Tyler Hersko

Tyler.Hersko@vcstar.com, 805-437-0312

The BBQ Butlers, a Thousand Oaks-based barbecue cleaning and repair service, is donating 100 percent of its profits to The Soldiers Project, a nonprofit that offers psychotherapy to post-9/11 veterans, through Dec. 11.

The grill service wanted to give back to the community for Veteran’s Day and after searching for a worthy cause, decided in early October to support The Soldiers Project. The business began offering its profits to The Soldiers Project on Oct. 11 and aims to generate between $5,000 and $10,000 for the service during the partnership. Citing strong support for their business throughout the community, The BBQ Butlers co-owner Matthew Glienke considers donating to a nonprofit to be a fantastic way to return the favor.

“Our main initiative is to always be giving back to the community, whether that be through providing grill cleaning services or giving charitable donations to different organizations,” Glienke said. “We always want to help our community, not just make a living. Everything we do should be for the best of society.”

Glienke, 17, a student at Trinity Pacific High School in Thousand Oaks, started The BBQ Butlers in June 2015 with his friend, Robert Tomasi, 20. Tomasi, a Moorpark College student, came up with the idea for the business and handles the manual labor while Glienke heads the logistical aspects. The up-and-coming businessmen have since serviced over 400 clients throughout the Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange and Santa Barbara counties.

Though initially inexperienced, Glienke was eager to learn about management and plans to study business in college. Local politicians and business leaders were particularly supportive of The BBQ Butlers, according to Glienke.

As the business continued to grow, the duo began searching for a way to share their good fortune. Glienke and Tomasi have close family serving in the armed forces and considered The Soldiers Project to be particularly worthy of support.

“The Soldiers Project provides free psychotherapy with no lines, waiting or red tape,” Glienke said. “The therapists work with veterans for free and have used their time without any compensation for probably a year or two now. We thought that was really wonderful and we wanted to help out.”

The funds will be used to recruit and train additional therapists and clinicians and expand The Soldiers Project’s outreach throughout Southern California. Though located in North Hollywood, the nonprofit has worked with nearly 200 veterans throughout Southern California since January, approximately 20 of whom were from Ventura County.

As a nonprofit, the veteran service relies heavily on donations, according to Andrea Schmitt, interim executive director of The Soldiers Project. She noted that recruiting and training therapists was both an expensive and lengthy process and said that charity from businesses such as The BBQ Butlers makes a significant impact.

“We get a lot of referrals (but) we don’t receive any government funding whatsoever,” Schmitt said. “Every dollar makes a huge difference. (The BBQ Butlers) are so young but old enough to do some real good for the community.”

If reception to the charity continues to be positive, The BBQ Butlers may extend the promotion into early January 2017, Glienke said.

More information on The BBQ Butlers can be found on their website: http://www.thebbqbutlers.com/

Additional information on The Soldiers Project is available at: https://www.thesoldiersproject.org/