About.

We are a South Dakota non-profit Corporation formed on February 11, 2018 whose mission is to bring the returning veterans back into society through job training, education, or just PTSD counseling.  Founder Dave Gates discovered through personal experience when a Veteran feels like a member of the team, it raises his/her chances for survival. 

A New Charity

Veteran's Helping Hands Project came into being when Dave Gates started to get some of his Vietnam PTSD back after 48 years of it being buried, causing Dave to rethink where he was headed in life.  VHHP started as a non-profit aimed at education, etc., but this all changed when talking to the local VFW and Veteran's Affairs.  He found that there was an 800 lb. gorilla in the  ​room that was out of sight, pertaining to veterans being passed from one group to the next.  Nobody had any finances to help veterans, or the need didn't fit the programs offered by that group.  VHHP will be teaching veterans how to build homes for other veterans, and with every home sold, the profits will be returned to local organizations to help provide the funds necessary to better meet the needs of our veterans.

Our Goal

Dave Gates has had a very popular outdoor TV show called Dakota Sportsmen TV which has aired on The Sportsman Channel, The Pursuit Channel, WildTV Canada,, in Europe, MidCo Sportsnet, streaming on The Hunt Channel, Roku, Chromecast, Amazon Fire, and OANTV.com.  What VHHP wants to do is to present our case to the national audience for support and to start a National discussion about our warfighter's plight when they come home from war to a Country they no longer know.  If we can stop one suicide from happening our reason for existence has been justified.  We want to remake the show to be totally about the veterans and our mission to teach the returning vets new construction industry job skills to enable them to enter the workforce as productive citizens, along with alone time either hunting, or fishing.

Our Team

BRECKIN CHURCHWELL
Public Relations Director
Secretary​
CELLPHONE:  661-599-8397
EMAIL: [email protected]

First and foremost, the Lord is my rock, He is my strength.  My three kids are my world, but I am very grateful to all the veterans-those who have been deployed as well as those who were not.  They all enlisted knowing they could be making the ultimate sacrifice for us and our Country.  I am not a veteran, but I care so deeply and want to do my part to fight for them.   What I have found since I have been associated with this project is that the VA system has all the pieces to help the veterans reintegrate but the pieces are not working with each other and the system is broken.  I have a heart for those who battle substance abuse and want to overcome it.
Please join me in the fight for our veterans.  Philippians 4:13  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. 
​

William Groves
Member-at-Large
​​General Contractor of record
C: 605-484-7722
E: [email protected]

​Bill has been in the construction business since working with his dad as a teenager.  Bill moved to California and started The Groves Company where he was a general plumbing and electrical Contractor from 1994 through 2013 when he moved back to Rapid City.  He also was an estimator, design, and project manager for All star Construction; a job superintendent for Hospitality Builder Inc., and a compliance officer for Complete Concrete, Inc. along with managing projects.  He currently is back running his own construction consulting business when he heard about the veteran's project and jumped in with both feet to help. ​

Dave Gates
President and Founder

CELLPHONE:  605-391-7697
E:  [email protected]

Dave is now President of the South Dakota Vietnam Veterans of America State Council, (VVA) so he is in a position to speak for all the Vietnam veterans in South Dakota, and all veterans.  "NEVER AGAIN WILL ONE GENERATION OF VETERANS ABANDON ANOTHER". Because of his business experience, Dave has been invited to be a member of the National Opportunity Committee of VVA whose goal is not to just help with our Vietnam veterans, but to offer assistance to all veterans when it comes to helping our veterans better their lives.  Through Dave's association with VVA National he is in the process of forming a national coalition of veteran projects who want to be a part of fixing the mental health of all troubled veterans.
​Dave Gates is a 1969 Vietnam veteran who came back as a changed man. This service duty eventually played into the start of Veteran’s Helping Hands Project 49 years later when he made the choice to help the next generation adjust to coming home.
Dave is the current President of the non-profit corporation and has been in business in Rapid City since 1977, starting with a local meat market, fish market, smoked meats and wild game operation for 8 years. He then started Dakota Phones, Inc. in 1987 and operated that business until Covid forced it out of business in 2022. To go along with his service business, Dave started Rushmore Answering Service in 1994 and sold it in 2001 to concentrate on the phone business.

In the year 2013, Dave started to put together a television show named Dakota Sportsmen TV which aired on The Sportsmen Channel in 2014 and then started airing on The Pursuit Channel in 2015, where the audience grew to over 1.7 million viewers a quarter. One of the reasons for the success is that he wore his veteran’s status on his sleeve, and talked to vets on every show.
After filming some disabled veteran’s in 2016, something came to life and Dave started on the path of building a non-profit organization to help veteran’s emergency financial needs.

Don Ackerman​ 
Vice President

cell​: 605-891-9688
​Email:  [email protected]
​
Born in South Dakota Aug 1949 
Joined US Army in March 1967 Retired July 1987
Two tours in Vietnam 1967 – 1968 (age 18) 1970 – 1971
Helicopter (Huey) crew chief 
Helicopter Tech Insp. 67W40
Artillery Surveyor 82C
Military Police 95B 

Civil Service 1987 - 2005
US Army Personal Management Specialist GS 7 – 11
US EUCOM 52 Signal S-2 Officer 
NCIS Washington DC Naval Yard Sr. Security Officer GG12 

Created Save The VA in Hot Springs South Dakota in 2011
when they threatened to close the Nation’s oldest VA Facility.
Won many battles and now they are trying to close more VA hospitals across the Nation. 
​Back into the Battle. 
​Present positions
Committee chairperson:
SD State Veteran's Home Task Force
Director: Save The VA Veterans committee.
​
Co-chair: Honoring our Heroes.

Tim Goodwin
Lt, Colonel U.S. Army Ret.
Member-at-Large
​CELLPHONE:  605-390-5324
[email protected]
 
 Tim just retired from public service as one of the South Dakota House Representatives from District 30, where he was the House Majority Whip, and served on the House Veteran's Affairs Committee.  He retired from the U.S. Army after 20 years with the rank of Lt. Colonel.  He is an avid outdoorsman who loves to hunt Deer, Black Hills Turkey, and Mountain Lion.  Tim is a staunch ally of the veteran and will be a tireless advocate for the veterans.

Larry Zimmerman
Member at Large

CELLPHONE:  1-605-787-2226
EMAIL:  [email protected]

Larry D. Zimmerman was appointed the first Secretary of the SD Department of Veterans Affairs in September 2011.  Prior to being selected as the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Zimmerman served as the State Command Sergeant Major. 
Zimmerman served 29 years in the South Dakota National Guard retiring in January of 2013. He completed a tour in Afghanistan (OEF) as the Operations SGM for the nine Northern provinces in that country, and before that was the CSM in both the 109th RSG in Rapid City, SD and the 109th En Bn in Sturgis, and the Regional Training Institute at Ft Meade along with numerous other positions within the Army Guard.  Zimmerman was Active Duty Army from 1973-1976 in the 4th Infantry Division at Ft Carson, CO.
Zimmerman serves as an advocate for veterans by serving as a board member on the South Dakota Native Home Ownership Coalition, the Black Hills Area Habitat for Humanity, and Operation Black Hills Cabin.
Zimmerman is a lifetime member of: the American Legion , Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, and Vietnam Veterans of America.

​DECORATIONS AND AWARDS:
Legion of Merit Medal
Bronze Star Medal
Meritorious Service Medal
Afghanistan Campaign Medal w/star
Army Commendation Medal w/1 Oak Leaf Cluster
Army Achievement Medal w/ 1 Oak Leaf Cluster
National Defense Service Medal 3rd Award
Art 5 NATO ISAF Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
NCO Professional Development Ribbon
Army Service Ribbon
Overseas Service Ribbon
Armed Forces Reserve Medal w/ M device
SD Distinguished Service Award
SD Recruiting Ribbon
SD Service Medal
SD Desert Storm Ribbon