Jason Kelloway is a Marine Corps veteran and a Jacksonville native who has spent the better part of his adult life serving his city and the veterans in it. He founded Social Grounds Coffee Roasters in 2015. He and his wife Mandi started and have run Cup of Love Ministry since 2014. And he is building something new called The Unit, a nonprofit for veteran healing and discipleship. Getting here took a long road. After leaving the service, Jason lost his footing. He ended up homeless in Jacksonville for two years, living out of his car. At his lowest point, he attempted suicide.
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Faith brought him back. He started showing up at street corners with coffee, serving the same homeless community he had been part of. That became Cup of Love Ministry. That led to Social Grounds. And all of it is why he now pours himself into work that reaches veterans who are still living through the version of that story he survived.
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He knows what that darkness looks like.
He also knows the way out.
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Jason does not talk about his past to get sympathy. He talks about it because it gives him credibility with the men he is trying to reach. They know he has been there. That matters more than any program or platform ever could.
The Unit
A NONPROFIT FOR VETERAN HEALING
The Unit is Jason's vision for a community where veterans receive holistic healing, real hope, and the kind of strength that lasts past the retreat. The plan includes land in Georgia for retreats and a network of post-retreat support so men do not come home from the woods and fall back alone. The vision for those retreats is built around one simple truth: something happens to a man when you get him off the grid, put him in the woods, and give him space to breathe. Hunting is the vehicle. The land in Georgia is the setting. And as Psalm 23 puts it, He makes them lie down in green pastures, leads them beside quiet waters, and refreshes their soul. That is exactly the kind of reset this vision is built on.
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Each retreat will combine the physical reset of being outdoors and in the field with structured programming, counseling sessions, discipleship, and intentional conversation designed to help veterans process what they carried home from service. Men come in guarded. The woods and a simple camp fire have a way of changing that. By the time they leave, they have done real work alongside other men who understand exactly where they have been. The goal is not a good trip. The goal is lasting change. That is why every retreat will connect participants to post-retreat support so the ground they gain in Georgia does not get lost when they get back home.
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The first thing coming out of The Unit is the Field Manual: Life After the Line, a discipleship handbook written for veterans. How to be the man God called you to be. How to be a husband and a father when you are carrying things most people will never understand. Designed for use in small discipleship groups in local communities.
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If you would like to financially partner with this vision, we would love to hear from you. While The Unit is working toward establishing its own 501c3, donations can be made through Cup of Love Ministry, our existing 501c3, via PayPal. Every dollar goes directly toward building something that will change lives. Reach out through the contact page or donate below.
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​CURRENT ORGANIZATIONS JASON SUPPORTS & SERVES​​
Operation Barnabas
HOUSING, MENTORSHIP AND HOPE
A Northeast Florida nonprofit that gives homeless veterans and first responders a hand up, not a handout. Emergency housing, assigned mentors, real triage of needs, and a Tuesday night community group at First Baptist Orange Park.
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Hooks of Hope
FISHING CHARITY FOR VETERANS
Rooted in Matthew 4:19, Hooks of Hope takes veterans, the critically ill, and youth saltwater fishing, then connects them with clinical counselors, functional medicine specialists, and faith mentors for the long haul. Based in Vero Beach, FL.
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SpearIt
SALTWATER THERAPY FOR VETERANS
Founded by Marine Special Ops veteran Trey Fagan, SpearIT puts veterans, active duty, and their families on the water for free spearfishing and fishing expeditions. Entirely donor-funded. Built on brotherhood and the proven healing of the ocean.
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