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FirstEnergy, Summit County join forces to help homeless vets
TRACEY BLAIR
Legal News Reporter
Published: August 30, 2016
Leading by example, Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp. and Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro have teamed up to challenge local businesses and individuals to give money and donate clothing to needy veterans.
Shapiro and Dee Lowery, president of the FirstEnergy Foundation, were among several community leaders who spoke at an Aug. 24 press conference at the Veterans Service Commission in Akron.
Shapiro and Lowery announced a joint $20,000 donation to The Laura Williams Dunlop Memorial Stand Down for Homeless and Displaced Veterans of Summit County.
The donations came about from a new partnership called Step Up for Stand Down, which was created when the Summit County Stand Down found itself extremely low on donations for its upcoming annual event to help homeless veterans.
“Stand Down is a grass-roots effort that provides services and items to homeless and in-need veterans to help them get through the winter months, and I can think of fewer causes we’re more proud to support,” said Dee Lowery, president of the FirstEnergy Foundation. “FirstEnergy has a long history of hiring veterans. We employ over 300 veterans in Ohio alone. We continue to look for ways to pay it forward to our veterans.”
The yearly Stand Down day supplies needy veterans with warm clothes, sleeping bags, gloves, hats and shoes. They also receive medical testing, legal counseling and food cards. Counselors also work with veterans on earned benefits and available services.
The U.S. Department of Defense normally supplies the Summit County Stand Down with surplus items. But this year, a fire destroyed a New Jersey warehouse containing more than $700,000 worth of donations being sent to help local agencies.
“We want to make sure these folks are taken care of,” said Shapiro.
Summit County Councilwoman Elizabeth Walters encouraged the audience to spread the word about a newly set up GoFundMe account that allows anyone to make a donation of as little as $1 to help with the Step Up for Stand Down effort.
“I want to raise an additional $5,000 in this community challenge,” Walters said. “One hundred percent of donations will go to Stand Down. I am the proud daughter of a Marine. Eleven percent of the homeless in the United States are veterans who served three or more years. They’re often struggling with things you can’t even imagine.”
Richard Rebadow, executive vice president of the Greater Akron Chamber Challenge, said his group will help by collecting goods for the effort and encouraging all members to donate.
Event coordinator Dan Moore,a past commandant of the Marine Corps League, said he does not anticipate the New Jersey warehouse being rebuilt, meaning the Step Up effort needs to be ongoing.
Moore said veterans should not look at the help as charity.
“This is about getting them something they earned,” he added.
After listening to the announcement, Richard Bowersox of the American Legion Post 473 in Copley called Step Up a worthy cause.
“Every week, I bury these gentlemen -- our brothers – who pass away,” he said.
The Laura Williams Dunlop Memorial Stand Down for Homeless and Displaced Veterans of Summit County will be held Sept. 13 from 8:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the Firestone VFW Post 3383 at 690 Waterloo Road in Akron.
To donate cash, visit www.gofundme.com/summitstanddown.