In honor of veterans, both current and retired, two organizations partnered to donate a turkey dinner in hopes of making veterans’ Thanksgiving holiday a lot brighter.
The Santa Clarita Veteran Services Collaborative in partnership with the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6885 hosted a turkey drive on Saturday afternoon in Canyon Country. Local businesses and food pantries provided the organizations with approximately 68 turkeys with prepackaged foods for veterans.
“We thought it was important to host a turkey drive to provide for veterans and their families,” said Albert Rodriguez, a Marine veteran and president of the Santa Clarita Veteran Services Collaborative. “Especially with such hard times now.”
Rodriguez said they donated approximately 40 turkeys by 3 p.m. They hoped to donate the remainder to veterans.
Sisters Wendy and Kelly Logan, members of the VFW 6885, volunteered their time to the turkey drive. They appreciate the businesses and local organizations such as the Santa Clarita Grocery, Grocery Outlet and Trader Joes for donating the food for veterans.
“It’s important to help the community and important for everybody to have a nice Thanksgiving dinner, especially if they may be struggling,” Wendy said. “We feel it’s important to take care of our community and our veterans.”
The Veteran Services Collaborative offers supportive services to local veterans who come from different ranks, Rodriguez said.
“In the military, we don’t discriminate, we are just veterans,” Rodriguez said. “We’re located at 22322 Lyons Ave. in Newhall. We’re open Monday to Fridays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and offer a wide range of supportive services to our veterans.”
Luis Victor served as a non-combat engineer in Vietnam in 1969 and he got out of the service in 1975. He joined VFW for more than 20 years.
“VFW gives people a place to go that has been through a complex campaign, war or hazardous area,” Victor said.
It’s open to families of veterans too. VFW gives a community to veterans and they often host holiday celebrations where members can come in, drink a beer and enjoy a good time, Victor said.
“Our job is to give information to our local veterans,” Rodriguez said. “We can help them with disability claims, help them with food or provide them with a place where they can come in, hang out and share their stories. It’s a community.”
