Help Homeless Veterans Week: Sept. 13-19

Your spare change can add up to make a big difference for veterans in Macon County. Sept. 13-19 is Help Homeless Veterans Week. As they have since 2018, the Men's Group from First Presbyterian Church will place coin collection cannisters at 60 businesses around town. Since 2023 the Men's Group has donated the annual collection to 828 Vets, who then uses it to help local veterans. "100 percent stays in Macon County," said 828 Vets President Bill Garren. In 2023, the men's group donated $9,000 to 828 Vets, followed by donations of $13,200 in 2024 and $12,000 in 2025. Prior to partnering with 828 Vets, the Men's Group made an annual donation to Asheville-Buncombe Community Christian Ministry. Garren said the timing of the Men's Group donation comes when it is needed most – right after the holidays. "That's when we start getting calls for help again," he said. Garren said while $12,000 may not sound like much, it helps make a difference in veterans' lives. "That would be equal to us putting in six handicapped bathrooms; it would be like 10 ramps," he said. "If you start thinking about that, it gives you a perspective." 828 Vets members donate their labor to make repairs to veterans' homes and make them accessible by building ramps. They have appliances donated and installed. One of their biggest projects was getting a well drilled so a veteran and his family could have safe water. One of their upcoming projects is going out to split firewood for a man who can no longer lift logs into his hydraulic splitter. "It's his heat for the winter," Garren said. Sometimes they are able to help veterans who have gotten behind on bills because of an injury. "We'll help them catch up to a certain level," Garren said. "We also provide counseling so that they don't stay in that hole." The group wants to help people get back on the right path and not just provide a hand-out every month. "When you give them that help, it is a huge turnaround," he said. "We are very successful. A lot of them join us. A lot them become members." 828 Vets member John Somerindyke said some of their projects are low cost or as simple as replacing a U.S. flag at a veteran's home. "When you see a vet with no legs or no arms or something, all we do is go over to his house and replace his flag. That's a warm, fuzzy feeling when you see that," he said. Their largest project to date is coming up and will be a full-house renovation funded by the VA with 828 Vets doing the work to make it handicap accessible, including leveling the floors, building a shelter over the porch where the ramp comes up and installing a generator since the veteran is on oxygen. Garren said when 828 Vets first organized five years ago they didn't have a lot of money and would raise funds for each project as needed, but now the annual donation from the Men's Group helps them take on more projects. "That gave us a jump on helping people, and it's only gotten better," he said. 828 Vets membership has grown to 206 members, allowing them to do even more in the community. "The growth that 828 has had, and as it has gotten stronger, it's a wider base in the community," said Men's Group member Fred Frankland. "Y'all are really getting well recognized, and I thought the 828 Day was a great event. It's exciting for us to see what's happening with 828." With a veteran population of nearly 3,000, Macon County has one of the largest populations of veterans in the state, especially given how far the county is from the military bases in the eastern part of the state. "That shows you the opportunity for assistance here," said Garren. 828 Vets helps veterans with the resources they need but may not be able to get through other veteran organizations or programs. They have connected with the VA Medical Center in Asheville and take calls from them. The group also works with Macon County Veterans Services Director Leigh Tabor. "She's the bomb," said 828 Vets member David Schneider. "She's touched every one of our lives." Over the years, the Men's Group has collected $85,000 to help veterans. While they have received a few large donations, most of it comes from the spare change that people put in the cannisters at businesses around town or when they have a booth set up at local festivals. "The people of Macon County have been extremely generous in doing this," said Men's Group member Tom Fagg. They are always looking for more businesses where they can place the coin collection canisters. Men's Group member Ned Kraft said over the years as more restaurants have moved to electronic payments or customers paying at the table, collections have dwindled in some places. He said they tend to collect more when people pay at a register as see the canister sitting on the counter. They also have a few popular businesses that leave the canisters out year-round, not just during Help Homeless Veterans Week. Kraft said they raised about $3,000 the first year. "This has grown exponentially," Fagg said. "Visibility and word-of-mouth, and seeing the deeds, and seeing the response and letting the community know we have veterans here in this county that need assistance, and it can make it available to them. You've got a great group of guys that are very willing to go forward and take whatever they need to make it happen. They don't let things happen – they make things happen. If you would like to make a donation during Help Homeless Veterans Week, contact First Presbyterian Church at 828-524-3119 and leave a message for Ned Kraft or Fred Frankland.

Help Homeless Veterans Week: Sept. 13-19

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