What is Mike Hayes's 1162 Foundation and how does it help Gold Star families?

Mike Hayes's 1162 Foundation pays off the home mortgages of Gold Star widows. He told Shawn Ryan it had paid off 12, with a 13th due before the holidays, funded by all the profits from his books Never Enough and Mission Driven and by speaking fees he donates. The name marks the date Kennedy started the SEALs, 1-1-62, with the ones also standing for renewal. Hayes chose mortgages because a paid-off home is permanent help that lets families stay where their memories are.

• College classmate Sean Regan suggested the name and chairs the board.
• Hayes does not publish recipients' names or photos and leaves it to the widows to tell their own stories.

▸In their words

“Those are the 12 best days of my life and number 13 is coming up here before the holidays.” Mike Hayes · at 5:00:49 — open in the transcript →

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on The Shawn Ryan Show (2026-10-22). Read the whole episode summary →

▸More from this episode