Veterans groups need help during holiday season
There are many ways to help veterans organizations during the holidays, including volunteering your time, donating items or simply by making a cash contribution to a worthy cause.
According to Commander Danielle Jobe of the Disabled American Veterans branch in Yuma, most veterans organizations could use help from volunteers, so it is best to contact them to see what they are lacking.
She added that there are a lot of small projects and odd jobs at the DAV, located at 954 S 13th Ave., which she needs help getting done, including a back room that needs to be painted.
She also said that they are also getting ready to repaint the outside of the building and could use help getting it prepared.
“Electricians are always appreciated,” she added.
Donations of non-perishable foods are always appreciated as well.
The DAV will be serving about 100 take-out style meals to its members on Thanksgiving, and again on Christmas. It also operates a lunch program which feeds about 25 people a day.
“If you have a can of vegetables in your pantry that you don’t like, bring it down, we will take it,” Jobe said.
In addition to needing
volunteers to help serve meals on Christmas, Jobe said she is hoping to get some hams, turkeys, fish and other meats donated before then.
The American Legion, 1490 W. 3rd St., and the Veterans of Foreign Wars are also places people can contact about making donations and opportunities for volunteering their time.
Here are some other great ways to help veterans during the holidays:
• Whip up a batch of holiday cookies or brownies and take them to a veterans’ center or hospital. Or, if you know a vet in your neighborhood, take them to their homes.
• Many veterans have injuries that make it impossible for them to drive, yet they still have various appointments they need to get to. So, offering rides to doctor’s appointments or even to the grocery store is a big help to them.
• The holidays also bring colder temperatures so donating blankets and other warm clothing to places such as the Crossroads Mission, which serves homeless veterans in the area is also a tremendous help. If you have the skill, knit one to give it a personal touch. But, for those who cannot knit, purchasing one is a great option, too.
• You can also organize a fundraiser online through Facebook or some other platform with all the proceeds going to a veteran’s charity. Putting on a bake sale, craft sale or community garage sale is another way to raise funds.
• If you have a car that you no longer need, consider donating it to Cars for Veterans. It’s a tax-deductible donation even if it’s no longer running.
• A quick and simple way to help if you don’t have time to volunteer is to donate your frequent-flyer miles to organizations such as the Fisher House Foundation, which provides round-trip airline tickets through its Hero Miles program for sick, injured, or wounded vets and their families to travel to and from medical facilities.