Schaumburg Home Depot donates $1,000 to Streamwood VFW

A $1,000 grant from the Schaumburg Home Depot store to Arnold/Heath Memorial VFW Post 5151 in Streamwood originally was intended to help maintain and improve its headquarters.

But after the post recently lost its home to the financial strain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders found another good cause for the funding - support for its Operation Airlift, which ships donated personal hygiene items and nonperishable snacks to U.S. soldiers deployed overseas.

The check presentation occurred at Home Depot last week, less than a month after the VFW post moved out of its old site. The grants are intended to provide funding for the upkeep of posts' buildings.

"That's one of the things that gives me joy every day, that I can help veterans," said Rich Hirschberg, pro desk associate at the Schaumburg Home Depot.

But because of COVID, the post was unable to raise money last year through fundraisers like bingo nights or rentals of the building it has leased for more than a decade, VFW Post 5151 Commander Jerry Gold said. As a result, the headquarters was vacated in a cost-cutting move.

"We were going to do a lot of renovations within the post," Gold said.

Now the grant will be repurposed to help convert donated space at a local warehouse into a staging area for Operation Airlift. It will allow the VFW to maintain its mission to help the soldiers of today, Gold said.

Those interested in contributing to the effort can learn more at the post's website, vfw5151.org. Gold said there are numerous items that can be used by the soldiers, but emphasized that perishable items, sprays and aerosols can't be shipped.