Nonprofit helping to support veterans in Philadelphia region

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Jessica Wisniewski-Hagen of Philadelphia and Mark Torres of Glenside are both veterans of the United States Navy.

They say that after retiring, a lot of veterans have to work to find a new place in the world.

"Stepping out of the military and going into civilian life it seemed like, now I have all this energy that I'm used to exerting and extending, and I don't have that outlet for it," Torres explained.

"You maybe take a break. In between you figure out your education, you figure out your career, but there's still kind of that little piece that's missing," said Wisniewski-Hagen.

In search of that missing piece, they both stumbled upon a nonprofit called Action Tank. It consists of a group of local veterans who wanted the same thing: to stay active in their community.

"Regardless of everyone's backgrounds and beliefs, it's one common mission," said Wisniewski-Hagen.

Each year the Action Tank Board of Directors votes and elects another topic that's a unique need to the area.

In previous years, they have combated gun violence, opioid abuse, and food insecurity. Currently, they are working to restore tree canopies in Philadelphia.

"We pour all that we can and all this education and knowledge into this mission to help either plant trees, pass policies, trying to figure out how we can help feed more people in Philadelphia," said Wisniewski-Hagen.

Wisniewski-Hagen is the administrative director and Torres takes on the role of the treasurer. They make up two of the 22 veterans of Action Tank.

"There are so many of us that are true assets to our community. We harness all these skills and we put them to good use," said Wisniewski-Hagen.

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