JERRY’S TIP: HOW TO HELP A VET IN NEED THIS CHRISTMAS

To the Editor,

The holidays are on us and thankfully good people are concerned about veterans in need. We seem to have this Rockwellian picture of a good neighbor at the front door of a poor family. They have a turkey of course and a basketful of holiday food. But the trouble is that may work for Hallmark but it doesn’t work with veterans.

Vets are a proud lot and don’t like to be seen as needy. It’s embarrassing to them. So perhaps we go at this in a different way.

Across the county there are a number of soup kitchens and food pantries that already care for folks in need of meals. Vets can go to them with anonymity. So what we do is encourage people to donate to these folks that are feeding the needy where veterans can go.

For a list of locations you can go online to InfoRock or call them at 845-364-2020. Or you can always donate to one of Rockland’s veterans groups. These can be found online or you can call our office and we’ll be glad to help you out with that.

We do encourage you to donate. We also encourage you to be careful. There are a number of people who take advantage and we don’t want to see that happen to you. So if we can assist, we’d be happy to. Also, there’s a great program that the Marine Corps has been running for years called, Toys For Tots.  There again, you can give a new unwrapped toy or you can make a donation.  

Sincerely,

Jerry Donnellan

Veterans Service Agency of Rockland County