At the Veterans Breakfast Club,
Stories Unite Us.
Check out our upcoming in-person veterans storytelling event schedule below. All are welcome to join us!
Join us in Bethel Park, PA, for a FREE VBC storytelling event where you’ll meet a remarkable collection of people, each with a story to tell.
Our breakfast location in Bethel Park, PA, is our largest, where the group can reach over 250 people. Our veteran attendees range from WWII and Korean War through the Post-9/11 era. The program is fast-moving and wide-ranging with lots of participation. Everyone is welcome to join us.
We meet at Christ United Methodist Church (44 Highland Rd, Bethel Park 15102) in a large hall that also serves as a gym. We show photos of veterans on the three screens at the front and interact with as many veterans as we can. You’ll walk in, pick up your name badge, and meet others who are there to hear and share the stories. Breakfast is served at 8:30am. At 9:00am, we start the program. For the next 90 minutes, veterans share slices of their service experience. You never know what you’re going to hear, and there’s always new people with new memories to offer.
RSVP by calling 412-623-9029 or emailing joann@veteransbreakfastclub.org. Please make sure to RSVP for events at least two days in advance. We understand that your schedule can change quickly, but advance notice of attendance always helps us and our venues prepare the program. Thank you!
Thank you to our event sponsors: Jefferson Memorial Funeral Home and UPMC for Life!

Join us for another Veterans Breakfast Club storytelling event at Pitt-Greensburg. A FREE buffet breakfast will be served at 8:30am followed by veterans sharing stories with Todd DePastino emceeing.
There’s no charge for the event, but you must RSVP to: joann@veteransbreakfastclub.org or by calling 412-623-9029.
The University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg welcomes the Veterans Breakfast Club (VBC) to the Hempfield Township campus on Saturday, November 1. Doors open at 8:00am at the Hempfield Room (Chambers Hall, University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, 150 Finoli Drive, Greensburg, PA 15601), and breakfast will be served at 8:30am. Thanks to the support of sponsors, the event is free, and breakfast is included. Please register by emailing betty@veteransbreakfastclub.org or calling 412-623-9029.
You do not need to be a military member or a veteran to attend. All are welcome.
The VBC believes that every veteran has a story, no who they are—or when or how they served. There is power in storytelling. Stories connect, heal, educate, and inspire. Stories bridge the divides that separate us and benefit both the tellers and the listeners. The Veterans Breakfast Club harnesses the power of storytelling to build a nation that understands and values the experiences of our military veterans
RSVP by calling 412-623-9029 or emailing joann@veteransbreakfastclub.org.
Thank you to our event sponsor, UPMC for Life!

Join the Veterans Breakfast Club and the Jewish Community Center of Youngstown for a special screening of a documentary preserving the voices and memories of 17 military veterans from the Youngstown area.
Produced by the Veterans Breakfast Club in partnership with the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation, the film brings together interviews with veterans who served in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Cold War, and the Gulf War. Their experiences span generations and every branch of the Armed Forces.
Some recall combat and hardship. Others share memories of friendship, humor, and the ordinary routines of military life. Together, their stories offer a remarkable portrait of military service and a window into Youngstown’s living history.
The veterans interviewed were residents and participants in the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation’s senior living and care programs, including Heritage Manor Skilled Nursing & Rehabilitation, Levy Gardens Assisted Living, and Adult Day Services at Heritage Manor.
At the Veterans Breakfast Club, we believe every veteran has a story worth hearing. This documentary reminds us what we can discover when we take the time to ask veterans about their lives—and then listen.
Event Details
- Date: Monday, November 9, 2026
- Time: 1:00–3:00 PM
- Location: JCC Multi-Purpose Room, 505 Gypsy Lane, Youngstown, OH 44504
- Admission: Donations will be accepted to help offset the cost of the program.
- Ages: 18 and older
Registration is requested by Friday, November 6. Email bwilson@jewishyoungstown.org to register.
Presented as part of the Jewish Film Series in partnership with the Veterans Breakfast Club.
Thank you to the Youngstown JCC and the Thomases Family Endowment for Supporting this Event!
Pittsburgh Veterans Day Breakfast
Wednesday, November 11, 2026 | 8:00–10:00 AM
Duquesne University Student Union Ballroom | Pittsburgh, PA
Join hundreds of veterans, family members, friends, and members of the community for the 28th Annual Pittsburgh Veterans Day Breakfast, the largest Veterans Day breakfast in Pennsylvania.
For the first time, the Veterans Breakfast Club (VBC) and Veterans Leadership Program (VLP) are joining together to host this great Pittsburgh tradition.
The morning will include breakfast, veterans’ stories, special guests and speakers, fellowship, and a Veterans Resource Fair connecting veterans and their families with organizations and services from across the region.
Veterans, family members, and members of the public are all welcome.
Veterans Day is a day to honor those who served, but this breakfast has always been about more than ceremony. It is about bringing veterans together, hearing their stories, connecting people with one another, and strengthening Pittsburgh’s veterans community.
This year, proceeds from the breakfast will benefit the Veterans Breakfast Club and Veterans Leadership Program, two Pittsburgh organizations dedicated to serving veterans and building stronger communities around them.
Tickets
Tickets have been reduced in price this year to $20 to encourage as many veterans, families, and community members as possible to attend. Register here.
A Pittsburgh Veterans Day Tradition Since 1998
The Pittsburgh Veterans Day Breakfast began on Veterans Day in 1998, when Vietnam veterans Tony Accamando, T.J. McGarvey, Dan Pulz, George D’Angelo and others with the newly formed Friends of Danang gathered supporters at the Pittsburgh Marriott City Center. Their immediate purpose was charitable: Friends of Danang was raising money for humanitarian work in Vietnam, including projects benefiting children, schools, and communities in and around Danang.
That first breakfast started an annual tradition that grew into the largest Veterans Day events in Pennsylvania. Over the years, thousands have come to the event not simply for breakfast, but for camaraderie, recognition, and a chance to support good work in the veterans community.
The breakfast also became increasingly collaborative. Friends of Danang generously opened the event to other organizations and causes, including the Veterans Leadership Program, Shepherd’s Heart Veterans Home, the Duquesne University veterans scholarship program, World Vision International, and later Life Changing Service Dogs for Veterans.
The Veterans Breakfast Club has been part of this tradition for the past 15 years. In 2011, the VBC started holding a WWII veterans’ storytelling event at the breakfast. VBC Executive Director Todd DePastino has served as the event emcee for the past several years.
This year, for the first time, the Veterans Breakfast Club and Veterans Leadership Program are partnering to host the Pittsburgh Veterans Day Breakfast, with proceeds benefiting both organizations.
We are grateful to Tony Accamando and Friends of Danang for creating this remarkable Pittsburgh institution and for sharing it so generously over the years. VBC and VLP are proud to carry it forward.
Our goal is simple: keep the tradition, broaden the community, and make Veterans Day a morning when veterans from every generation can come together to share stories, find resources, connect with community and celebrate their service.
More Than a Breakfast: Veterans Resource Fair
We also want the 2026 Pittsburgh Veterans Day Breakfast to be a place where veterans can find useful information and make connections.
Organizations serving veterans and military families will be invited to participate in a Veterans Resource Fair at Duquesne University. Veterans will be able to meet representatives from organizations working in areas such as health care, benefits, employment, housing, education, legal assistance, family services, recreation, and other veteran programs.
VBC has hosted similar large veterans resource gatherings in the past, and we want to bring that same spirit to Veterans Day: one room, hundreds of veterans, and many of the organizations that serve them gathered in one place.
Parking
Convenient parking is available at the Forbes Avenue Garage, directly across from the Student Union.
Forbes Avenue Garage
1180 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15219 (click for directions)
Sponsorship Opportunities:
2026 Pittsburgh Veterans Day Breakfast Sponsorships
Thank you to our Sponsors!
Questions? JoAnn@veteransbreakfastclub.org or call 412-623-9029.

Join the Veterans Breakfast Club for a special Veterans Day evening of food, fellowship, and storytelling at Saints John & Paul Church in Sewickley.
We’ll gather from 6:00–7:00pm for heavy hors d’oeuvres, beer, wine, and conversation, followed at 7:00pm by a Veterans Breakfast Club storytelling program featuring veterans sharing their experiences of military service.
As always with the Veterans Breakfast Club, the emphasis will be on the stories: what veterans experienced, what they remember, and what they want others to understand about their service. Veterans of all eras, their families, and members of the community are welcome.
The event is free of charge, courtesy of the Saints John & Paul Veterans Committee.
Reservations are required. RSVP by calling 412-623-9029 or emailing JoAnn@veteransbreakfastclub.org.
Directions
Saints John & Paul is located at 2586 Wexford Bayne Road, Sewickley, PA 15143, near the Wexford/Franklin Park area. The event will be held in the Cardinal DiNardo Center (CDC) on the Saints John & Paul campus. Once you enter the church campus from Wexford Bayne Road, follow signs for the Cardinal DiNardo Center and event parking.

What: Veterans Breakfast Club Celebration
When: Saturday, November 14, 2026 | 8:00am – 12:00pm
Where: Sheraton Valley Forge | 480 North Gulph Road, King of Prussia, PA 19406
Who: Open to the Public | Veterans, Families & Friends Welcome
How much: FREE
Join us for a Veterans Breakfast Club storytelling breakfast on Saturday, November 14, 2026, from 8:30–10:30am—a warm, come-as-you-are morning of coffee, buffet breakfast, and true stories of military service.
A Veterans Information Fair before and after breakfast will include veterans organizations, nonprofits, and service providers with information and materials for veterans and their families.
This year, every VBC event is now completely free and open to the public. That means no charge for breakfast. But we do need a reservation, so please let us know you’re coming. Then, take a seat among veterans, family members, and neighbors who want to listen, learn, and connect.
If you’ve never been to a VBC event, the format is simple: we gather for a casual meal, then veterans (of any era and any branch) share short, first-person stories—funny, tough, surprising, and often unforgettable. You don’t have to be a veteran to attend. And you don’t have to speak to belong. Some people come to tell a story they’ve carried for years; others come because they want to understand what service really means beyond the headlines.
Whether you’re a veteran, related to one, or simply grateful and curious, this is a morning to be in the same room together—good food, good company, and the kind of storytelling that sticks with you long after the plates are cleared.
RSVP by calling 412-623-9029 or emailing JoAnn@veteransbreakfastclub.org. Please make sure to RSVP for events at least two days in advance.
Schedule:
8:00 am – Doors open, coffee & mingling
8:30 am – Breakfast served
9:00 am – 10:30 am – Storytelling and keynote
10:30 am – 12:00 pm – Veteran Information Fair
We’ll also host over 20 resource tables from Veterans Service Organizations offering information, services, and giveaways. Come to listen and learn, connect and heal, and say thank you to those who’ve served.
Interested in sponsoring this event? Check out our sponsorship information:
Whether you’re a veteran, a family member, or someone who simply wants to hear real stories from extraordinary lives, you’re welcome to pull up a chair and join our community of listening.
RSVPs and questions: joann@veteransbreakfastclub.org or by calling 412-623-9029
Presented by the Veterans Breakfast Club, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit bringing veterans together with the public to share stories since 2008.
The Veterans Breakfast Club has been bringing these people and more together for face-to-face storytelling events since 2008. People come to listen and learn, connect and heal, and say thank you to those who’ve served.














