St. Mary of Huntley Knights' dinner benefits local veterans charities
In early 2015, the members of the St. Mary of Huntley Knights of Columbus Council 11666, along with the Knights of Columbus Ladies Auxiliary 73, wanted to honor veterans and raise funds for charitable endeavors for veterans.
A decision was made to hold a pasta dinner Nov. 7. Many local businesses also joined in to support the Veterans Pasta Dinner in various ways. The businesses included American Community Bank, DeFiore Jorgensen Funeral and Cremation Services, Huntley Realty, Adams Collision Services, Re/Max Realty-Mimi Geiger, Eli's Cheesecake, Dean's Foods, Culver's, Woodstock Harley-Davidson, Bistro Wasabi, Brunch Café, and Tom Peck Ford.
At the dinner, serving more than 380 attendees, including veterans from all branches of service and conflicts, it was announced that proceeds raised would be donated to the Huntley Area Veterans Foundation, Transitional Living Services Inc. of McHenry County and the Gary Sinise Foundation.
At the December meeting, the Knights presented a check for $1,500 to the Huntley Area Veterans Foundation to help build the Huntley Veterans Memorial.
The Huntley Area Veterans Foundation was founded in 2014 with the purpose of honoring area veterans. The initial goal is to build a memorial to remember and recognize those who have served to protect our freedom. In the future, the foundation will also provide educational, medical, and housing support for veterans.
A black granite monument will honor the six branches of the military including Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Merchant Marines, and Coast Guard. Each branch's flag also will be placed behind the corresponding section of the memorial.
Additionally, the memorial will feature a round Gold Star Boys Monument honoring those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country. Granite benches will flank the monument to recognize Purple Hearts and Prisoners of War with distinction.
The village of Huntley has generously donated space in the Huntley Town Square for the memorial.
For information about the Huntley Area Veterans Foundation, visit www.huntleyveterans.org or call (847) 669-3668.
Another check for $1,500 was presented to Alan Belcher, founder of Transitional Living Services Inc. TLS was founded in 1996 and since 2001 has owned and operated New Horizons, a center in Hebron, Illinois, for local homeless veterans who want a chance to rebuild their lives. The Knights asked that the funds be used for the New Horizon Center to help local vets in need of transitional help.
The TLS Veterans' mission is to provide the highest quality services available, rendered in a humane and compassionate manner that promotes dignity and personal choice to veterans. New Horizons shelters 30 to 45 veterans a year and offers a wraparound program, an intervention strategy designed to address each veteran's individual needs by "wrapping" a comprehensive array of services around the veteran. Its rules and regulations reflect a philosophy of self-help, discipline and reward. Finding sustainable employment is stressed. Direct case management services, maintaining sobriety and efforts toward stability and independent living are keys to success. Most services are funded by federal, state and local agencies, primarily the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, VA hospitals and clinics and groups within the McHenry County Mental Health Board network.
Veterans who graduate New Horizons are not forgotten. TLS encourages New Horizons graduates to enroll in TLS-Aftercare, an extension of direct services provided by TLS coupled with referrals to community-based supportive services stabilizing the veteran's success. TLS' also operates a drop-in center in McHenry that serves as a hub for a Lake-McHenry County initiative focusing on the well-being of veterans and military families. The initiative's major goals are to reduce veteran homelessness, suicide prevention and reduction of psychiatric hospitalizations by transforming the way services are delivered. It is planning the construction of an 85-unit supportive living facility in Rockford.
Veterans from World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Operation Desert Storm and Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom have participated in TLS services and have gone on to find employment, reconnect with their communities and rejoin their families. For information about TLS, visit tlsveterans.org or call (815) 679-6667.
The Gary Sinise Foundation, in partnership with the Knights of Columbus, received a check for $3,500. Speaking as a special guest Aug. 4 at the Knights of Columbus 132nd annual convention in Orlando, Florida, actor Gary Sinise, who played Lt. Dan in the movie "Forrest Gump," thanked the Knights of Columbus for its support of his foundation for wounded military personnel, saying, "You have shown that you can be a shining light of hope" for severely injured veterans.
In his annual report in the afternoon, Supreme Knight Carl Anderson had announced that the Order provided $200,000 to the Gary Sinise Foundation to help build a computer-equipped "smart" home for U.S. Army Cpl. Kyle Hockenberry, who lost both legs and his left arm in an improvised explosive device attack in Afghanistan. Located in Marietta, Ohio, the home is custom built to accommodate a wheelchair and the special challenges faced by Hockenberry and his wife, Ashley.
After Sinise's moving address, Anderson received wholehearted applause from the 2,000 Knights and their family members attending the States Dinner when he asked if the Order should continue its collaboration with the Gary Sinise Foundation. For more information about the Gary Sinise Foundation, visit garysinisefoundation.org.
The Knights of Columbus is an international Catholic family fraternal service organization with nearly 1.8 million members in over 15,000 local councils. Last year, Knights donated 70 million volunteer hours and $170 million in charitable and benevolent causes, sponsoring projects to benefit their church, councils, communities, families and youth.