We knew we had to be up early, with enough reserved energy to interact with war veterans at the VA Hospital this morning. So although we'd headed out to the city last night, we had an early night.
Hands on Atlanta provided Chandni and I with the opportunity to spend time with the veterans at VA Hospital this morning, and we were excited!
We'd started off with a special church service, with a few patients, themed around forgiveness.
Considering that it was the tenth anniversary of 9/11, one of the patented led us in a moment to honor those who died that day, sacrificed their life for us that day, and served our country ten years ago on this day.
Soon after we moved to the renovated floor that held story boards for several of the patients there.
It was wonderful to hear from and see the stories of some of the greatest Heroes you will never come to know, unless you're here.
While some of the patients were able to share their stories with us, many weren't. We did, however, sense the gratitude as we thanked them for all that they've done.
It's not a typical day of volunteering for us, but it's an experience we enjoyed.
We even had Chris Draft (linebacker for the St. Louis Rams) join us with NFL memorabilia, stories, and gratitude for each veterans service!
We're looking forward to going back to the VA and aiding them in other projects soon!
"It was great talking with some of the Veterans as they shared stories with us, one even sang songs and yodeled for us!! We met their oldest veteran - 100years old, and some of the younger injured veterans from the Iraq war. We saw families coming in to visit and staff who treated the Veterans with love and respect. It was a heart warming experience..."
~ Chandni
Hi to the folks at 365 Days of Giving,
ReplyDeleteI've been following your blog regularly as I too am on a year-long giving journey. I thought you might be willing to help me out with a small request. (Sorry, didn't see an email link).
While you and I and countless others were out volunteering on 9/11, right here in our community (Beaverton, OR) two students' homes were vandalized. They are students in my friend's public high school class.
I was disgusted, and didn't know what to do, so I wrote a blog post and asked people to add a comment to support these kids and their families. To let them know the vast majority of us are deplored by bigotry and hatred.
If you are interested, the post is here -
http://bit.ly/qK75rR
Thanks,
Eric Winger
That is horrible! I will definitely leave a comment...thank you for speaking out against this and supporting the kids!
ReplyDeleteThanks, if any of your friends or their friends want to add their voices, please feel free to pass the link along. I'm trying to say to these kids and their families that the vast majority of us are sickened by the few who do this.
ReplyDeleteTake care,
Eric