Camp for vets is in jeopardy
Chaplin — After several years of providing assistance to veterans, the Veterans Base Camp in Chaplin now needs some help of its own.
The property will be put on the market this spring, unless funds can be raised for the camp itself to purchase the site by April. The camp needs $600,000.
The facility was founded in 2016 at the former Camp Wawa at the Eden Institute on 45 acres at 108 England Road. It began providing re-entry services to military personnel returning to civilian life in 2017.
In 2019, the facility began offering transitional housing for homeless veterans and then, in 2020, grant funds diminished as the pandemic took hold.
“We currently have the opportunity to purchase the property before it is put on the market,” said Cindy Archibald, the camp’s program director.
“If we do not purchase the property, VBC will have to either close or find an alternative location where we can provide these services to continue to support our veterans.”
In addition to housing half a dozen veterans, the camp provides assistance to almost 200 other veterans and their families in the area, including various counseling programs, parenting classes and vocational training.
The camp has provided the delivery of care packages and food to veterans who were shut in when the pandemic first began and those who are in long- term care.
The camp also provides toys and necessities to children of veterans during the holiday season. These programs are made possible by the work of an all-volunteer staff.
“One hundred percent of the money raised will go to that goal of raising the down payment to purchase the property,” said Archibald. “We have until the first week in April to raise the funds. Our project is a work of the heart and of honoring those who have served our country so faithfully. VBC is unique. There are no programs similar to it in the state. Our servicemen and women deserve our help.”
Donations can be made via checks payable to the Veterans Base Camp, and mailed to the camp at 108 England Road, Chaplin, 06235, or via credit or debit card online at http:// www. veteransbasecampinc. org.