BROWNSTOWN — To make sure everyone is taken care of for Christmas, a group in Brownstown has taken donations for more than 10 years to give bags filled with necessities to those who have fought for our country.
On Tuesday night at Zabel Funeral Home, the group of around 20 people put together bags that contained soap, shampoo, toothpaste, a toothbrush, deodorant, socks, a blanket and other essential items.
The group then took the bags home to deliver them to Jackson County veterans who are in nursing homes or homebound.
Judy Gilbert and her husband, Wayne Gilbert, former owners of Brownstown Greenhouse, started the project around 13 years ago. Judy said helping veterans is passionate to her because Wayne is a veteran and her father-in-law was a career veteran who went around the world twice and served for 24 years and nine months. At one point, he was inside a submarine when it was hit by a torpedo.
A giving spirit, Judy said she looks forward to getting the bags together for the holidays and will buy items throughout the year to be ready.
“Lot of times throughout the year, if I’m at the grocery store or the dollar store, I’ll pick up a couple of items and I’ll drop them in a box,” she said. “That’s for veterans, and that’s in a closet and I bring it out.”
Wayne said this year had the most amount of donations they’ve received so far.
Brownstown resident Samuel Allman said being able to help veterans was important to him because he served himself and they’re the reason Americans have peace and freedom.
“What little I can do here is nothing compared to those who are in the nursing homes and hospitals today because of service and their involvement in the wars that they fought in, and the sacrifices they gave are far greater than anything that I’ve done,” he said. “It’s a privilege and an honor to be able to reach out and do what little that I have done for these individuals that deserve so much better than what a lot of them have. It’s rewarding.”
Zabel Funeral Home Director Miko McRoy said he was glad to be able to provide the funeral home for the project, and his efforts aren’t about the facility but making sure veterans are taken care of.
“Our veterans went out there and did a lot of stuff for us,” he said. “We have our freedoms. We have the greatest country in the world. It’s just a little giving back that we can do.”