Rebuilding Together help out veterans at drive-through event

Veteran Max Potente must have felt like he was hearing a constant echo on Wednesday at the Vallejo Community Presbyterian Church.

“Happy Veterans Day!” he would say to a person driving through an alley behind the church in their vehicle. “No, Happy Veterans Day to you!” Potente would hear back within seconds.

Potente was just one of about 30 volunteers giving their time at Rebuilding Together Solano County’s Drive Through Event for other veterans. Many of the volunteers were also veterans, so the event not only served as a day of helpfulness, but one of camaraderie.

“It’s a good way to help and honor all the veterans today, not only ones of the past but ones in the present and possibly some future veterans,” said Arles De Mayo, a veteran and volunteer.

“When people drive up I usually ask what field, what job they had in the service. What have they been doing after they left, things like that.”

Potente likes to joke around as well.

“If they are with the Marines I show them this,” Potente says with a laugh as he shows a meme on his phone that shows a picture of a cruise ship that says “Marines Uber Driver.”

Potente served with the U. S. Navy.

Once again, organizing and making sure the event ran smoothly was Elizabeth Hoffman, the executive director for Rebuilding Together Solano County. In the two-hour event Hoffman said she had around 45-50 people drive through.

“We give them a lot of things such as a fire extinguisher, a 10-year smoke alarm, a carbon monoxide with 10-year life span, a safety kit device that can turn off the gas, water and is able to

pry doors open in an emergency,” Hoffman said. “We give them a pamphlet that gives them a plan in cases of a disaster, we also give them trash bags, disposable masks, a flashlight, a nightlight and gloves. We also give them thank you cards from Wells Fargo.”

Hoffman gave a lot of thanks to Wells Fargo, who according to her, donated $225,000 to veterans and veterans widows so they could remain living in their homes.

One veteran that drove through and received items at the event was Paul Del Rosario, who lives in American Canyon and is a retired Army veteran.

“This is a great day for veterans because everyone is thinking about us. We only really get two days a year, Memorial Day and Veterans Day,” Del Rosario joked. “Wells Fargo, Home Depot and Kaiser Permanente have always done a good job helping out with Rebuilding Together to show they care at events like this.”

Although Del Rosario feels appreciated on Veterans Day, he wishes that more people would say kind things to veterans every day of the year, but acknowledged that some people might be afraid to do it because they don’t want to be bothersome or believe a veteran might not want the attention or limelight.

“Some might have had a traumatic experience in the past so they could still be feeling that and not want to talk about it,” Del Rosario said. “But if they are wearing a hat or T- shirt, they feel good about hearing that they are important. Trust me.”