Project planned to help veterans and beautify Warsaw
COSHOCTON – The goals of Operation Give Back are to make the Warsaw community a little brighter and help make more veterans aware of health service available to them.
The Saturday, June 8 event is being planned by Jack Selig, outreach coordinator for the Chalmers P. Wylie VA Ambulatory Care Clinic in Columbus, and the Ohio Army Reserves, who will do the community service projects in Warsaw.
“A survey found that VA services are lacking in rural communities and he (Selig) wants to repair that with smaller communities like Warsaw and connect with people,” said Jim Barstow, veterans’ service officer. “He wants to get new patients in the VA health system and let them know what’s available and where it is at.”
Barstow stated that there are 3,200 veterans in Coshocton County and only one third of them are receiving VA healthcare.
“There is a large amount of veterans locally who are not connected to benefits,” he said.
The VA will bring its mobile unit to Warsaw and the 758th Maintenance Army Reserve unit also will be there to do river bank and cemetery clean up, painting and other projects picked out by village officials.
“From our mobile unit we will be able to do five minute interviews and give those who have never been enrolled in the system the chance to get involved,” Selig said. “Our intent is to keep veterans healthy.”
Barstow hopes that veterans in the county will take advantage of this opportunity.
“A lot of times we hear veterans say they don’t want to take away from veterans who need help worse,” he said. “We are here to help all veterans in one way or another.”
While the VA is working to educate the public, the soldiers of the 758th and their family members, who are also invited to be part of the community service day, will spend seven hours doing what they can to beautify Warsaw.
“It’s their way of saying thank you to the community for supporting soldiers,” Selig said. “Most of them have been in theater and served active duty.”
Veterans’ organizations also are welcome to set up information tents at Operation Give Back and Selig said donations of food, drinks and ice also will be welcome. Anyone wishing to help out with the event can contact Selig at 614-257-5579 or jack.selig@va.gov. More detailed plans for the day will be shared with the public once they are finalized.
“It’s all about helping the veterans who made the sacrifice to serve their country,” Selig said.
josie@coshoctoncountybeacon.com
Category: People & Places
