[HAS HEART] is asking the community to donate their excess battle dress uniforms (BDUs) and other military-issued items to be repurposed into bench cushions and staff aprons in the Coffee Shop.

HAS HEART's U.S. Navy veteran Co-Founder, Michael Hyacinthe, was asked to share his story of service and entrepreneurial experience with the U.S. House of Representative Committee on Small Business in Washington D.C.

The drywall, mudding, and bar build-out starts inside while the outdoor patio work begins at the HAS HEART Coffee Shop.

The plumbing, electrical, and HVAC systems have all been upgraded and replaced as the drywall starts to be applied inside the HAS HEART Coffee Shop.

Progress is happening in the HAS HEART Coffee Shop, including a renovation preview for local media coverage of the space.

After more than 5 years of planning, fundraising, and dreaming of opening the HAS HEART Coffee Shop, the walls are coming down, and renovations are underway.

HAS HEART Co-Founder/CEO Michael Hyacinthe and Artist/Curator Pamela Alderman discuss the second annual Voices veteran artist program featured at ArtPrize 2022 at Veterans Memorial Park in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan.

[HAS HEART] is proud to showcase the first, of hopefully many, art museum exhibits of the 50 States: Veterans + Artists United working tour. The Saugatuck Center for the Arts has invited [HAS HEART] to premier the work-in-progress tour from October 22 - December 22, 2021.

Military families tie yellow ribbons around trees to support soldiers returning home. Expanding this tradition as an artist, military mom, and veteran’s wife, Pamela Alderman designed The Yellow Ribbon Project to honor our veterans. At the initial Voices installation at ArtPrize 2021, visitors in Grand Rapids, Michigan, wrote 10,000 yellow ribbon notes to encourage deployed soldiers and veterans.

In partnership with Detroit Habitat for Humanity, [HAS HEART] paired Vietnam U.S. Navy Veteran Byron Tucker and Detroit Pistons in-house graphic designer Alex Trajkovski at the Pistons practice facility in downtown Detroit.

While the majority of us across the country (and world) are staying home to do our parts to widen the curve and reduce the spread of COVID-19, we wanted to help relieve some stress and provide a creative outlet by coloring Veterans' meaningful designs from the 50 States: Veterans + Artists United tour.

After living nearly two years on the road in one, [HAS HEART] is proud to partner with Airstream for some exclusive “50 States” tour inspired designs. Proceeds from your purchase will help [HAS HEART] complete our nationwide mission to give a Veteran their creative voice in all fifty states in the U.S.

[HAS HEART] celebrated Veterans Day with a long weekend’s worth of events and local partnerships. We opened a temporary pop-up shop in the building we’ve hosted numerous ArtPrize exhibits in years past at 22 Sheldon Ave NE, which included a special coffee tasting experiment and annoucement.

[HAS HEART] is excited to launch the “50 States: Veterans + Artists United” project designs from each state in sticker decal format with the help and support of New York-based Sticker Mule. Each of the Veteran and artist designs are now available in custom die-cut vinyl stickers that are durable and protected from scratches, water, and sunlight.

This Saturday, September 21, at 7:30PM at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts, our co-Founder and Executive Director, Michael Hyacinthe will be sharing a piece of his story as part of the Failure Lab speaker series.

Recently, our Co-Founder and Creative Director, Tyler Way had the opportunity to share [HAS HEART] and the 50 States: Veterans + Artists United at the annual National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA) Veterans Conference in Washington D.C. in front of over 500 Veterans representing 49 states and the U.S. territories.

With only ELEVEN states (Tennessee, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan) left to complete our nationwide mission, we need your help to secure a vehicle that will get us and our Airstream to where we need to go in order to partner the next Veteran with a graphic designer to help us share their meaningful story.

Tyler Way and Kendra Clapp Olguin who have been taking [HAS HEART] across the country on the "50 States: Veterans + Artists United" tour were recently invited on "a little more human" podcast series hosted by Caton Vance and Eric Johnson from Gorilla. Hear insight from Tyler and Kendra share about quitting their careers in fashion, living and working on the road full-time, and some of their favorite moments traveling the country on behalf of [HAS HEART].

With the support of many hands, we've been on the road for 545 days, driven 39,095 miles, visited 36 states, completed 38 projects, have worked with 46 Veterans and 117 creatives, and launched 14 projects with 24 more currently preparing to launch. Now, 18 months later, our initial funds have been fully utilized and deployed, causing us to pause the upcoming tour projects in order to raise the finances needed to complete the rest of our nationwide mission.

From Charleston, SC, we continued our way south through Georgia into St. Augustine, FL. We pulled into Anastasia State Park right along the Atlantic coast and set-up camp for two nights within a sandy jungle -- easily our favorite campsite thus far on the tour. Noel also became a big fan of this set-up because from every vantage point she could spy on birds up-close and even spotted those infamous little Florida lizards for the first time in her cat life.

Downtown Charleston was covered in our first taste of Southern-styled charm that included ivy-covered walls, cobblestone streets, weathered paint finishes, decorative rod-iron railings, oh, and a Pineapple Fountain. This fountain wasn't the only pineapple we saw. We began noticing on homes, gates, mailboxes, and more. But why?

To break up the long drive from Delaware, we spent a night in Cabela’s parking lot in Garner, NC. The next morning while we were getting ready to drive the last three hours to Charlotte, we got a knock on our door. As much as you can prepare for nights spent in parking lots by calling ahead and speaking to management to ensure that they allow overnight parking, you still kind of brace yourself for a knock on the door by some sort of official.

To be honest, we arrived into Delaware the day before the project and then left the day after the project. It’s been our shortest stay in any state, but that’s meant to be a diss on Delaware. I’m sure there’s things to do and see, we just didn’t have the time. The little time we did have was spent on some much-needed Fall cleaning, including a drawer that Noel quickly filled, as any cat does.

Visiting Arlington on Veterans Day was particularly special because it is the final resting place of all kinds of people with all sorts of service experiences. You go in knowing this but nothing can possibly prepare you for its size and scale. You hear and read statistics but you aren't often faced with a visual of it all.

After finishing the DMV and Delaware state projects, we ended up back in Maryland but this time, along the Atlantic ocean. It was mid-November and surprisingly, a beautiful time to visit Assateague Island and National Seashore.

Right on the border of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, we found our little end-of-summer sanctuary. It was mid-September, the warm days were fleeting, and I wasn’t quite ready to say goodbye to my favorite season. With some spare time before the state project, we drove through rural New Jersey to get to the wilderness of the Delaware Water Gap.

The element of a road trip for this “50 States: Artists + Veterans United” tour was crucial for us because we were determined to piece together the diversity of this country, both socially and geographically. New York City is a place that, although very relevant in the country’s culture and media, feels far away to most living in the United States.

We began our time in Connecticut nestled near a beautiful field of sunflowers. Those are words I can't say I've ever expected to type out, but it's true and we have photo-evidence to prove it.

Did you guys know that Pennsylvania is super hilly? Well, we did not. I remember driving to the Warwick Hills campground in Warwick, Pennsylvania, that was located just 45 minutes outside of Philadelphia, and being surprised by the winding roads and huge hills that turned into rolling hills when we were almost to Warwick.

Tyler and I have often noted how different this experience would be without Noel. When we shared the tour with our families, one of their responses was wondering what we were going to do with “the cat.”

We stopped at a Walmart in Plymouth for the night where I, um, well I had a moment. The next day was my birthday and it was the first time spending it away from my family. I found myself crying in bed while blowing up said balloons. The next day I was able to look back on the hilarity of it, crying in a Walmart parking lot... 

After spending a couple nights in a holding pattern in parking lots at a Cabela's in Maine then a Walmart in New Hampshire, we finally packed up the car with drinks and snacks for the road and a hour or so drive later, we found ourselves already in Portsmouth - 68 miles later! We didn’t even get a chance to start eating our Peanut Butter m&m's. Sad, I know.

After leaving Vermont, we headed east and rolled into White Mountain National Forest near Gilead, Maine. We stopped along the Wild River and immediately became aware of our surroundings: birds singing, not another person or car in sight, the freshest air we’ve ever smelled, the cool shade of the trees with sun occasionally poking through, and the peaceful sound of the flowing water.

After over a year of planning, countless emails, pitches, grant applications, conference calls, and meetings, the day to hook up the Airstream and hit the road arrived. Our journey to our first state project in Vermont included a pit stop at Niagara Falls to kickstart our new nomadic life on the road.

As a part of the Texas state project of the "50 States: Artists + Veterans United" tour hosted by USAA in partnership with AIGA Austin, HAS HEART will share how the mediums of art, design, and fashion are uniting the military, creative, and civilian communities.

Years in the making, a partnership with AIGA and its 70+ chapters made up of over 25,000 creative-minded members is the key for the future of the HERO[series]. As a small nonprofit organization, [HAS HEART] is the connection point for a cross-cultural exchange between a Veteran and a designer. Having the largest organization for design means the doors are opening wide for more Veterans to share their stories.

In November, Sgt. (Ret.) Eric Lund received a call he's always been waiting for but never knew when it would come... On the other end of the line was a voice telling him they found a match and he and his family needed to catch the 4pm flight that afternoon from Grand Rapids, MI to Baltimore, MD. He was going-in for a double-arm transplant.

For help when it's difficult to know what to say, [HAS HEART] has partnered with Michigan-based greeting card company, Design-Design to create a line of greeting cards (made in Grand Rapids, MI) to help our fellow Americans share their support for those who served.

One day while we stayed in a Target parking lot between state stops, Kendra bought a faux pumpkin along with some acrylic paints and brushes to bring a little Fall feeling to our Airstream -- [HAS HEART] edition, of course!

As amazing as it is living and working on the road, it can be quite exhausting. Living in an Airstream makes you think about things you may have taken for granted previously: location to sleep/where to park the trailer, water consumption, water waste, electricity, waste disposal - aka the stinky stuff. One thing we don't have to worry about anymore is if we'll be getting a good night's sleep.

Planning and executing a fifty-state tour doesn't just happen overnight. This concept was brewing for almost two years and required a handful of life changes to prepare for this dramatic lifestyle change. And even then, it came together last minute with a few miracles and a handful of incredible people making it possible along the way.

[HAS HEART] is proud, honored, and excited to officially announce our apparel partnership with American military heritage brand, Alpha Industries.

When Tyler approached me about the 50 States: Veterans + Artists United tour, I was a little hesitant. The thought of leaving my family for two years while living in a 200 square-foot box obviously was intimidating.

ArtPrize 2017 is underway at our home base of Grand Rapids, MI -- marking our 6th annual HERO[series] exhibit and pop-up shop. Within the first week of it opening, it was selected as a Top-5 entry within the 2-Dimensional category as part of ArtPrize's Juror-Selected "Short List."

[HAS HEART] + Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room have collaborated for a special "Handpicked at the Roastery" pop-up shop featuring the design and artwork of U.S. Veterans from across the country from Sept 12-early November.

We're taking our HERO[series] concept on the road to partner a Veteran with a graphic designer in all 50 states with the shared mission to tell their story through the mediums of art, design, and fashion. Find the state project nearest you... We'll see you on the road!

For millions of Veterans, survival was more than just a "theme" but rather a life or death lifestyle, literally, that they had to adopt while deployed. On the contrary, for creatives, survival has a much different connotation with much, much less severe consequences.

After five years of annual HERO[series] design projects, [HAS HEART] has been able to refine the Veteran and artist collaboration process into a streamlined, efficient two-day design process -- making it easily repeatable over and over again in order to impact more Veterans, engage more creatives, and reach more civilians...

Since that first project in 2011 when Tyler literally and figuratively became the creative arms and hands of a quadriplegic U.S. Marine, both he and Michael knew they had a new mission and duty to continue sharing Veterans stories through this powerful collaborative outlet.

Not long after their initial meeting, Hyacinthe met a local U.S. Marine who was paralyzed from the neck-down and lost his ability to speak due to injuries suffered in Iraq. Once he learned of the Marine’s love of t-shirts from his full-time nurse, Hyacinthe called Way and asked if he’d be interested in helping create a t-shirt design with the Marine...