"Help Hospitalized Veterans" is more than a common sense thought, it's the name of one of the most unique non-profits I've ever come across.

I spent Wednesday afternoon with a great group of vets.  People who had served in various branches of the armed forces.  Some from recent conflicts like Bosnia & the Middle East.  Others from the eras of Viet Nam, Korea, and the Cold War. All brothers in arms.  I listened to their stories and made some new friends.  Today, we were all brothers in playtime I say!

 

Help Hospitalized Veterans is a non-profit that came about when some folks in San Diego, concerned about a group of Marines recuperating from action in Viet Nam in nearby Balboa Naval Hospital, asked the guys what they could do to help.  All the devil dogs wanted was something to do to make their time hospitalized a bit more bearable.  A year later HHV was begun.  To this day they work with vets to provide free therapeutic arts and crafts to make sure the mind and soul are healed along with the body.

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Vets can choose models, ranging from easily assembled plastics to precise wooden replicas of stagecoaches & ships.  And it doesn't stop there.  Stained glass kits, leather crafts, puzzles, the list goes on and on.  All free for any vet anytime.

HHV goes to VA Hospitals, state veteran's homes, and to the homebound spreading their medicine you can't get in a bottle.  As well, they work in support of such organizations such as Wounded Warrior Ministries and sponsor Bugles Across America, providing bugle services at funerals for vets.  And this is just the tip of the iceberg.  Stop by and check them out at 2508 S. 5th Street in Temple across from Temple College.

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