a place to go for Thanksgiving," Martinez said. "And we're going to invite them over, so they have a place to be so they're not by themselves, and they'll have a home-cooked meal."

Although the Whiskey Valor Foundation currently operates in the greater Washington, D.C., area, Martinez has hopes of expanding its reach.

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"Ultimately, the goal is to be a nationwide organization and then maybe, eventually, national or international," Martinez said. 

"Wherever veterans and their family members are, we want to be able to reach out to them and help them. And if they happen to like bourbon, even better."