Stock the pantry for our veterans
Donation protected
Over the past few years of reporting, I have gained the trust of veterans in the region to share their stories. Some of those include a World War II veteran finally receiving the military medals he earned during the the Battle of the Bulge to others sharing their experiences of losing comrades in Vietnam and the emotional moments of veterans being paired with therapy dogs to help with the side effects of PTSD.
It's safe to say that helping veterans in the region and across the country is dear to my heart.
That's why I'm raising money to help stock the food pantries at two VA Centers.
The first is the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center, which delivers groceries to the homes of veterans who live in Missouri and Arkansas.
Each month VA staff volunteer hours of their day, so all 50 veterans can get essentials like meat, canned goods and other non-perishable items.
Some of the veterans live in rural areas and are usually low-income. In addition, they have underlying health issues that make them at risk of contracting COVID-19 if they go into public.
The VA is able to purchase food at a discounted price from the Southeast Missouri Food Bank, and a $5 donation feeds one veteran for a month.
https://wsiltv.com/2020/10/16/food-pantry-supporting-veterans-goes-mobile/
The other is the Marion VA Medical Center, which provides care to veterans not only in southern Illinois but also northwest Kentucky and southwestern Indiana.
Its food pantry goes to help veterans who are homeless or at risk of being homeless.
Each year the VA usually holds a 5K event where non-perishable food items are donated by walkers, but this year that did not happen due to COVID-19 restrictions.
"The number of food insecure Veterans is also high among those who served in the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. These Veterans are almost twice as likely to be food insecure compared to the general population," according to the VA.
https://www.nutrition.va.gov/Food_Insecurity.asp
I would like to raise $750 for each VA's food pantry. This would be a total of $1,500 but I have set the goal to $1,700 to offset the charges by GoFundMe.
The $750 will feed all 50 veterans who rely on the mobile food pantry at the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center for three months.
It's safe to say that helping veterans in the region and across the country is dear to my heart.
That's why I'm raising money to help stock the food pantries at two VA Centers.
The first is the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center, which delivers groceries to the homes of veterans who live in Missouri and Arkansas.
Each month VA staff volunteer hours of their day, so all 50 veterans can get essentials like meat, canned goods and other non-perishable items.
Some of the veterans live in rural areas and are usually low-income. In addition, they have underlying health issues that make them at risk of contracting COVID-19 if they go into public.
The VA is able to purchase food at a discounted price from the Southeast Missouri Food Bank, and a $5 donation feeds one veteran for a month.
https://wsiltv.com/2020/10/16/food-pantry-supporting-veterans-goes-mobile/
The other is the Marion VA Medical Center, which provides care to veterans not only in southern Illinois but also northwest Kentucky and southwestern Indiana.
Its food pantry goes to help veterans who are homeless or at risk of being homeless.
Each year the VA usually holds a 5K event where non-perishable food items are donated by walkers, but this year that did not happen due to COVID-19 restrictions.
"The number of food insecure Veterans is also high among those who served in the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. These Veterans are almost twice as likely to be food insecure compared to the general population," according to the VA.
https://www.nutrition.va.gov/Food_Insecurity.asp
I would like to raise $750 for each VA's food pantry. This would be a total of $1,500 but I have set the goal to $1,700 to offset the charges by GoFundMe.
The $750 will feed all 50 veterans who rely on the mobile food pantry at the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center for three months.
Organizer
Brooke Schlyer
Organizer
Herrin, IL