Homes for Heroes benefit raises $37,000 for veterans
RIDLEY TOWNSHIP >> Robert and Megan Trinkley of Norwood hosted more than 300 guests for the third annual Homes for Heroes at Barnaby’s Heritage Ballroom in Holmes on Friday, Feb. 24. The fundraising event in support of housing for homeless and at-risk veterans through the Fund for Veterans, a program of Mission First Housing Group. This year’s event raised over $37,000—with a three-year total of more than $100,000 donated to veterans housing.
Special guests included State Sen. Tom McGarrigle, Congressman Patrick Meehan, state representatives Margo Davidson and Nick Micarelli, Delaware County councilmen David White and John McBlain and Philadelphia radio icon John DeBella.
The Trinkleys have been assisting veterans for many years. In 2015, they wanted to provide a way to give back to veterans and honor the memory of Megan’s late father and United States Air Force veteran, Daniel Kearney. The Trinkleys organized Homes for Heroes to provide help and hope so these veterans can begin again. Now an annual event, Homes for Heroes will continue to support more veterans each year.
One hundred percent of proceedss from Homes for Heroes benefit the Fund for Veterans. The Fund for Veterans is Mission First Housing Group’s rental assistance fund for area veterans in need. Today over 100 veterans make their home with Mission First, with more than 30 of these veterans receiving assistance through the Fund for Veterans.
Since 2010, when the White House and the VA announced a plan to end veteran homelessness by 2015, great strides have been made on the national level to meet this goal. Municipalities across the country are announcing their achievement of ending veterans’ homelessness. At the same time, there are still veterans in need, and special populations will continue to have ongoing needs. Many aging veterans have limited resources and are at increasing risk for homelessness. The number of post-9/11 veterans is expected to grow considerably — to more than 3.3 million over the next seven years. Already this population is cost-burdened and struggling to find affordable housing opportunities. Mission First Housing Group is committed to keeping veterans housing at the forefront of our work so that every veteran in need has access to a safe, affordable place to call home.