Pass Area VFW Makes Donation to Armed Services YMCA

VFW Desert Edge Post 233 recently donated goods to the Armed Services YMCA of 29 Palms.

The ASYMCA, located at the the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, services military families through a thrift store that sells household goods, in addition to other YMCA benefits. VFW Post 233 contributed to the store by donating a truckload and trailer full of items ranging form clothes to food items.

“Furniture seems to be the biggest hit, said Sadie Fisher, ASYMCA special events and volunteer coordinator, in a statement. "Dressers, night stands, shelves, washers, and dryers always sell as well as far as the big items go. There aren’t a whole lot of stores close by to pick up furniture like that out here. The smaller items that sell well are house hold goods. Things like pictures, picture frames, and small appliances such as microwaves, blenders, toasters, etc.”

Many in the Pass area contributed to the VFW's donation. Calvary Chapel of Beaumont, the Beaumont Senior Center and American Legion Post 428 all donated food items, while the Highland Springs Village Men's Golf Club in Cherry Valley held a golf tournament benefiting the ASYMCA of 29 Palms.

"We appreciate the support the VFW has given to the active duty service members and their families, said Anita Neu-Fultz, executive director of ASYMCA at 29 Palms, in a statement. We see between 100 to 150 military spouses and their families each week. Our facility is not only here to feed everyone but also a communal place for everyone to bond and nurture friendships, especially for military spouses who can get lonely and sometimes feel isolated due to the long deployments of service members. The extra help the VFW has given us along with all of the other organizations has been crucial to our military families. Because of the remoteness of 29 Palms, there aren’t as many opportunities for military spouses to get part-time jobs to supplement their income and the ASYMCA provides that opportunity.”

Korean War era veteran and Post 233 member Leo McManus and his wife Gloria were instrumental in garnering the support of local non-profits and are now soliciting manufacturer's coupons that service members can use at local commissaries. McManus hopes to send anywhere from 14 to 16,000 coupons monthly to Ramstein Air Base in Germany. The VFW has set up a food manufacturer's coupon collection container inside the post, located at 450 E. 4th St., Beaumont. The post is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

For more information, contact Ernie Hernandez at ernie.e.hernandez@gmail.com. Follow the ASYMCA on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AsymcaTwentyninePalms.

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