As clean-up and recovery efforts continue in Ft. Leonard Wood, Mo., after an EF-3 tornado tore through the area on New Year’s Eve, the VFW has come to the aid of service members and military families with $57,500 in emergency financial aid.
According to The National Weather Service survey teams, the Fort suffered the worst damage in the region from Friday’s line of storms, obliterating or causing substantial damage to a number of homes on the Army post.
After hearing reports of how extensive the damage was, VFW Department of Missouri Adjutant Jessie Jones immediately reached out to VFW National Headquarters for assistance on behalf of soldiers displaced by the storm.
Through its Unmet Needs program — a program enacted to provide emergency financial aid to service members experiencing financial hardship — VFW’s National Military Services distributed grants totaling $57,500 among 167 service members and military families stationed at Ft. Leonard Wood.
“VFW was founded on the premise of helping veterans. There’s no greater form of support than reaching out to those who’ve lost their homes and need us - that’s what VFW is here for,” said Jones.
The emergency grants were presented to the service members during a special presentation at the Army post on January 5, 2010.
“This incident was extremely unfortunate and couldn’t have affected a more-selfless group than our nation’s soldiers. It’s a privilege being in the position to help those who deserve it most and have sacrificed so much for all of us,” said Mike Penney, Director of VFW’s National Military Services.