Objective Rome

For those that did not know, the veterans of Whatcom County, through the Whatcom Volunteer Center, answered the following call on 16 May, Saturday:

A young guy, aged 47, living with degenerative disc disease. He is a very friendly guy, talks slow due to previous brain surgery. He is very friendly, and his previous volunteers have enjoyed helping him. He lives alone except for his dog. Jeffery needs moss removed from his roof, gutters cleaned, and lawn mowing. He has an electric mower.

The project was dedicated towards a non-specific event for one of the troops involved. We call these "unspokens." It was officially titled Objective Rome.

For those that stepped up for this project or for any of our projects:

Thank you.

Because of your efforts people are living better lives. And even though service is nothing alien to any of you, this time there is less pay and less people that know about it.

For those that missed it, Jeffery, the individual we helped on Saturday, became emotional when he found out that soldiers had come out to help him. He made it a point to shake everyone’s hand and thank them for their service.

You are part of something far greater than any one of us. Who knows all the benefits that come out of this. We help others. We help ourselves. We inspire the youth and encourage the older.

And we make dirty jokes in between.

SPECIAL THANKS TO BERNEDETTE AND MIKE for bringing out the food and sacrificing their bumper for our hunger!! We can’t be more appreciative.

Thank you to the following organizations for their crucial support:

Veterans of Modern Warfare
Center for Citizen Leadership - The Mission Continues (Both Chris' and Eric)
DAV
VFW
Whatcom Community College Veterans' Club
Western Washington University Veterans Outreach Program (Erik, Jana, etc.)
War Experience Project (Rick)

Photos are available on my facebook. I know… I’m trying to post the pictures on a created website so EVERYONE can see them and not just those with a facebook account. However, if you do have a facebook, you can see them by going to my photos on the account associated with my email.

The following are coming up that I need help with:

23 May, Saturday Morning Ski to Sea Parade: We have a float being built for the Ski to Sea Parade. What we need are bodies to walk behind the truck as it goes down. Feel free to pull out an old blouse or trousers or hat or something to identify you as a vet. If not, no worries – just show up – we need the support. More importantly, we need others to know who we are and that we do exist in their community. I’ll be sending more specific information out as I get it.

31 May, Sunday morning Service Project: I have a very small service project planned for the 31st of May. There is an eighth grader doing a large-scale project for graduation on soldiers after war and wishes to experience service. His brother just joined the Army as an infantryman and is currently in training in Georgia. I think this is an awesome way to introduce the warrior ethos to this youth as to gain insight into the commitment of his older brother. I only need about 5 guys or gals for this project so shoot me an email if you’re interested.

27 June, Saturday Morning: We have two persons in need in the community who are requesting our assistance through the Whatcom Volunteer Center. One will be chopping wood as to prepare this person for the winter, and the second will be cleaning out a garage (no rats this time) and cleaning up her yard, patio, and gutters. More details to follow in the near future.
And for those of you who have not checked out Ash Woolsen's and Rick Lawson's website please do so - they worked very hard on it and for a very honorable cause:
http://www.vetretreat.com/

Thanks again.

Respectfully,

Mike Pereira
(360) 296-1406

Calling all WWU Veterans!

Veterans at WWU, please take 10 minutes to fill out this survey regarding your experience at WWU.

Once completed, you will be entered into a drawing to win one of two $50 gift cards to the store of your choice. Questions? email Jana at Jana.Brost@WWU.edu.

Link to survey:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=oFwxlAZNaQ7ItdZvrBG8BA_3d_3d

THANKS!!!

Article in Bellingham Herald, Volunteer Project

Veterans work to recruit other veterans for volunteer projects

BELLINGHAM - After years of structure and shared purpose in the U.S. Army, veterans Mike Pereira and Kristopher Powell came home to Whatcom County, only to find themselves cut adrift.


"It was hard for me to transition back into a civilian lifestyle, where my days and my weeks weren't planned out for me," said Powell, a 27-year-old Everson resident who spent nearly five years in the service.

They would eventually pull their lives together after hard days and lonely nights, after mistakes and bad decisions. Now, they are part of a unified effort by local veterans groups working to give soldiers returning home an opportunity to volunteer and a chance to leave isolation for what they know - service to their community.

"It's to help integrate soldiers back into society. We're having trouble, but we still have warrior ethos," said Pereira, a Whatcom Community College student who started the veterans club there.

That ethos includes loyalty, duty, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage.
Serving their community was what they did in October, when they gathered to do landscaping work for an elderly woman. Among them was a veteran who hadn't left his apartment for some nine months.

"For the guys, it was an excuse to get up early, get outside and get their hands dirty," said Pereira, a 26-year-old Bellingham resident who spent six years in the military, including one in Afghanistan.

Giving was what they did Saturday, Feb. 21, when 10 of them spent four hours doing landscape work for two elderly men who were no longer able to keep their Bellingham lawn neat.

The idea is to involve soldiers in larger efforts, to provide structure, to let them once more feel like they're working side by side in a shared cause, to let veterans help veterans.

"We're giving back, and I think we're taking some of that for ourselves. Not in a selfish way," Powell said, "but it's giving us something, giving us a mission again."

Pereira hopes such efforts bring people together.

"We're trying to break down the barrier between soldiers and civilians. We're trying to tear down stereotypes between the two," he said.

Their help is needed.

"I appreciate their time and just how great they are. They really want to make a difference," said Aly Hoover, director of the Whatcom Volunteer Chore Program.

The veterans did their two community service projects for the Chore Program, which helps the elderly and the disabled stay in their homes by assisting with cleaning, yard work, minor repairs, errands and transportation.

Hoover said she especially appreciated their efforts because as veterans, they've already given so much of themselves.

"We're blessed to have them," she said.

Pereira knows how important it is for veterans to be engaged and to once again feel like they're part of something.

He struggled with such issues when he came home in 2007, after his military service and a year as a private contractor in Iraq.

"As combat veterans, we have left one battlefield for another," he said.

During his struggle to understand what was happening, Pereira said he cut himself off from other people who cared about him. He isolated himself into his living. He couldn't bear to sleep in his bed. A scene from a movie he saw in a theater trigged a panic attack.

"I walked out a different person," he recalled.

But with the help of the late Tim Nelson, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served three tours in Iraq, Pereira started to find his way again.

"He got me active. He got me engaged," Pereira said of Nelson, who had been president of the Bellingham chapter of Veterans of Modern Warfare.

Now, Pereira is trying to do the same for other veterans.

Websites that may be of use

• www.militaryonesource.com
• http://chppm-www.apgea.army.mil/dhpw/Population/combat.aspx (US Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine)
• www.va.gov/wvhp (Women Veterans Health program)
• www.nmwfc.org (Employment/Unemployment Help)
• www.mvfa.org (marriage resources)
• www.triwest.com (Tricare Insurance for soldiers and their families)
• www.tricaredentalprogram.com (Tricare Dental Insurance)
• www.militaryhomefront.dod.mil (Support for Troops)

Volunteer Effort with Whatcom Volunteer Center

Here's the down and dirty of whats going on the 21st for the volunteer effort. The job is probably good for about 12 -15 bodies, so contact Mike so he can put them down on a list:

Robert and Michael are elderly roommates under the care of the COPES program (caregiver provided by the state). Both men are bed bound due to illnesses, so they are very much in need of help with their yard. Their landlord requires them to keep their plot looking nice. The caregiver isn’t allowed to do yardwork according to COPES, so it’s great your group has agreed to work outside. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that the weather stays sunny!

As I mentioned in our phone conversation, the project is pulling up weeds, tall grass, and basic upkeep of the yard and porch. I will bring supplies for your group, but I am short on workgloves. If individuals have those, that would be helpful for them to bring.

Western Front article

Many of you may have read the recent letter to the editor titled "No place for the military at job fair". If not the article reads:

"While I realize that times are tough due to budget cuts and bad economies, I commend you on standing on principle and not printing military ads. Having money may be important, but having moral integrity is more important. No amount of money is worth the cost of knowing that you have contributed to militarism and occupational violence.

I would also like to complete this thought by extending it to the administration: I as that Western follow in the steps of Harvard and Yale universities by dis-allowing military recruiters access to their students. Killing is not a valid career option. Even by simply allowing uniformed soldiers onto campus, Western undermines the psychology of peace through the presence of violent symbolism.

I am asking the administration to do the ethical thing and refuse the Marines and the [Drug Enforcement Agency] their tables at the upcoming career fair, just as they would refuse cult recruiters, extremists or Blackwater mercenaries to set up and court their students. There are some things more important than money, and integrity is one of them."

Written by Evan Knappenberger, Whatcom Community College Student

Volunteer Opportunity

Mike Pereira, Whatcom Community College's Veterans Club President and VMW President-to-be, mentioned an upcoming volunteer opportunity through the Whatcom Volunteer Center on February 21st.

Expect more information soon.

Mike's email: mike_384@hotmail.com