SALUTE, INC. Staff Participates in Service Day at Jesse Brown VA Center

Staff members from SALUTE, INC. participated in a service day at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center Food Pantry on February 11. They were joined by volunteers from PPM America and former Chicago Blackhawk Jamal Mayers.

During the day the group helped serve 163 veterans in the medical center's food pantry.

"This was a great representation of all that we are about at SALUTE," said Executive Director Mary Beth Beiersdorf. "While we assist veterans and their families in a number of ways, today we joined together with one of our closest partners, the Chicago Blackhawks, and some great volunteers from PPM America to just roll up our sleeves and join forces to support the meaningful work done by the Jessie Brown VA Center."

The food pantry is affiliated with the Chicago Food Depository.

More than 13,000 veterans in Cook County live below the poverty line and 18% of households who receive assistance from the Food Depository include someone who served in the U.S. Armed Forces. One of the only VA pantries in the country and the first of its kind in Illinois, the pantry is a collaboration between the Department of Veterans Affairs, AmeriCorps and the Food Depository.

"This has been an annual event for our staff, and we look forward to continuing to be a part of this important facility in the future," said Beiersdorf after the event.

The Palatine-based nonprofit organization is dedicated to meeting the financial, physical and emotional needs of injured military service members, veterans and their families, at critical times. For more information visit www.saluteinc.org.