Commander Steve “Hellhound” Vickers from the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association, CVMA, located in Cambridge Ohio contacted Veterans’ Outreach a few months back. Commander Vickers said that they had selected Veterans’ Outreach to be one of the 501(c)3 organizations that they would donate to in 2021. He said he just wants to help his veteran brothers and sisters in Ohio. Read more
The Veterans’ Outreach 6th Annual Golf Scramble was a great success. This group of staff, volunteers, and others not in the photo worked tirelessly to host a fun day for 134 golfers. There were 52 sponsors! Proceeds from this event will help more than 100 veterans with financial help.
We humbly thank God for giving us the opportunity to host this wonderful event.
Thank you to all the sponsors, the golfers, the Mahoning County Country Club, and the volunteers that made this beautiful day possible. Words cannot express how much it means to have your support of our mission to honor and serve all veterans.
Pic Courtesy of USA Today
Afghanistan! The heartbreak of all that is unfolding there is especially unyielding with the deaths of those 13 brave soldiers. Sons and daughters that believed in the mission and obeyed their orders while evacuating fellow Americans and others. They were AMBUSHED while engaged in a humanitarian endeavor and gave the ULTIMATE sacrifice. Our sympathies are strong and passionate for the families left behind. The hopes and dreams those young people had will never be realized. How does a family deal with that?
Now, the additional sting of this tragedy comes in the wake of leaving many terrified Americans and Afghan associates behind. What lies ahead for them? On top of all that, the list of military equipment left behind is just overwhelming and frightening and shocking. I am a patriot and I love this country, but I, like most Americans am dumbfounded by the moves our country has made over the last weeks. The military was woefully unprepared to exit at the costs of many lives. Did our leaders really get it that wrong or is there something else going on? Is this really our message to the world?
Who are the Taliban and what do they want? The Taliban emerged in the 1990’s after the Soviets left Afghanistan. Their promise was to restore peace and security and enforce their own austere Sharia law. By 1998, the Taliban controlled 90% of the country. At first the Afghan people were pleased to have some order restored, but then the Taliban introduced Sharia Law including public executions of convicted murderers and adulterers, and amputations for those guilty of theft. They banned TV, music, cinema, and girls over ten going to school.
Then, September 11, 2001 happened and our world forever changed. Almost 3,000 killed and 6,000 injured. The attacks that day remain the deadliest terrorist attack in world history. In October of 2001, a U.S. led military coalition launched attacks on Afghanistan, and by the first week of December the Taliban regime had collapsed.
The U.S. and many other countries spent twenty years there. Now we wonder for what? How many plots were foiled? How many lives were saved? How many lives were lost? How many lives were forever changed from the impacts of war? These questions will haunt us, and we want answers that we will probably never get. Our soldiers and the rest of the world need to see that as well! Our veterans have nothing to be ashamed of, they followed their orders, through HELL and back.
Look, most all Americans gave up something. My son came back disabled, but at least he came back. I am hopeful yet that some sense will emerge from these recent events led by powers at the helm. I must believe, for my own sanity, that they haven’t played all their cards yet and really can’t show or reveal their hand. I guess we need to be patient and still hold on to a smidgen of blind faith.
The comfort is that God is in control, ultimately.
The other positive side is understanding that our efforts were not in vain. We spent twenty years showing a people what freedom tastes like. Those seeds have been scattered and must have taken root – you see the Afghan people protests. These people need a beacon of hope to rise from the dust to have a better life. Freedom is part of our human nature and must find a way. This will reveal itself in time.
Please, when you see a Veteran, thank them for their stellar service in protecting your country. Remember that no outside terror attacks were launched on American soil for two decades now, thanks to our military men and women!
God bless our Soldiers, our Nation, and those Americans and friends left behind!
Sources and other articles you might like:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-11451718
https://time.com/6094919/the-afghanistan-biden-and-trump-do-not-see/
https://www.history.com/.amp/topics/21st-century/afghanistan-war
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/afghanistan/2021-08-13/osama-bin-ladens-911-catastrophic-success
No veteran should be homeless. Think about the selflessness of their service, to benefit you and I, people they don’t even know. They inspire us and many others to continue the efforts to help them navigate troubled times. Read more
Boardman United Methodist Church held their “Trash and Treasure” sale a couple of months ago. They donated the remaining treasures, and we loaded our “Big Blue” truck. Sadly, the truck was so excited about the donation, it would not shut down and had to visit the repair shop! Months went by waiting on the right part and the treasures sat and waited for their new home. Read more
Recently, a lady’s group from Redeemer Lutheran Church in Austintown Ohio conducted a “Trash and Treasure Sale”. They had previously visited Veterans’ Outreach to gain a better understanding of the work we do and from that visit, decided that their sale would benefit Veterans’ Outreach. The ladies proudly delivered the proceeds, and thanked God for the blessings, as do we. We are so grateful for the community support of our mission to honor and serve all veterans.
Their work and the generous shoppers will help many veterans with situations that have overwhelmed them and allow them to have some peace.
Have you ever had a week that was so filled with “stuff” that could have filled a month? I think we all have; they sneak up on you and then Bam! You are in the middle of it.
It started with pulling together a birthday party for my dear friend, Joe Lavinger, a WWII veteran celebrating his 98th birthday at American Legion Post 532 in Columbus, Ohio. Joe’s passion for life, love, and laughter keeps him going. When asked about his secret by a TV reporter, he looked at her and said very matter of factly, “Eat right and exercise.” After his time in the Navy, he became an entertainer, wearing zany outfits and crazy hats, thus he was nicknamed “Crazy Joe”. He has helped thousands of veterans through Veterans’ Outreach for about 20 years now.
I don’t see Joe slowing down as long as there are people that he can make laugh and veterans to help! He is truly a gift to our charity, our veterans, and to all that meet him.
The next morning I atteneded my big brother’s funeral, Richard (Dick) LaMont Ely of Centerburg, Ohio. Dick was a hell of a track star and boxer before he joined the Army’s Signal Corp. He was nicknamed “Sluggo”. He worked with the 1st Cavalry, Navy Seals, and 82nd Airborne Division.
Dick was the last living relative from my birth family. He was my biggest inspiration for Veterans’ Outreach mission. Out of his unspoken words and the fact that he rarely smiled, he shared his perspective and the hurt that dwelled within him. He loved to tell short silly jokes, but wouldn’t really allow himself to laugh, but hoped others would. Although he was blessed with a loving wife and family, he was tortured from those early years of his life that he gave to our nation. He was shamed for his service. Both my father (a Pearl Harbor Survivor) and my brother suffered with PTSD which has been with me all my life and drives me to help veterans all across our great nation.
My wife and I then traveled to Kentucky for a meeting with Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs Commissioner Keith Jackson. Dr. Silas Session of Morehead University, Veterans’ Outreach Regional Manager Ray Layne, and I presented and discussed our project in eastern Kentucky, Heroes’ Passage – A Retreat for Veterans.
The Veteran retreat is meant to help the veteran heal from or at least learn to cope with their private and personal impacts of war. We want to enhance their strengths, awaken a connection to the outdoors through farming and animal therapies. We want to assist them with learning new marketable skills through affiliations with industry and educational facilities.
Commissioner Jackson and his staff could not have been more engaging and supportive of our efforts. They gave us some contacts for the next steps.
After a great lunch with the team, we continued to eastern Kentucky to visit the future site of Heroes’ Passage. The land was donated by Roger Hanshaw. It is 110.5 acres of Kentucky wilderness stretching into two counties, Carter and Elliot near Olive Hill. The picture is from three years ago, the first time I visited the property. Today, the road is grown over. Ray garnered his sister Carol and her husband Dave, a retired Drill Sargent, to drive us through the property.
The shiny black Silverado entered the property and straight down a deeply rutted hillside that at one time was a road and is now less than a path. A two-mile trip took at least two hours. The truck performed very well, but the horrible sound of branches scraping the beautiful paint job was very disturbing. The property is shaped like a bowl, 1,100 ft. at the crest and down to 900 ft., where we plan to have a small lake. The land has five streams and timber and could be a “Fortress of Solitude”.
The visit was exasperating, Ray and Carol were constantly removing brush and trees off our path. Mud flared up when we got stuck a few times.
Our driver, Jeff always remained calm and in control, simply said “No turning back…We are committed now”. We finally reached the bottom and took a break.
As I stood there, surrounded by this part of Appalachia, I had forgotten how serene the property is, it is its own little world. I so want to share the beauty and potential with disadvantaged veterans. Turning a dream into reality is the mountain we must climb. If you have the desire to help, please contact me at 330-398-2904.
Lastly, we paid a visit to the Veterans’ Outreach office in Grayson, Kentucky.
We were so elated to witness massive community support for the mission. The staff and volunteers were very busy while we were there, dealing with veterans needing help and accepting donations of food, household goods, and clothing. The building that once seemed too big for us is now bursting at the seams with activity. It was very satisfying to see our mission so alive and active, what a blessing.
It will take a little while to process all that happened that week. We move forward while filing away the things we do every day.
John Ely
“To serve and honor”
Veterans’ Outreach was recently visited by a group of several men representing local veterans groups including the DAV, American Legion, VFW, and Amvets. They have joined together to help a disabled veteran that needs a ramp built at his home. They came to our office to seek a financial commitment to the cause. We are pleased that these organizations sought us out to join in the mission, it means a lot. Veterans’ Outreach was able to write a check right then to pay for a large portion of the project.
Happy Independence Day! That is what the 4th of July is all about. How did we get here? What does it all mean?
The 4th of July has always been a day of fireworks and hotdogs. Moreover, it is often portrayed in numerous works of art, from poems to songs and even in films. While it might be one of the most historic events in the U.S., it sometimes loses its real meaning in celebration events. I did some research I’d like to share. Take a refresher, digest a few interesting 4th of July facts for this year’s Independence Day recognition.
4th of July Facts
So there you go, there are many facts and events to get us where we are today. The fight for freedom is an unending task and we thank our United States Armed Forces, the less than 1% that keep us safe.
God Bless America and God Bless our Soldiers!
John Ely
A veteran came to our office very distraught, confused, and yes, kind of afraid. He had a couple of strokes, and needed to go into a nursing home for rehab. He is alone in the world, his landlord was not willing to hold his apartment while he was away in rehab, so when he came out he would have no place to live. Veterans’ Outreach reached out to the landlord about the situation and paid a portion of his rent. The landlord agreed to maintain his apartment.
