Students volunteer at HVAF

Students from IUPUI and Ivy Tech joined forces to paint the women’s clothing pantry at HVAF. The fresh coat of paint brightens up the room which is used to store, sort, and distribute clothing. Ten percent of the veterans HVAF serves are women.

On any given night in the United States, nearly 40,000 veterans are homeless. That's according to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans. A 2014 study from Disabled American Veterans found that eight percent of those homeless veterans are women.

Students from IUPUI

Volunteers worked all day in the women’s clothing pantry which is bustling during HVAF’s outreach hours held every Tuesday and Thursday from 12:30-3:30pm. During outreach voluntees help fill orders of clothing requests from the veterans.  

Software provider volunteers at HVAF

First time volunteers Lindsey McLelland and five others from Blackbaud, a supplier of software and services, volunteered at HVAF in December. The group sorted and stocked donations in HVAF’s clothing pantry. Lindsey was introduced to HVAF through a co-worker and then researched volunteer opportunities at hvaf.org.

“We were looking for an organization that uses our eTapestry product because we were training a class of new eTap customer support analysts,” said Lindsey McLelland, Employee Success Trainer for eTapestry and The Raiser’s Edge.

HVAF relies on its volunteers for help organizing the food, hygiene and clothing pantries. Each month roughly 10-15 volunteer groups roll up their sleeves and give back to HVAF.

Blackbaud volunteers at HVAF

Week of Hope volunteers at HVAF

Week of Hope volunteers at HVAF

Week of Hope, a nonprofit organization that supports youth summer mission trips, sent 40 volunteers to HVAF during the month of July. The volunteers represented church and faith communities from across the country, and they fanned out into Indianapolis neighborhoods where HVAF properties are located, working alongside HVAF maintenance staff and clients to beautify housing properties.

Volunteers are important partners in our efforts to end homelessness among veterans by supporting their return to self-sufficiency and engaging at-risk veterans to prevent them from becoming homeless.

The Week of Hope teams, which arrived in small groups of 10-15 along with a group leader for one-week projects at a time, painted porches at the La Fever, Jackson, and Newton properties and they removed clutter from the Keltner House.

The Udell House built in the 1950's is one of HVAF's older properties. The home had not had any updates to its cement block garage since HVAF acquired the property in 1999. Volunteers cleaned and painted the garage and cut weeds that had blocked the garage. They also scraped off the old paint and repainted it.

Autumn Weaver, 16, signed up for service work through her Lutheran Church in Garner, Iowa, and painted porches. Her father is a veteran and so this project holds a special place in her heart because she always wanted to serve those who have served.

Josh Brown, 18, from Decatur, Alabama, traveled to Indianapolis with a group of 20.

Volunteer Josh Brown at HVAF

"We met one gentleman (veteran) when we took the old carpet out and he was so thankful for just the small things, and it makes me feel so thankful for the little things," he says.

We showed our thanks for their work by awarding all Week of Hope volunteers a certificate of appreciation as well as HVAF logo key chains, but we believe the greatest gift the volunteers took home was a greater knowledge of the issue of homelessness among veterans.

"It was almost unthinkable for our kids that our brave men and women veterans would find themselves homeless, and that is one of the reasons why they've been so motivated to help," says Project Leader Sarah Roelofs.

"These volunteers have taken time out of their day to help out others in need," says HVAF Volunteer Coordinator Rachel Anderson.  "Whether they came in for 2 hours or 30, we recognize that without their enthusiasm and hard work we couldn't do it alone
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A vision for something better

Baptist Academy sent 15 seventh grade students to HVAF on May 12 to sort and stock donations for distribution to veterans in need. Students say they did not know much about HVAF before volunteering but the project gave them a greater awareness of homelessness among the veteran population in Indianapolis.

(Zeke Brown and Zach Ownsy (Left to right)

“I feel like they have given a lot to us and this is the least we can do,” says Zach, whose grandfather served in the U.S. Army.

Harold Thomas, an academy teacher and the field-trip sponsor, says that HVAF is one of several nonprofits the group of students would visit during its day of service.

“It is nice seeing the kids work together as they develop a heart of compassion for helping others,” says Harold.

HVAF shows its appreciation for volunteers

A visit from a wounded U.S. veteran turned Paralympic champion highlighted our annual recognition luncheon for HVAF volunteers, which is celebrated as a part of National Volunteer Appreciation Month in April.

Navy Lt. Brad Snyder's final combat deployment took him to Afghanistan, where he defused bombs for a Navy SEAL team. Nearly three years ago, an explosion blasted shrapnel into his face. He remained conscious the whole time as medics struggled to reach him.   

Upon returning from war, Snyder relied on veterans organizations and community supporters to recover from his injuries and eventually joined the U.S. Paralympic swim team. He went on to win a gold medal in the 400-meter freestyle. 

In his remarks to HVAF volunteers, Snyder emphasized the importance of community in helping veterans meet the unique needs and challenges they face.

At the luncheon, HVAF personally recognized members of its community of supporters, the people described by Snyder as crucial to ensuring veterans find success after their duty to our country is completed.  Among the supporters at the luncheon where representative of Church 52, which cooks and serves dinner each month at the Warman property, home to more than 40 homeless veterans.

"We are so honored to work with HVAF and do what we do," says Michael Prothero of Church 52. 

His wife, Vicki adds, "We have been blessed beyond measure and are thankful to be able to give back to veterans."

Other recognized volunteer efforts from the year passed included a group from the Associated Builders of Contractors (ABC) for its work to rehab the Loyd garage. The Indy Racing League performed a makeover on the Jackson house. A team from Home Depot renovated the kitchen at Keltner House, helped renovate Udell House, and painted all the interior walls at Warman property. 

We are so lucky to have so many passionate volunteers that they are too numerous to mention them all, but they all have the most sincere thanks of our veterans. Last year, HVAF volunteers contributed 12,500 volunteer hours, which equates to around $270,000 worth of volunteer labor. What an amazing number!

Special thanks to these groups for making the Volunteer Appreciation luncheon possible: Kincaid's Meat Market for donating the burgers and dogs, Entenmann's for donating the buns. Thanks to Phil Anderson and Vice Admiral Terry Cross, USCG (Ret.), from Carmel Rotary for grilling.