VFW steps up for needs of area vets
BY HOLLY KEE
HKEE@BENTONEVENINGNEWS.COM
For the 100 veterans living their final chapter at the Anna Veteran's Home, life can be challenging. For some, just joining the social areas requires more assistance than is often available.
When a state-contracted therapist at the home became frustrated with circumstances beyond her control, she stepped in and asked the president of the Beggs-Gurley VFW Auxiliary 5222 in Vienna for help.
What was needed was a way for bedridden patients to be able to join in the social areas of the home. The District made the request for its project, raising enough funds to purchase two "Guidi" chairs.
The chair, imported from Italy, is a wheelchair that can accommodate patients with poor trunk control who spend long periods lying down or semi-reclined.
About a dozen members of District 15 drove to the home Tuesday morning to present a check for $5,100.
About half of the money came from VFW Foundation grants given to posts in Benton, Creal Springs and the Herrin Auxiliary. The rest came from donations from the Daughters of Isabella Monsignor de Gasperie Circle No. 959 in Herrin as well as posts in Benton, Mounds, Vienna and the Vienna Auxiliary.
District Commander Gary Fravel said it was an honor to be able to provide the funds.
"We were informed of a need for some veterans that were not being served properly," he said. "We stepped up to try to meet the needs of our fellow veterans who can't really help themselves."