As you are out and about town in the coming week, you may see donation collection buckets from the Franklin First Presbyterian Church Men’s Group.
This is the week they set aside each year to raise money to help veterans in the area. Last year they raised $13,200. Since the fund drive began in 2014 they have raised $75,000.
“We raise the money just by asking for donations,” said Ned Kraft of the Presbyterian Men’s Group. The buckets might be filled with just loose change and one-dollar bills, but Kraft said, “It all adds up.”
The group places donation containers at 55 businesses around town. Seven businesses keep the containers out year-round: Normandie, El Charro, Bryant’s Antique Mall, Kitchen Sink, Shoney’s, Asian King and Whistle Stop.
As they have the past couple of years, the church group is teaming up with 828 Vets.
828 Vets president Bill Garren said the donation from the Presbyterian Men’s Group makes up more than half of the organization’s operating budget. “We make sure it goes to the veterans,” he said.
When 828 Vets started four years ago, they assisted about 20 vets a year; this year they have already helped 40 and Garren expects that number to reach 50 before the end of the year.
828 Vets is committed to helping veterans that might fall through the cracks because they don’t qualify for assistance from other organizations or government agencies.
Last winter they helped a veteran who needed a furnace. That was a $19,000 project.
Garren said they could not have made it through the year without the contribution from the Presbyterian Men’s Group. “We can’t thank them enough.”
828 Vets members have built ramps at veterans’ homes, provided assistance getting power turned on, installed donated appliances, helped a family get a new well drilled, and the list goes on.
Tom Fagg of the men’s group said the two organizations working together has been a “great blend” and helps both organizations reach veterans in need. He appreciates that 828 Vets is there to give veterans “a hands up” to improve their lives. “They go out and do it. They make it happen,” he said.
In addition to the donation collection buckets, throughout the year the Presbyterian Men’s Group and 828 Vets set up at festivals to spread the word about what they are doing and collect donations. Some veterans who have received help through 828 Vets share their stories.
“People pick up on it, they feel it,” Fagg said. “People can see it.”
Garren said without the donations collected during Help Homeless Veterans Week and throughout the year, they would not be able to serve the increasing number of veterans in the community who need help. He noted that Western North Carolina has the largest non-base population of veterans in the state.
“That tells you why there is a need,” he said.