Providence Journal (RI)
Providence Journal (RI)
November 23, 2015
Veterans Journal
Police provide vets, families with Thanksgiving dinner
Section: RI News
Page: 16
Index Terms:
Article
Estimated printed pages: 5
Article Text:
More than one hundred veterans and their families will have a Thanksgiving meal with all the
trimmings thanks to Providence Police Department officers and staff who donated more than two
pickup trucks full of Thanksgiving food items along with $1,500.
Officer William Hutchinson, who helped to organize the department-wide drive at the Police
Department’s Central Station, said, “I would like to thank the Providence FOP and the
Providence Police Department for stepping up to the plate to help our veterans during the
Thanksgiving holiday.”
In addition to putting out large food donation boxes at strategic locations in the city, the
department also passed the hat at roll calls for donations from the officers.
The donations have been received and organized by Operation Stand Down Rhode Island, which
will distribute Thanksgiving baskets to more than 100 of its veteran clients on Tuesday and
Wednesday in time for this week’s Thanksgiving holiday.
OSDRI’s executive director Erik Wallin described the project as a heroes helping heroes model.
He said, “The heroes that work to protect our community stepped in to help those that fought to
protect our freedom.”
OSDRI is Rhode Island’s primary nonprofit resource for homeless and at-risk veterans. Founded
in 1993 and headquartered in Johnston, it helps homeless and at-risk veterans secure stable
housing and much more. It works with almost every major state and federal agency as well as
community organizations and employers to provide assistance to veterans and their families in
need. For more information go online to osdri.org.
American Legion unit wins award
American Legion Auxiliary Downey Weaver Unit 34, in Shannock (a historic district in
Richmond and Charlestown), was one of only five units from more than 8,000 to receive the
National President’s Award for Excellence announced by American Legion Auxiliary national
president Janet Jefford on Sept. 2, at the group’s national convention in Baltimore, Md.
The National President’s Award for Excellence is presented annually to American Legion
Auxiliary units that represent the best of the best in planning and implementing the American
Legion Auxiliary’s mission. Recipients are selected based on applications that address the unit’s
achievements in ALA national goals and objectives in at least three ALA programs.
This year’s national theme, “Celebrating Faith, Family and Freedom,” served to inspire Unit 34
Auxiliary members to a renewed focus and attention to the mission on behalf of those they serve,
according to Auxiliary members. They credit their success largely to the civil way in which they
treat each other, with every meeting conducted as a roundtable discussion with everyone
welcome and accepted and all opinions matter.
That attitude resulted in their recruiting 15 new members this year, giving more than 3,000
volunteer hours to many community agencies and donating more than $13,000 in cash and goods
to those in need, according to Unit secretary Lorraine Boucher.
Boucher also reports that Unit 34 won the Community Service Award for the Northeast Division
(Maine to Maryland) last August along with several state awards. In the past three years, it has
raised and awarded $4,400 in scholarships to children and grandchildren of local veterans,
donated $2,450 to Operation Stand Down RI and provided $2,320 in cash and over $800 worth
of furniture and household goods to homeless families with children in South County.
American Legion Auxiliary members nationwide have dedicated themselves for nearly a century
to meeting the needs of our country’s veterans, military and their families with millions of
volunteer hours yearly, with a value of more than $3 billion, says its website’s home page. As
part of the world’s largest women’s patriotic service organization, members also honor veterans
and military through annual scholarships and with the ALA Girls State programs that teaches
high school juniors to be leaders grounded in patriotism and Americanism. To learn more about
the Auxiliary’s mission or to volunteer, donate or join, visit www.ALAforVeterans.org.
—Send veterans’ meeting and news items to George W. Reilly at [email protected].
Copyright © 2015. LMG Rhode Island Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Record Number: 3863604