Founded several years ago to raise money for groups that support military veterans, the Blue Ridge Veterans Celebration handed out some small grants to local organizations during a ceremony at the Vinton War Memorial recently.
Jerry Brittain, who oversees the Military Support Center in Salem, said the grant he accepted will be used to stock a commissary and provide other support for the two thirds of military families who do not live on a government-supported military base, waiting for their loved ones to come home from the field of battle or a distant military base elsewhere.
“People have forgotten …they don’t have a commissary, they don’t have a JAG [legal assistance], they don’t have a motor pool,” said Brittain. “This center was started so that in these remote areas we can provide [help]. The pantry becomes their commissary; they get lawyers that agree to be their JAGs. We’ve got mechanics and plumbers. We want these families taken care of like they would be if that were at a [military] service facility.”
A 5K run held last fall and donations from local sponsors have enabled the Blue Ridge Veterans Celebration to provide the grants over the past two years. “The big thing is that it’s allowed us to help more vets,” added Brittain.
Mark Hudzik, president of Blue Ridge Veterans Celebration (he’s also the Chief Sales Officer for Member One Federal Credit Union) said the organization was established “to say thank you to our soldiers and veterans here locally – those who have come home and those who live here. It’s also a way to raise funds to help veterans who are coming home and may have financial hardships.”
In some cases Blue Ridge Veterans Celebration can help raise money for counseling vets may need after time on the battlefield. “There’s been a lot of changes since some of these soldiers left,” Hudzik added. Often they may have trouble finding a job. “We want to make sure that we have organizations here that can help them.” That might even mean supplying groceries or transportation so a veteran can go out and look for a job.
One of the grants will help bring a replica of the Vietnam Memorial wall here, so veterans of that divisive conflict can be honored on the 40th anniversary of its conclusion in 1975. “Everybody had a different niche in this room today,” said Hudzik of the groups awarded grants for 2014.
Brittany Sandidge with the Roanoke County Prevention Council was on hand with Council director Nancy Hans to collect a grant for a program the non-profit will start soon. Sandidge, the project coordinator, said a spin-off of the Americorps program, a pilot initiative called VetCorps, will pair with coalitions like the Prevention Council that work to curb substance abuse and other destructive behaviors in young people.
“It will help us build family support [through] recovery, treatment and prevention [programs centered] around substance abuse …and mental health issues,” said Sandidge. It’s about fostering “positive family development,” she added. By aligning the Prevention Council with veterans the notion of building a bridge, “a continuum of care for veteran families,” is the goal.
The Prevention Council plans to hire a veteran for a 12-month period to help build that bridge. They’re also hoping to identify gaps in current services. Homelessness and unemployment, along with substance abuse issues that are threatening the family dynamic are all on the table. “It’s designed to be a full family support program,” noted Sandidge.
The Prevention Council, which works in Roanoke County schools, counseling against drug and alcohol abuse, bullying etc. would seem to have a very different mission but Sandidge said that’s not the case: “We see veteran families as very much a part of the fabric of the Roanoke Valley community. By pairing up with the veteran community we’re able to customize what the Prevention Council already does in a way that suits the culture and the needs that they have.”
The Council still wants to raise another $2000 in order to launch an effort they hope to debut by March. A handful of veterans on hand at the Vinton War Memorial also took a bow after the grants were doled out.
By Gene Marrano