YOU CAN: Help Minnesota Veterans
In 2002 we started working with the Minnesota Veteran's Home in Minneapolis to support their "Adopt-a-Veteran Program". I knew that people wanted to thank our veterans - but most didn't know how they could do that. This program gives people a way to get involved. Our first year we started by adopting 30 residents from the home. We increased that number to 40 veterans in 2003 and 50 veterans in 2004.
In 2005 we contacted the Silver Bay Veteran's Home to see if they had any kind of giving program at their location. Since they did not have anything like the Adopt-a-Veteran program there, we shifted our focus to Silver Bay. Each year since then we have adopted ALL of the veterans at Silver Bay (approximately 78 residents).
Over the past nine years we have been able to provide over 630 gifts to veterans in our Veteran's Homes. We hand deliver the gifts to each resident just before Christmas. It is a wonderful opportunity to show our veterans that we have not forgotten them. For some of the veterans, these may be the only gifts they receive during the holiday season.
We had so much support for our program in 2005, we knew we could do more. We found our next opportunity with the Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans Duluth office. MACV provides assistance throughout Minnesota to positively motivated veterans and their families who are homeless or experiencing other life crises. MACV accomplishes its mission by providing services directly or in collaboration with other service agencies. In 2006, in addition to the veterans in Silver Bay, we also adopted five veterans in need and their families who were receiving assistance from MACV in Duluth. This expanded our program to allow for gift giving to veterans ranging from 24 years old to 75 years old - as well as children of all ages!
After this new expansion, we were again overwhelmed with the support we received. We wanted to do something to help veterans in need all year, instead of just during the holidays. We started providing MACV with what we call First Response Bags. They are backpacks filled with basic necessities that MACV can give to a veteran who may have little or nothing to call their own. We fill the bags with items that are either donated from our 'needs list' or with items that I purchase with money that has been donated. To date we have provided MACV with close to 300 backpacks to help our veterans, at a cost of approximately $80 each.
You CAN make a difference in the life of a veteran in need! 100% of ALL donations to either program go directly purchasing items for veterans. All administrative, transportation and supply costs are covered personally by us.
