What's Happening in Merrick, NY…

The Stand Down outreach program just completed its second annual event to assist local veterans in need.

The group works with other nonprofits and government agencies to provide clothing, food, and much more to homeless and needy veterans. This year, students from Bellmore-Merrick Central High School worked as volunteers to help the veterans find what they needed during the event.

Students were paired with veterans and given the duty of escorting the men and women around the armory to locate the item or service they needed. Dental clinics, haircuts, and flu shots were available, free-of-charge, to the guests of the event. The students prepared for their task during their leadership class. This optional course is provided to encourage students to take a more active role in their community. The decision to take part came as a suggestion from a student, Jarod Del Orfano. His experience as a volunteer the previous year encouraged him to suggest the event to his school.

The veterans attending the event were greeted warmly by the volunteers and everyone had the opportunity to meet and learn more about each other. Students discussed their future plans with the veterans they escorted and many expressed their gratitude to them for helping to make the world a safer place for them.

Additional class assignments could help this annual event to gain more attention by having the students work with printing companies to create promotional information packets to encourage more contributions from area residents and businesses.