I was copied on this amazing email last week and wanted to share it with all of you:
Dear Friends and Family;
I share this story with each of you as cherished friends, and loved ones.
What started out to be what I thought was a day of service for the Roswell Rotary turned out to be a life changing experience. The week before Christmas, I caravanned with numerous fellow Rotarians to deliver over a hundred new jackets to an organization called VEO, Veterans Empowerment Organization. The location of this entity lies within one of the highest crime rate zip codes in all of Atlanta. Once we drove into the VEO complex, the idea of crime was the furthest thing from my mind. The overall setting is a lovely park with apartment buildings and several small buildings used for a cafeteria and offices. We were given a tour and I was more than sold. It became obvious this was a true lifesaving facility and program. The ultimate goal of VEO is to provide a caring, supportive environment that allows homeless veterans to rebuild their lives and thus return their dignity.
As a Rotarian, and with my personal involvement with the HONOR AIR project of taking veterans to DC to visit their monuments, I have become dedicated to the plight of the veterans. Initially, the HONOR AIR program was to allow the WWII veterans, our humble generation, to visit their monument in DC. Most of them could not make this trip on their own due to the decline of health associated with the aging process. We completed 10 trips in over ten years span. The last trip we struggled to find WWII veterans to make the journey. As a result, we decided to look into putting our time, energy and resources in to assisting with the VEO program. Our President, Becky Stone, had become familiar with this program.
These homeless veterans are the men and women who put on the uniforms of our nation's armed services, sacrificed much to defend the freedoms that we all enjoy and take for granted. Far too many, however, come home unable to defend themselves from the lingering mental and physical ravages of combat.
The VEO Homeless veterans are addressed with an interwoven 360 approach that provides a safety net of the following:
In addition, the veteran receives
Now, here comes your opportunity. I want to champion this nonprofit and thus I am reaching out to you to consider a donation to the organization. It is a nonprofit 501(c)3 EIN 80-0219022. Various ways to help support them:
May you all be blessed in the coming year and know I truly value, love and appreciate each of you.
Sue