GI Go Fund Executive Director Jack Fanous (left) gives a veteran in need a $50 Walmart gift card for the holidays during the Ocean County Veterans Service Bureau’s Annual Christmas Toy Drive.
Toms River, NJ (PRWEB) December 24, 2013
As countless veterans struggle to provide for their families during the holidays, including so many of our former military personnel still struggling one year after Superstorm Sandy, it is the responsibility of all those whom our veterans fought to protect to take care of them in their greatest time of need.
With this thought in mind, the GI Go Fund offered to lend a helping hand to those veterans who are struggling the most, handing out over eighty $50 Walmart gift cards to veterans in Ocean County and throughout the state of New Jersey. The cards will be valid at any Walmart store, giving veterans the chance to purchase food, clothing, and toys for their families this Christmas.
The cards were distributed during the Ocean County Veterans Service Bureau’s Annual Christmas Toy Drive, where veterans and their loved ones were offered toys and a free turkey for the holidays. The drive is held every year by the Ocean County Veterans Service Bureau, and assists hundreds of veterans in need every year.
“I am so honored to have been able to meet these veterans and their families for Christmas,” said GI Go Executive Director Jack Fanous. “But the reality is that this day, however heartwarming it seemed, was actually heartbreaking. To see proud men and women who served this country in so much need is a tragedy. These Americans were willing to give anything else we would ask of them, including their lives, on the promise that we would care for them and their families when they came home. It is safe to say we have broken that promise. I made a promise to these men and women today, and it is a promise I now make to all veterans: I will tell every neighbor I have, every person I meet, and every politician I see that we must treat you all with the respect and dignity you’ve earned. Until we keep that promise to our veterans, we do not deserve to call ourselves Americans. I wish all of our heroes a Merry Christmas happy holidays and a joyful and prosperous new year!”
The organization offers this support to veterans in need every year, as it has distributed nearly 1000 gift cards throughout the past three years to veterans in the area looking for a helping hand during the holidays.
The GI Go Fund is working to ensure that the veterans along the shore and throughout South Jersey get the services and support they need. In addition to the gift cards, the organization is working to expand healthcare access to veterans in the area, as well as assisting them find employment, go to college, collect their benefits, and find housing.