Every year, Paradise Post 149 is honored to work with Walker Furniture to select deserving veterans in the community in need of furniture. Requests for assistance were as simple as a new mattress, or a recliner to help someone with an injured back, to more complex requests for specialized equipment like a lift bed. In some cases, Walker has provided furnishings for a complete household.
Our selection process involved a dozen post members who reviewed and scored each request, followed up by a home visit by Post Commander Tim Gomez and other officers of the post. Based on the needs, each rater's score was averaged out to select the top 20 for home visits.
Larry Alterwitz, the owner of Walker Furniture, presented certificates to each person selected, and provided a catered lunch from John Mull's Meats' Road Kill Grill. The Road Kill Grill has also been our annual sponsor for the Rock the Troops event each April, so the community network keeps getting better and better.
This year, a group of children in 1st grade made a slew of greeting cards that we placed on each table for our recipients to read. It was a nice touch to add to this annual event and maybe next year we can bring those children to the presentation event.
This program is one of the most emotional programs we are involved with each year, because of the personal involvement of our members and the recipients. It is a humbling experience, but one that optimizes corporate philanthropy on the part of Walker Furniture, and of The American Legion's motto of Veterans Helping Veterans.
Pictures can be found at https://goo.gl/photos/Xd7Ux7EsZK3gS4dk9 or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pg/Paradise149/photos/?tab=album&album_id=10154...