Last summer, Heather Graham and Rick Carlesco thought they’d host a simple barbecue to thank their clients and maybe raise a little money for a local charity along the way.

Instead, they ended up establishing a nonprofit that will ultimately help Central New York’s veterans for years to come.

When: Noon to 9 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 15

Where: Sharkey’s Sports Bar, Route 57, Liverpool

Country bands Chris Taylor & The Custom Taylor Band, Dirtroad Ruckus, Frank & Burns, Pour Whyte Trash, The TJ Sacco Band and The Todd Hobin Band will perform. $10 tickets for sale at victory4vets.com/victory-for-vets-music-fest-2015.html or at the door. Proceeds benefit Clear Path for Veterans. For more information, contact Heather Graham, benefit coordinator, at 506-8304 or [email protected].

“Our original plan was for the event to be a barbecue as a thank-you to clients and employees and to raise money for a local charity that supports veterans,” Graham said. “As we started planning the day and figuring out what we wanted to include, it grew into something bigger.”

In looking for a charity to support, Carlesco learned of Clear Path for Veterans in Chittenango, which provides support for returning veterans, including peer-to-peer support, classes, service dogs and more. Carlesco’s cousin, a tech sergeant in the U.S. Air Force, is a volunteer there. Carlesco and Graham and several other volunteers from IBN Financial decided to organize a larger benefit to help the organization. The inaugural event, held last August, raised $16,000. This year, after forming an official nonprofit, organizers hope to double that amount.

“We definitely learned a lot in our first year that we implemented into our plans for 2015,” Graham said. “We began preparing immediately after last year’s event and we are better organized and more prepared to make Victory For Vets 2015 a huge success.”

In particular, Victory For Vets hopes to raise awareness of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), an often silent disability triggered by a traumatic event. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event. While PTSD can happen to anyone who has experienced trauma, it’s particularly common in veterans; while it occurs in approximately 7 to 8 percent of the general population, 11 to 20 percent of Afghanistan or Iraq vets, 10 percent of Gulf War vets and 30 percent of Vietnam vets suffer from PTSD.

“It is important to realize that veterans who suffer from PTSD do not have an ‘ailment.’ They have a battlefield injury, and they need more effective treatment so that they can live productive, safe and happy lives when they return home to their families,” Graham said. “Our mission is not so much to do the work to help heal our service men and women, but to help create awareness and provide funds that are vital to those groups who support and help heal our veterans.”

Victory For Vets’ Music Fest, to be held Saturday, Aug. 15, hopes to raise money for Clear Path’s Dogs2Vets program. The goal of the program is for an accepted veteran who suspects he or she has PTSD or who has experienced military sexual trauma to train his or her own dog to become a service dog.

All veterans are accepted into the program, regardless of their disability status, and dogs are selected from shelters and matched with veterans based on their specific needs and interests, although exceptions are made if the veteran already owns a dog.

The Dogs2Vets program costs about $8,000 per vet. If the benefit reaches its goal of $32,000 this year, four vets will be able to complete the program. The program is especially therapeutic to vets with PTSD.

“[Clear Path’s] mission aligns perfectly with our goals as a non-profit organization, and we are particularly proud to help support their Dogs To Vets Program,” Graham said. “We believe very strongly in our mission — we believe we are all responsible, as individuals and a community, to serve those who served us. Members of our military, whether active duty, retired, National Guard or Reserve, have dedicated their lives to protect our freedoms as Americans. As a society, we owe it to them to make sure they have all of the support and resources available to live healthy, productive lives as members of our communities.”

This year’s Victory for Vets Music Fest will take place from noon to 9 p.m. at Sharkey’s Sports Bar on Route 57 in Liverpool. Gates open at 11 a.m. with an opening ceremony beginning at approximately 11:45 a.m. and bands starting at noon. The cost is $10 for general admission. Participating bands are Chris Taylor and the Custom Taylor Band, Dirtroad Ruckus, Frank & Burns, Pour Whyte Trash, TJ Sacco and The Todd Hobin Band. 

For more information, visit victory4vets.com or contact Graham at 506-8304 or [email protected].