“Fill the Combat Boot” event in Northeast Oregon raises $3,100 for local vets
By Joe Hathaway on Friday, May 3rd, 2024 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
NORTHEAST OREGON — Hundreds of people recently opened their hearts and wallets to support local veterans.
The first-annual “Fill the Combat Boot” event was held in La Grande, Pendleton, Hermiston and Umatilla. More than two dozen volunteers collected money at the four locations with boots for people to drop cash in.
The total collected for all four locations was $3,101.
The project was created and hosted by the Pacific Veterans Northwest Alliance (PNWVA) and the Fair Housing Council Of Oregon.
“We held this event during fair housing month just to raise awareness and to generate funds for veterans that are facing housing challenges within the area,” said Shannon White, Executive Director of the PNWVA. “So these funds that we raised directly support veterans with utility assistance, rent, mortgage, and move-in costs.
PNW Veterans Alliance is a non-profit organization for veterans and their families in Umatilla, Morrow and Union counties. Along with offering support for those with PTSD, the organization also provides assistance with rent, utilities and food, among other needs more difficult to anticipate.
“We try to cover any gaps that veterans and their families need help with,” Shannon said. “That includes fuel, food, clothes,housing repairs, even scholarships for school and help finding jobs.”
Shannon and other organizers say they are grateful for the community support for the “Fill the Combat Boot” event.
“It was pretty incredible to see so many people show up to all four locations during the event,” said Shannon. “We had people just show up to chat with us and veterans also showing up to learn more about the programs we offer.”
“It was so heartwarming to see the support we received, and we collected more than we anticipated,” said Glenda Moyer of the Fair Housing Council, who also helped create the event.
Shannon says they hope to make this an annual event, and hold another one next April.
Local veterans seeking help can contact the Pacific Northwest Veterans Alliance at (541) 701-8006 or visit their website at https://pnwveteransalliance.org/.
