January is a time of renewed hope. A time to embark on a journey of commitment to make a difference in your life and your community. We can offer a challenge to our fellow veterans that will make the rest of their lives rewarding and fruitful. Our Veterans Club volunteers are a vital part of the Marion County fabric of veteran life. I will list just a few of the many ways you can contribute to Ocala.
The Marion County Memorial Honor Guard performed over 200 ceremonies in 2024. Our hospice veteran recognition team paid honors to hundreds of veterans through the system. We collected Toys for Tots. We held food and disaster relief collections for victims of food insecurity and hurricane relief. We helped veterans navigate the VA pathways through our new Veterans Resource Center. Vets Helping Vets provided food, over-the-counter products, paths to employment and many other services.
The Marion County Veterans Council is working on providing housing to disabled veterans with two new housing projects through the Marion County Home for Veterans project. We helped Mary Beth Bell provide over 500 bears and blankets to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and the Ocala Police Department.
Our American Legion awarded over $6,000 in help for community projects. The Blue Star Mothers raised and distributed over $14,000 to community projects. The Vet Resource Center was awarded $350,000 in grants for the early detection of cancer in Vietnam veterans and Gulf War burn pit veterans. The Marion County Veterans Council started a Hometown Heroes project, placing banners of our living heroes in the Ocala Veterans Park.
If you are a resident veteran, I challenge you to make a difference in 2025. Join one of our volunteer groups and make a difference in your community that you can look back on with pride.
The Veterans Club meets monthly on the third Thursday of the month at the Arbor Conference Center Dance Studios I-IV at 3 p.m.
Author: Charlie Calhoun
Photo Credit: Charles Dodge, “Marion County Memorial Honor Guard.”
