Veterans, who donated to support club efforts, say items from home matter
LINWOOD — Students at Mainland Regional High School go out of their way to remember service members serving away from home. Veterans are heartened by their efforts and say it is nice to know someone from home is thinking about you when you’re far away.
Last week, culminating Saturday, the Support Our Troops Club at MRHS collected supplies for service members overseas and on Thursday evening, two veterans groups presented checks to the group to help with their efforts.
The club was looking for items such as toothbrushes and toothpaste, body wash, stick deodorant, emery boards, talcum powder, baby wipes, ground coffee, beef sticks, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, gummy fish, licorice and Skittles – little things that don’t seem important to members of the military serving abroad but actually can have an outsized meaning.
Capt. Rick Palatucci of VFW Post 6964 in Brigantine and representing the Warfighters Foundation, was impressed by the efforts of the club and its adviser, Veronica Fath.
“It’s pretty exciting. The youth of America is here and what this young lady, Veronica Fath, is doing is amazing,” Palatucci said. “She is full of iron and vinegar and motion. I can’t say enough. She’s what’s happening here for the future. God bless her and the lady who had the job before her, Jo Carney, who passed away. She was a wonderful human being.
(Fath) hasn’t missed a beat here. She is picking up after Jo and we’re proud of what she’s doing.”
“I think it’s great,” said Capt. Wayne Heaton, representing the Brigantine VFW post. “I see this in students all over in Atlantic County and the students at Mainland Regional doing this activity is really great. We’re happy to present them money to help them do the work and we appreciate the youth are involved appreciating the veterans, appreciating the active duty service members.”
Fath said the club is working with Operation Yellow Ribbon from the Haddonfield, Cinnaminson, Marlton and Medford areas. After finishing the collection Saturday, the group took the supplies to Operation Yellow Ribbon.
Before Thursday evening’s boys basketball game, Palatucci presented a $500 check from the American Warfighters Foundation and Heaton presented a check for $500 from the VFW post. Palatucci noted the Elks Club in Brigantine earlier donated to the club as well.
“Today I acquired another donation from the American War Fighters Foundation headed up (locally) by an accountant, Michael Merlino, who is a very benevolent guy, a veterans advocate who also is the past president of the American Legion Riders, of which I’m still a member.” (The Warfighters website says it “mobilizes the powerful forces of community and patriotism to combat and overcome critical emergency situations for our vets.”)
Bob Easterday represented the Legion Riders at the check presentation, which took place at center court just before the game started.
The effort carries more meaning than just sending supplies to the troops overseas.
“I was away from home and it really meant a lot to have a package from home or to have a package from someone else,” Heaton explained. “You were thrilled when a roommate or your buddy got a package because you felt part of that excitement. It was something from home. It was that connection from home.
“It meant that someone was thinking about you, appreciating what you were doing, appreciating that you were away from home and missing you as much as you were missing them,” he said.
Club members accepting the checks at the game included senior Carly McCarthy and freshmen Maddie Blanche, Olivia Carlton, Lily Wineland and Maddie Turon. All of the girls are from Northfield.
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff