Small Business Spotlight: Jacob Matthew Foundation
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Reptiles are proving to be all the rage in the Central Valley. Only these are of the 3D printed species... and don't require a terrarium.
The variety of vibrant colors, textures and ability to glow in the dark-- have kids of all ages growing collections.
Jacob Matthew Foundation founder, Dusty Hathaway says, "right here we have our adult dragon it's about two feet long. It's really nice we also have baby dragons that are about 6 inches long and of course we have all of our little guys that are a lot smaller."
And for the duration of the Big Fresno Fair, you can find them perched on shelves in the Livin' Local Marketplace. Creations start at $5.
"It kinda guarantees that everyone can get something from our booth," Dusty Hathaway says.
Each dollar raised goes directly to the Jacob Matthew foundation, which supports post-9/11 veterans.
"We get them out of the house, take trips, do events with them, establish local resources that they can utilize," Hathaway added, "We go anywhere from fossil digging to go cart racing to big yearly trips we just had a big Las Vegas trip that we took a bunch of veterans on."
Marine Corps Veteran Dusty Hathaway launched the non-profit in memory of his childhood friends .
"They were both in the Marine Corps and were wounded overseas and got out of the Marine Corps and realized there was nothing for post 9/11 veterans or nothing specifically geared toward them," Hathaway says.
So they wanted to create a foundation offering support services.
Now going on three years, Dusty says the Jacob Matthew Foundation organizes trips and gatherings and aims to offer the sense of comradery post-9/11 veterans felt while serving.
"If you're a family of a post 9-11 veteran reach out to us; especially if you're trying to get them out of the house and they won't do it, reach out to us, we can work with them work with you," said Hathaway.
The Jacob Matthew foundation also sets up at various pop ups. You can follow them on Instagram and Facebook to see where they'll be as well as see the ways they offer resources to local veterans.
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