With COVID-19 having kept House of Heroes Connecticut’s planned start to the 2020 project season at bay, the organization has temporarily shifted gears and moved forward with an exciting project designed to continue HOHCT’s mission by assisting veterans impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. HOHCT is proud to partner with Easterseals Capital Region and Eastern Connecticut’s Veterans Rally Point program for Rally Point for Heroes, a one-time emergency food distribution event that will provide non-perishable food supplies for up to 100 Veterans in need on Saturday, May 16 at Easterseal's East Hartford location.
“We know how hard this worldwide crisis has hit Connecticut’s veterans community, particularly those who may have lost wages, and we are hoping this gesture will help ease the burden ina small way for at least some of these heroes and their families,“ said Carol May, chair of House of Heroes Connecticut. Only Veterans with proper service documentation who have pre-registered online at www.veteransrallypoint.com/rallypointforheroes are eligible.
House of Heroes Connecticut, Veterans Rally Point Team Up to Feed Veterans in Need During COVID-19 Crisis
East Hartford, Conn., May 11, 2020 – House of Heroes Connecticut and Veterans Rally Point, a program of Easterseals Capital Region and Eastern Connecticut, have joined forces in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis to create Rally Point for Heroes, a one-time emergency food distribution event that will provide food supplies for up to 100 Veterans in need this Saturday at Easterseals’ East Hartford location. Pre-assembled boxes totaling more than 2,000 pounds of non-perishable food supplies including rice, soups and similar, assorted staple items – each box containing enough food to feed a Veteran for approximately one week – will be available to pre-registered Veterans for pick-up at no cost from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. this Saturday, May 16, in the parking lot of the Easterseals facility at 22 Prestige Park Circle, East Hartford. Only Veterans with proper service documentation who have pre-registered online at www.veteransrallypoint.com/rallypointforheroes are eligible.
Complete program details and information are available on the website.
“We know how hard this worldwide crisis has hit Connecticut’s Veterans community, particularly those who may have lost wages, and we are hoping this gesture will help ease the burden in a small way for at least some of these heroes and their families,“ said Carol May, chair of House of Heroes Connecticut. “We are thrilled to partner with Easterseals Veterans Rally Point to have brought this outreach effort together so quickly.”
“It’s an honor and privilege to team up with the dedicated volunteers from House of Heroes Connecticut to make this important giving of food to veterans in need event happen during these most significant and challenging times,” added Brigadier General Retired Ron Welch, Vice President, Military Services & amp; Economic Development, Easter Seals Capital Region and Eastern Connecticut/Veterans Rally Point. The project work of House of Heroes Connecticut, which provides no-cost home improvements to military and public safety Veterans, has been sidelined throughout the spring season due to COVID-19.
Two April project weekends were cancelled, and the organization is devoting resources that had been earmarked for those projects to this new initiative so that it might continue fulfilling its mission to serve those who serve. The group is planning to resume its home repair project schedule with a Memorial Day weekend project on Saturday, May 23. The project will be limited in scope with a small group of volunteers utilizing proper safety protocols.
For Easterseals Veterans Rally Point, this Saturday’s event will be the fourth food distribution day the organization has executed since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis. On April 22, 29 and May 6, food distribution events were held in Norwich thanks to partnerships with USA for Veterans and Military (USA4VETS) and the Massachusetts Military Support Foundation providing 13,440 meals for Veterans to date.
The project is being made possible in part with the support of Bozzuto’s, Inc. of Cheshire and PCX Aerosystems of Newington.
About Easterseals Veterans Rally Point Veterans Rally Point is a life-changing program of Easterseals Capital Region & Eastern Connecticut dedicated to successfully reintegrating Veterans/service members and their families into all aspects of civilian life. Whether recovering from physical and/or psychological injuries or trying to navigate the civilian world to gain meaningful employment, Veterans/service members can count on Easterseals Capital Region & Eastern Connecticut to walk with them every step of the way. Easterseals Capital Region & Eastern Connecticut, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is an affiliate of Easterseals, Inc., the leading nonprofit provider of services for individuals with a variety of barriers, including physical and cognitive disabilities.
For more information and to donate, visit: www.easterseals.com/hartford and www.veteransrallypoint.com