The county of Santa Barbara, 5th District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino, and 100 local agencies, businesses, organizations, and individuals have partnered to host the county’s first-ever veterans’ Stand Down event, to be held from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Santa Maria Fairpark on Oct. 13. Hundreds of local veterans in need will receive meals, haircuts, showers, fresh clothes, medical and dental services, employment counseling, legal aid, and more.
Stand Down events are part of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ effort to provide much-needed services to our country’s veterans. The first Stand Down was organized in 1988 by a group of Vietnam veterans in San Diego. Since then, the events have reached more than 200,000 veterans and their family members.
“These men and women deserve everything that we can do for them to help them get back to as normal a life as one can have after experiencing the misery of war,” local businessman Steve LeBard said in an e-mail to the Sun. “Our wars sometimes unite us and sometimes divide us, but our soldiers and sailors are always there for one reason: to fight for freedom—your freedom.”
Official event fliers and posters can be downloaded and printed at sbcountystanddown.com for distribution at local offices, schools, or churches.
LeBard is also making larger posters and vinyl banners for the public to use to get the word out. He can be contacted at 714-1165.
For more information, or to volunteer, call Stand Down coordinator Sandy Agalos at 346-8400. Veterans and volunteers must be pre-registered to participate. Donations can be dropped off at the Betteravia Government Center, located at 511 E. Lakeside Parkway, in Santa Maria.
Managing Editor Amy Asman compiled this week’s Community Corner. Send comments or ideas to the Sun via e-mail at aasman@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Sep 6-13, 2012.