"Operation Recovery: Call to Action" and "The Servicemember Rescue and Recovery Fund"
On April 2nd, over 45 people gathered at First Congregational Church, UCC of Amherst, MA to hear about Operation Recovery and the Soldier’s Relief and Recovery Fund. Iraq Veterans Against the War, Amherst Chapter and Veterans for Peace Chapter 95 sponsored this call to action.
The point of this evening was to gather activists, veterans and allies from the Western Massachusetts area and help them step up to support, protect, and defend the troops who put their lives on the line to protect and defend the people. When the communities reach out to pick up the soldiers left behind, abused, or neglected by the military and government, they are introduced to an accepting family outside of the military and reintroduced to humanity. This kind of work has been allowed to suffer as these wars have dragged on. We in IVAW and VFP all feel very passionately, that this kind of work must once again be a top priority for us.
The evening started with a few introductory remarks from Pastor Gary Grimes, youth pastor at First Cong. Church. He was followed by two powerful songs by the local band Red Valley Fog. (www.myspace.com/redvalleyfog)
During the course of the evening, we heard about the national campaign Operation Recovery from Chantelle, North East Regional Organizer from IVAW. Selena, Membership Coordinator for IVAW, spoke about reaching to soldiers as part of Operation and we heard about upcoming local efforts to help soldiers heal from Jennifer Blain, member of IVAW, Amherst Chapter.
Ted Goodnight, member of both IVAW Amherst chapter and VFP Chapter 95, was able to introduce our brand new project - The Servicemember Rescue and Recovery Fund: a fund to be able pay for a soldier's need health or mental health care at facilities outside of the military system. Due to your amazing generosity, we were able to raise $272 for this fund! It’s a great start for a powerful project!
After the speakers, we broke up into small groups for a discussion about how people can get involved in helping us reach out to soldiers in need of healing. About 2/3rds of those who came stayed to engage in these discussions. Many good points were raised and many of you who came committed to helping with the outreach! Thanks to the many folks who took the role of facilitators during these small group discussions.
As we look to the future of the local Operation Recovery effort, on Saturday, April 30, we will be again gathering at First Congregational Church to begin an intensive time of training in anticipation of beginning outreach to soldiers in the local area. This training will begin at 3pm and will feature several speakers as well as one-on-one practice and role playing scenarios.
Special thanks to Pastor Gary Grimes and the members of 1st Congregational Church in Amherst, Massachusetts for their hospitality and willingness to host such an amazing event.