For A Holiday Meal–Veterans Hope to Serve their Own this Thanksgiving
Members of Simi Valleys Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 10049 are reaching out to local civilians to help fund muchneeded renovations at VFW headquarters and help feed fellow veterans and service members during the holidays.
The post at 4242 E. Los Angeles Ave. is trying to raise $15,000 before Thanksgiving Day to renovate its kitchen and provide a place to feed veterans from local bases in the vicinity, according to Mary Bandini, a four-year VFW member and spokesperson for the local post.
For every civilian that says, We support the military and, Thank you for your service, we ask them to . . . give up their Starbucks for that day and please donate that $5 or $6 to veterans in need, she said.
Thus far the group has raised about $2,000 by contacting local businesses and asking for donations or grants for upgrading old kitchen equipment that no longer meets health standards, Bandini said.
We dont have commercial equipment at this point, she said. All the commercial equipment we do have is ridiculously old. Were trying to get all new equipment to provide Thanksgiving dinner for troops and in-need veterans.
Bandini, who is junior vice commander of the 220-member Simi post, said there are three major active duty posts that have soldiers whove never spent a holiday alone.
Should we finally get the kitchen, not only are we going to sponsor those units to allow any soldier to spend the holidays with us, but also any of our in-need, homeless, almost-homeless veterans and their families will be welcome to spend their holidays with us as well, she said.
Holiday dinners that were provided in the past by the post, which has been in Simi Valley for more than 40 years, were very successful and popular with local veterans, Bandini said.
VFW Post 10049whose veterans have fought in WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan has a canteen that runs as a bar. But members are seeking the new kitchen equipment to offer food to veterans during the holidays as well as throughout the year.
One of our chartered missions is to support active-duty military because weve all been there and know what its like, Bandini said. So this is something that were trying to do as a mission that the VFW has done for 115 years.
The VFW, the oldest vet- erans service organization in the country, has been filling the gap between the government and the needs of veterans since 1899, according to its website. The organization aims to foster camaraderie among U.S. veterans of overseas conflicts and to serve veterans, the military and the community.
It also attempts to ensure that veterans are respected for their service, that they always receive their earned entitlements and are recognized for the sacrifices they and their loved ones have made on behalf of the U.S.
The nearly 1.9 million members of the VFW and its auxiliaries contribute more than 8.6 million hours of volunteerism annually in their communities.
The VFW awards $3 million in college scholarships and savings bonds to students every year and also helps veterans across the country file VA claims free of charge.
Service officers are available to assist veterans at the Simi Valley post every Wednesday.
The local group also runs the VFW Military History Museum in the Simi Valley Town Center. The museum provides a historical look at the U.S. military and its veterans and also hosts historians and authors who give lectures every other Thursday on a wide range of topics.
Every Thursday (the historian has) a different topic where he reviews the history of military affairs in relation to that topic, Bandini said.
Past lectures have focused on African Americans in the military, women in the military, the true history of Vietnam, the true history of the Civil War and minorities in the Civil War.
For more information about the VFW or to make a donation, visit www.vfwpost10049.com/ donate.
Tags: Veterans News
