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Veterans' group helps out shelter

The scars many of the residents at the Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans carry are somewhere inside just waiting for an emotional or psychological stitch to get the servicemen back on their feet.

On Friday, shelter residents and staff were joined by a group of veterans who bear scars on the outside -- the result of their combat wounds.

The Military Order of the Purple Heart, which just recently opened a Wheaton chapter, presented a $10,000 check to the shelter with promises of more future support, both financial and in the form of helping hands.

"It's very serious for us," said Ken Jacobs, a member of the Wheaton Purple Heart chapter. "We almost died on the battlefield. We almost gave everything. And just because we're home doesn't mean we're going to stop giving."

While the shelter and the chapter both exist in the same community, it took a chance meeting of shelter staff and chapter members to bring them together. They met during a lobbying trip in Washington, D.C.

The meeting already has resulted in benefits for both groups.

Because the order is a smaller organization than, say, the American Legion, chapters are able to donate 85 percent of their revenue directly back to veterans.

"We're a small organization, but we're a very unique organization because we have to have a criteria to be a member," said Dan Finn, the order's state commander.

"We had to shed blood for this country," he added. "We're veterans helping veterans."

Finn said that's exactly why the Purple Hearts chose to help the shelter. Most shelter staff and administrators are veterans as well.

The shelter will use the $10,000 donation for daily operations and possibly to help the drive toward expansion. The city will host a hearing on the proposed expansion early next month.

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