OUR MISSION
Our mission is to set the standard in serving those who stepped up to serve all of us. By strengthening services, identifying and filling gaps, creating programs and removing barriers, we prepare a place where any veteran can connect and feel supported by their community.
EVERY BRANCH – EVERY ERA – EVERY ABILITY
PEER SUPPORT & SOCIAL NETWORKING
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RECREATION & ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES
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SUPPORT & RESOURCES
Housing Assistance, Employment Assistance, Food, Emergency Assistance, VA Benefits, PTSD Counseling
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HONOR & RECOGNITION
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NOVEMBER 2018
On November 10, 1775, a Corps of Marines was created by a resolution of Continental Congress. Since that date many thousand men and women have borne the name "Marine". In memory of them it is fitting that we who are Marines should commemorate the birthday of our corps by calling to mind the glories of its long and illustrious history. This year, the Marines celebrate their 243rd birthday. NOVEMBER 4, 2018 DON'T FORGET TO CHANGE YOUR CLOCKS!!! NOVEMBER 15, 2018 CHUCK BRUEN WILL BE HERE. Starting at 8 AM!! CHUCK DOES NOT TAKE APPOINTMENTS. HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL VETERANS COFFEE Come for the coffee, stay for the camaraderie! The WHAFV Veterans Coffee is a great time for our men and women to get together in a safe and nonjudgmental space. It's mostly just good laughter and a time to hang out with other veterans. It doesn't get any better than that. There are now five locations to join us on the Western Slope. WHAFV MONTROSE Join us every Thursday Morning from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. and again at 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. for our Veterans-only coffee. Our County Veteran Service Officer is available Thursdays from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. to assist with any questions about benefits or other concerns. We also have counselors from the Grand Junction Vet Center available to meet with Vets. WESTEND On the second Wednesday of every month we travel to the Nucla Airport for our Veterans coffee, held from 10 a.m. to noon. We're very grateful for Ruth's Toffee, (584 Main St., Nucla, 81424) for their donation of the coffee. Our County Veteran Service Officer is there to help with any questions regarding claims/benefits. CEDAREDGE On the third Tuesday of every month we travel to Cederedge for our Veterans coffee held from 10 a.m. to noon. It's held at The Pondy, 220 W. Main St. Cedaredge. The owner, DJ, graciously donates the space and the coffee. Stacy, owner of Stacy's On Main, (260 W. Main St., Cedaredge, 81413), graciously donates the pastries. Our Veteran Service Officer is there to help with any questions about benefits. Join us Sunday, November 11,2018 11 am to 2 pm for brunch! All veterans and families are invited with a special focus on all of our WW II Veterans. Please add this special event to your calendar. If you know any WW II Veterans that may not always come to WHAFV, please invite them and their families to come and participate FREE MASSAGES!! COMING IN NOVEMBER!!! PLEASE STOP BY AND SIGN UP FOR A FREE MASSAGE AT THE WRC. TREAT YOURSELF!!! WHAT HAPPENED IN OCTOBER... The Welcome Home Alliance for Veterans office was teeming with activity Thursday, Oct. 19, as we served 39 veterans during our annual 'Stand Down' event. Our staff and volunteers were joined by seven representatives from the Housing and Urban Development's Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing unit, which was able to counsel 15 of our vets who self-reported they were "in need" of food and housing. In addition, we welcomed two reps from the Montrose Lighthouse project, who offered information on the new homeless shelter; four representatives from two local home-health agencies; as well as representatives from Colorado Workforce, the Technical College of the Rockies, Montrose Elks Lodge 1053, the Warriors Rest. Linda Black, who served as intake for the Stand Down says "It was a great day for us to be able to serve the needs of our Veterans and provide so many resources to our Veterans Community". Lunch was provided by volunteers from the community. Even though this year's event is now past, we continue to welcome donations that can be passed along to other veterans in need. Visit WHAFV with your donations of warm clothing, boots and personal hygiene items, or contact us at 970.765.2210. Thank you to all the amazing community members that donated items, lunch and their time! Eagle Head Cane Presentation Cane presentations are one of the best ways to honor our veterans who have served honorably. These beautiful canes are presented at the Welcome Home Alliance for Veterans on the third Thursday of each month at 5:30 p.m. Applications are only made at the Center and you must have a DD214. What an honor for the Woodworkers Guild of Western Colorado, the Black Canyon Woodcarvers, and the Montrose Area Woodturners to team up with WHAFV to make all this possible. Over 450 canes have been hand crafted and presented to our local veterans. The next presentation will be on November 15, 2018 at 5:30 pm at the Center. SPOUSES LUNCHEON November 30, 2018 @ 11:30 AM With lunch provided, many spouses look forward to the luncheon as a treat. They are able to visit, share the stories of their lives, and connect with others. It's a casual atmosphere we all enjoy. ELKS LODGE #1053 DONATION Once again, the Elks Lodge #1053 comes through again! This donation is always so generous to donate much needed gift cards and knapsacks. The knapsacks, filled with hygiene kits, first aid kits and sewing kits. The gift card donation a total of $660.00. The knapsacks are given out at Stand Down to our under served and homeless population. The Elks always give us enough of these that we have a lot left of to give out through out the year to other Veterans that we serve. They also give us gift cards that we can use through out the year for those that need gas or groceries. USAF Veteran Returns From Honor Flight Air Force veteran Bunny Kingery who served from 1950-1953, joined two dozen other veterans on an Honor Flight to Washington D.C., Oct. 11-13. The first leg of the flight departed Colorado Springs, landing in Denver where passengers lined the gate, clapping and waving American flags. "I was surprised and honored by that," Kingery said. "I wasn't expecting that!" When the group arrived in D.C., huge crowds greeted the veterans and their guardians. "It was overwhelming, all of the people who came out," she recalled. Another surprise awaited her, as her grandson, M Sgt Matt Kingery, who is stationed at Arlington, VA, was not only there to greet her, he was able to join her for the remainder of her visit. The group toured the WWII monument, the Freedom Monument, the National Mall including the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Memorial. "My favorite part was watching the Changing of the Guard (at Arlington National Cemetery)," she said. "And, Mail Call! As we left the bus we each received a manila envelope filled with cards and letters from grade school children." Upon arriving home, the group was greeted by first responders and their vehicles with lights flashing, along with friends and families. Her family and friends were so moved by the trip and the amazing healing it brought Bunny, they all made nice donations to Honor Flight, as the organization is a nonprofit. To learn more or to make a donation, visit: https://www.honorflight.org/donate-now/ Lots of programs are available for veterans and their families through the event centers listed. Stop by and see April or Amy for a list of upcoming trips! WARRIORS REST NEEDS FIREWOOD!! Our men's homeless shelter is looking for a donation of firewood. If you have firewood or know of someone who is willing to donate to the Warriors Rest, please call Erik Goff, Executive Director @ 970-240-8985 or Joe Miller @ 970-765-5135. Thank you!!! VETS Do you have student needing help in English grammar grades 7-12. I can help- Dennis Neilson. Contact WHAFV and leave a message with a good contact number. Message from Mike: Throughout the year I’ve had the privilege of witnessing and working alongside some of the most dedicated volunteers I’ve ever known. Their dedication to helping veterans was on display again at our annual “Stand Down”, last month. Every veteran that stopped by for assistance was given the respect and dignity of someone who served honorably and selflessly for their country, by caring and compassionate volunteers. We were very grateful this year to have a large selection of clothing and gear available to distribute to our veterans. In addition, we had representatives from numerous VA and private organizations with additional services they may need. On behalf of the veterans served during the Stand Down, Thank you. Thank you to all our volunteers, as well as those of you who took the time to come from Grand Junction and surrounding areas to share valuable information that enhanced the lives of our veterans. Once again the generosity and compassion of the citizens of Montrose and surrounding communities continues to show how grateful they are for the service and sacrifices our veterans have given to our country. This year Veterans day, originally known as Armistice Day, is the 100th anniversary of the Armistice signed with Germany effectively ending WWI. Happy Birthday Marines. On November 10 you turn 243 years young. See you at coffee, Mike Trickey Veteran, USMC A note from April: We are enrolled in 2 amazing fundraisers that gives back to WHAFV when you shop. The holidays are approaching and you will be busy shopping for gifts, decorations, and more and we just want to remind everyone to shop at smile.amazon.com and flipgive.com so Welcome Home Alliance for Veterans can increase its general donations. Shop for everyone on your gift list this holiday at smile.amazon.com/ch/45-4103919 and flipgive.com and they will donate to Welcome Home Alliance for Veterans. In the coming weeks we will email and post on social media with additional holiday banners, one for Black Friday and one for Cyber Monday that will increase our donations from Amazon.smile.com and flipgive.com. Here is a little more information about flipgive.com if you are not familiar with them….. We also have started a community team for flipgive.com that also donates a portion back to Welcome Home Alliance for Veterans when you shop online. If you would like to know more about Amazon.smile.com and flipgive.com or would like to be added to our flipgive.com team please contact me at 970-765-2210 or email me at april.heard@whafv.org. We can earn up to 22% back from our team purchases, with bonuses of up to 5% on select brands with flipgive.com! Here are a few of places and the percentage that flipgive.com donates back to WHAFV. Remember… you need to contact me so I can email you an invite to our flipgive.com team and you will receive a special code to use while shopping so Welcome Home Alliance for Veterans receives donations back. The Home Depot gives up to 8% HP gives up to 10% New Balance gives 15% Hotels.com gives up to 5% Under Armour gives 12% Etsy gives 3% Starbucks gives 3% Please reach out to me if you have any questions or ideas of other simple fundraisers that will help us maintain our mission and goals of helping our veterans. Happy Veterans Day to all of our Veterans. Welcome Home and Thank you for your service. & Have a wonderful Thanksgiving… April Heard Administrative Assistant A note from Amy: On October 5th, 2018, the volunteers were treated to "Dinner and a Movie.” This was a potluck dinner and celebration for all of the wonderful people who give so much of their time and passion. The documentary "The Canteen Spirit," tells how the community of North Platte, Neb. created a canteen in their depot during WWII and greeted every train of soldiers that came through with a smile, a cup of coffee, and homemade sandwiches, cookies and cake. Most of the troops were just kids going off to uncertain fates overseas. Those who experienced the townspeople’s kindness and appreciation never forgot those 10-minute stops. If anyone is interested in learning more about this amazing film, please call me. We presented Linda Black with a beautiful, small golden eagle that Melanie made for her name badge. Like all our volunteers, Linda is amazing. She is our old timer, having been here the longest of this group. Along with working the reception desk every Monday, she has taken over a huge chunk of data entry. Like everyone who donates their time and talents here, she is dedicated to our mission, our veterans and to making WHAFV a welcoming and warm place. WHAFV 4 Hillcrest Plaza Way Montrose, CO 81401 United States (970)765-2210 WHAFV@whafv.org |
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