What We Do
These stoic deeds are the visions of one from the dumpsters. You see, beauty is a beast, clad in rags and coats, stinking of puke, pee, and vodka, beaten, broken, and with no hope left but to die quickly. I’m not dead!
My name is Robin Lee Cooksey, Lady Dame and founder of Veritas Equitatae, and for many years all across these great states I was homeless. I crawled out of those dumpsters, worked, fought, bled, damn near died, and got the full American dream.
I was asked, “When you get everything you ever wanted, what do you do?” To which I immediately replied, “Give something back.” And that’s what I am doing.
My 3 miracles are feeding the multitudes, upholding the might of the people, and finding our brothers and sisters. In other words, we feed homeless people, fight domestic violence and child abuse, and find the 22 or more veterans who commit suicide every day to offer them some sort of peace. Those are my people and I remember where I came from.
The 22 Salute Program
In honor of those 22 or more veterans who commit suicide every day, The 22 Salute program not only ensures veterans get the military funerals they deserve but also helps those veterans become aware of benefits they might not have even known were available to them. For example, if a veteran, after active duty, joined the reserve or guard, they can get in a bunker at Ft Bragg with food and lodging while they train, and they can a small stipend while they’re there. How many lives could be saved every day with that kind of useful information?
The DaVinci and Hypatia Program
Many of our best and brightest, most gifted individuals are sleeping and dying in dumpsters even as you read this. I know. I’m one of them. The DaVinci and Hypatia program actively seeks them out and gives them every resource and opportunity those good veterans fought for them to have. For example, many organizations around the country offer scholarships and relocation for young people with exceptional talent. I know a few right now, including myself, that had to forego their entire lives because this information was not available to them. Some won’t and we will never know them. At Veritas Equitatae, we are dedicated to changing all of that.
Give Something Back
The mainstay of our funding and operations comes from individuals like me who fought their way out of the dumpsters and decided to give something back. Veritas Equitatae was founded for that fight. I fought and won in this world, and I remembered where I came from. Now, I want to give something back, and I know I’m not alone in that endeavor. The give something back program features success stories in a publication about the veterans and young people we’ve helped. In circulation, this small magazine distributed all over the nation serves to prove that America has the best and brightest people, people who fight and win, people who change the tides set against them, people who give something back. That’s what this all means to me, anyway. So, Give something back!
