Ribbon-cutting ceremony held for Elk Grove VFW Hall elevator
On Saturday, Jan. 11, VFW Post 9284 held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new elevator at the VFW Hall in Elk Grove, 400 E. Devon Ave.
Prior to this project, the VFW Hall had no ground flood entry and the only point of entrance into the VFW Hall was by staircase. The installation of this elevator is the culmination of community efforts to support our veterans by making the VFW Hall truly accessible for veterans and guests.
This project first began when Kitty Weiner proposed the idea of raising funds to help the VFW install an elevator. Mayor Johnson saw an opportunity to achieve this goal by connecting Weiner with the owners of Castle Chevrolet - Joe Castelbuono, Tony Castelbuono and Bob Politza - who generously donated a new Corvette to raise funds in the "Vette for Vets Car Raffle" in 2017.
The Elk Grove community raised $178,953 through raffle ticket sales, along with many generous donations from the Elk Grove business community. These funds were donated to VFW Post 9284 to support this project.
The installation of an elevator into an existing building is a complex project, and presented many challenges throughout the development period, including additional costs that exceeded the original fundraising estimates.
Earlier this year, Bill Keeley of Keeley Construction stepped in and offered to take over the project construction and help out in closing the gap on the fundraising side.
In addition to donating their services, Kelley Construction reached out to several subcontractors who provided both labor and monetary donations, including: Connelly Electric, Peloza Construction, Andy's Exterior, Chicago Masonry, Calderon Plumbing, Windward Roofing, Cote Decorating, Sun Mechanical, Custom Carpet, AAA Glass, Frama Building Products and Floyd Steel.
"We are beyond thankful for all the support from our exceptional community," said Johnson.
"We are grateful to Kitty Weiner for proposing this project to support the needs of our local veterans, to Castle Chevrolet for donating a Corvette in support of the cause, to the Community Character Coalition of Elk Grove for running the car raffle, and to Keeley Construction for helping finalize this monumental project for those who have served our country."