If you are in the Kansas City metro area, join other Any Soldier volunteers to help give a hand up to Homeless Veterans at the 15th annual Heart of America Stand Down. This is a great opportunity to do some good for those who have served our country, while having fun with other Any Soldier volunteers!

Help is needed for setup on June 5th and the event on June 6-7. See the News page or the Stand Down site for additional info and volunteer registration form. The event will be held at the Manual Career Tech Center, off I-70 between Troost and Lydia Ave.

If you plan to participate, please submit the volunteer registration form on the How To Get Involved page of the Stand Down site, and also post here so we can coordinate between local volunteers.

I'll be in the KC area on these dates, and would love to participate! My sister is also a maybe for helping.

This sounds like a great event, and I really look forward to it!
 

They are also asking for donations for the event. They need clothing (particularly men's), shoes, food items, toiletry items, and reading glasses.  You can drop of the donations at the KC Vet Center or they may come and pick them up. When I called and asked about where to drop off donations, I was asked if I needed the items to be picked up or not. So, if you have any questions, you can call the Vet Center at 816-753-1866.  I just thought this was a great time to clean out my husbands closet!

Yes, donations are always good. If you can't reach them by phone (e.g., after hours), you can also get a list of the donations requested on the How To Get Involved page at www.standdown.org.

BTW, I think they often have a hard time getting enough volunteers in the clothing section, so that is a good choice for anyone filling out the Volunteer Sign Up form. You might circle that and also write in "or wherever needed most."  Stand Down coordinators will contact volunteers and confirm arrangements. Then we will coordinate among ourselves and meet at the event.

I'm looking forward to meeting you all!
 

For those who will be participating in the Kansas City Stand Down for Veterans next week...

Help is needed most on Thursday June 5th for setup, and Friday June 6th in the clothing area. If you haven't heard back after submitting your volunteer registration, just show up and sign in and you'll be put to work. 

Cross your fingers for dry weather!

Just a few days until this event...

I'll be in the KC area, so I'm going to be there. I'm really looking forward to participating in such a worthwhile event, and finally meeting some fellow AnySoldier Junkies!

See you there.  

It will be great to meet everyone who is able to participate. Cross fingers, toes and eyes that rain stays away for the rest of the week and weekend!

If anyone sent in a signup form and didn't hear back, don't worry - just show up and you can sign in at the volunteer table. Directions to the Manual Career Tech Center are on the www.kcstanddown.org site, and I have more specific directions (and will find them again any time now!) 

How did everything go??

I'm hoping Widget will post here, since she went to all 3 days of the event. I only made it on Saturday (after driving to Kansas City on Thursday, right through the middle of the major storms that went across the Great Plains!).

I'm so glad I attended. It was great to see first-hand what this event does for Veterans. There were lots of volunteers there on Saturday, and it's always heartening to see so many people who care about our Vets.

PLUS, I finally got to meet another AnySoldier Junkie, live and in person! (Another Junkie was there on Friday; sorry I didn't get to meet you, Nicki!) Of course, we shared all we could about AnySoldier with other volunteers. All in all, a really nice day.

Hi Jenifer! It was so nice meeting and visiting with you and Nicki. Funny what a small world this is! I hope your Mom likes the postcard.

The Stand Down was great. I read in the paper that around 500 homeless Vets received much-needed services and items. It was wonderful to see so many people supporting them by helping at the event. And it was fantastic to see Vets happy after receiving showers, haircuts, food, new clothes and boots, and the various services provided. I didn't make it over to the professional services booths and medical trailers, but I know they must have been busy.

Setup on Thursday was very busy. There were volunteers from different groups, and plenty for each to do. We unpacked, sorted and laid out clothes and put up tents. Luckily, we didn't have rain during the event but it was very windy. Weather really was great, despite a few flying tents and clothes. 

Friday was the busiest day - lots of Vets coming through. Nicki and I helped in the clothing area, with new and donated clothing, boots and shoes, toiletry kits, etc. There were plenty of volunteers in the morning, but in the afternoon a couple of the larger groups left so remaining volunteers were hopping. Saturday was a good day, with plenty of volunteers so each Vet who came through got lots of attention. lol  Both days included karaoke (good and, um, not-so-good!) and grilled hotdogs and burgers for Vets and volunteers.

Escorting Vets through the clothing area was my favorite part. As you guided them around each station to pick out items, you could chat with them. Some were not talkative, but others enjoyed the opportunity to talk about their military service or just exchange pleasantries. It was also great to meet so many fantastic people who actively support our Veterans and military members. The Stand Down organizers did a good job on pulling it all together - it's a big job.