Patrons of The Getaway Lounge mingle at the bar while The LP’s set up for their show. Sunday afternoon’s entertainment was in support of the FSB Initiative, a non-profit organization committed to helping homeless veterans.
Margaret Roarty | Times Leader
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Volunteers of the FSB Initiative during their local outreach on February 18. Volunteers go out into homeless camps and provide the community with food, clothing, hygiene and other services.
FSB Initiative | submitted photo
PLYMOUTH — The Getaway Lounge in Plymouth hosted a fundraiser Sunday evening for the FSB Initiative, a local nonprofit organization dedicated to helping veterans who are homeless get back on their feet.
Attendees paid $10 for a ham and cabbage or spaghetti dinner with all proceeds going to the FSB. Live music from The LPs, a local musical trio, kicked off at 3 p.m. Prior to the event, The Getaway Lounge accepted donations of blankets, backpacks and clothes on behalf of the organization.
According to bar manager Theresa Engle-Krull, The Getaway Lounge hosts about 12 to 13 benefit events a year – sometimes more.
“They come here and support the bar so we want to support them,” Engle-Krull said.
The FSB Initiative surely appreciates that support. The organization is comprised entirely of volunteers, relying on donations to continue its mission.
“We are a true 100% 501c3 the way they’re supposed to be,” said FSB Founder and President Chaz Kraynak.“We actually wrote our bylaws so nobody will ever get paid and no bylaw will ever be changed.”
Kraynak knows first hand the struggles homeless veterans face because Kraynak himself was a homeless veteran in 2016. Initially, he was part of a great program, but after moving back East to Delaware, he found himself involved with “one of the worst.”
“They were paying these case managers $40 to $50,000 a year, and they weren’t doing anything for us,” Kraynak said. “I swore right then and there I was gonna make a better program.”
Kraynak and four other veterans began helping the community, “on our own time, on our own dime,” in 2017. Though he couldn’t accept donations from anyone, he would often tell people what the veterans needed so they could buy stuff. After a few years of outreach, Kraynak officially founded the FSB Initiative in 2019.
But at the end of the day, this isn’t about him. Kraynak said he’s no more important than the rest of the FSB volunteers. There isn’t even a bio for him or any of the board of directors on the organization’s website. “If you’re in it for the glory or you’re in it to get your name in the paper, we’re not interested,” he said. “We want people who truly care about what this is and what we do.”
Kraynak described the FSB as a “boots on the ground” organization. Volunteers go into homeless camps themselves to offer veterans their services and support. The organization works closely with the VA to get veterans into programs and to provide them will shelter, food and clothing. If any of them struggle with addiction, the FSB helps get them into a program to detox.
“We have a barber that’s willing to go out with us and give hair cuts,” said Kraynak. Eventually, he hopes to have a motor home to go with them so that veterans can take a shower.
FSB stands for “forward support base.” For Kraynak, that means supporting veterans today, tomorrow and every day after. “We don’t stop. We stay in contact with them,” he said. “We make sure that they are staying in the lane basically, to make sure they succeed.”
The FSB recently started chapters in Ohio, Florida and Tennessee. Kraynak’s goal is to have one chapter in every state in the next 10 years. “Even when I pass away,” Kraynak said, “this program will go on an intended.”
For more information about the FSB Initiative visit fsbinc.org
Upcoming events at the Getaway Lounge include a fundraiser for the Pet Pantry on April 16, the spring ride for the Wyoming Valley Motorcycle Club on April 30, the Second Brigade’s Memorial Dice Roll on June 10 and Bikes for Tykes on Aug. 27.