Recap · Signature EventCommunity & Service
Back to School Community Day — thank you, Chicago.
1824 W 47th St, Chicago · Back of the Yards
THE MISSION CHANGED.
THE UNIT DIDN’T.
A permanent campus. Four pillars. Programs built by veterans, for veterans — and for the families and communities standing behind them. The point is you don’t lose your unit when you take the uniform off.
The Esprit de Corps Campus
A permanent home for the veteran community.
The long-term vision of the Foundation. One Chicago location where recreation, wellness, service, and family programming operate under one roof, every day. The Campus is what makes everything else in the Foundation’s work durable.
Who runs this
Damian Garcia.
Rogelio Villa.
Damian is a U.S. Army veteran still serving in the Illinois National Guard. Rogelio is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran. They started Esprit because Chicago’s veteran community needed a unit that stayed together after the uniform came off — and neither of them was going to wait around for someone else to build it.
On the calendar
Two events. Show up to both.
Flagship EventRecreation & Adventure
The EDC Remembrance Muster
Chicago · Venue announced Spring 2026
What we build
Four pillars. Everything we build sits under one of them.
Recreation & Adventure
Kayaking. Rucks. The Muster. The kind of structure most veterans stop getting the day they take the uniform off.
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Community & Service
Operation Serve. We find a veteran already doing something for their block — and mobilize the coalition they need to do more.
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Growth & Opportunity
Next Mission. Careers, entrepreneurship, benefits, leadership — the translation civilian systems don't do well on their own.
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Family & Belonging
Spouses, kids, caregivers, the friends who stayed. Service is a family thing. So is the community you find after it.
Read more“A veteran, service member, or family should walk into Esprit on the hardest day of their life and leave with hope, connection, and the knowledge that they belong.”
Why We Exist
Illinois is home to nearly half a million veterans; Chicago alone has more than sixty thousand. More than one in four continues serving through volunteering. The Foundation runs the programs where that service to the community continues.
Sources: 1 Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs (veterans.illinois.gov). 2 U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, Chicago city (census.gov). 3 AmeriCorps, Volunteering and Civic Life in America (americorps.gov). Figures reflect the most recent publicly-available data as of publication.
Our Purpose
To strengthen the lives of those who serve by creating places where purpose, belonging, and community endure.
Standing with veterans
Who's in the fight with us.
The Chicago companies, nonprofits, universities, and community organizations building alongside the Foundation.
THIS IS YOUR COMMUNITY.
Pick the way you want to be part of it.
Show Up
Attend an event. Meet the community. Belonging starts by walking in the door.
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