Giving Tuesday Impact Series: Many veterans are low-income seniors
Tomorrow is Veterans Day
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson first proclaimed Armistice Day for November 11, 1919. In proclaiming the holiday, he said:
"To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country's service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations."
In 1945, World War II veteran Raymond Weeks from Birmingham, Alabama, had the idea to expand Armistice Day to celebrate all veterans, not just those who died in World War I. Weeks led a delegation to Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, who supported the idea of National Veterans Day. Weeks led the first national celebration in 1947 in Alabama and annually until his death in 1985. President Reagan honored Weeks at the White House with the Presidential Citizenship Medal in 1982 as the driving force for the national holiday. Elizabeth Dole, who prepared the briefing for President Reagan, determined Weeks as the "Father of Veterans Day."
U.S. Representative Ed Rees presented a bill establishing the holiday through Congress. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, signed the bill into law on May 26, 1954. Congress amended this act on June 1, 1954, replacing "Armistice" with "Veterans," and it has been known as Veterans Day since.
H.O.M.E. has the privilege of providing services for many seniors who are veterans. In a recent email I told a story about replacing a water heater for Jack and his wife, Eunice. Jack has lived in Chicago for most of his life and was a Tuskegee Airman who served valiantly in World War II. He and his wife now live on less than $1,200 per month.
We also have residents who are veterans and in the last year we have provided home repairs for over 30 veterans and their spouses. If you are like me you probably have parents, aunts, uncles, siblings and friends who have or are serving in the military.
Sadly many veterans live in poverty. Last week the Greater Chicago Food Depository opened a food pantry at the Edward Hines Jr. Veterans Affairs Hospital. They reported that in Cook County, there are more than 18,000 veterans living below the poverty line. In addition, 18 percent of the households receiving food assistance in Cook County include someone who is serving or has served in the U.S. Armed Forces. Last year they opened a food pantry at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center in Chicago. The pantry is a collaboration between the Department of Veterans Affairs, AmeriCorps and the Food Depository. It is the first food pantry for veterans at a VA facility in Illinois and one of the only VA pantries in the country.
I hope that tomorrow you pause for a moment to reflect on the sacrifice all veterans have made. If you are so led, please also consider a gift to H.O.M.E. in honor of the veteran(s) in your life.
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We are able to provide resources for low-income seniors in Chicago because of donations that we receive.
H.O.M.E. is proudly partnering with Giving Tuesday and #ILGiveBig to encourage the spirit of charitable philanthropy this holiday season, because together, we change lives.
To find out more about H.O.M.E. and to provide support to low-income seniors, please visit our website. This post is part of our series to celebrate the impact of #GivingTuesday, which will take place this year on December 2, 2014. The idea behind #GivingTuesday is to kickoff the holiday-giving season, in the same way that Black Friday and Cyber Monday kickoff the holiday-shopping season. We'll be featuring one post about our clients every Monday in November.