"3"^^ . "2013-04-01T00:00:00"^^ . . "5"^^ . . "11"^^ . . "I have a soft spot for Veteran's. My father served our country in WWII and Korea. My oldest brother served 20+ years in the Air Force including service in the middle east wars. I'll avoid the standing on the sop box by simply saying if there's anything within my power i can do to assist current members of the Armed Services and Veterans, I'm there.\n\nBack in December, I received a note from one of my FB friends advising she's volunteering at a luncheon for Veteran's at Veteran's Village - a new hotel property that focuses on assisting Veteran's. I signed up for the event.\n\nAt the event I was given a tour of the property by the property director, Arnold Stalk. I was awestruck by Mr. Stalk's vision for the property and the incredible local support to make this \"hotel\" a reality. As an example, ( and a positive attribute of Facebook), Mr. Stalk was looking for volunteers to assist in painting the hotel unit - so he posted on Facebook hoping the word will get out. He received a response from some employees of Home Depot ( I believe they were Vets ) and after they spent the day painting, one of the volunteers indicated they would contact Home Depot Corporate to see if they can further assist since a large portion of the hotel was in dire need of construction improvement ( it was an abandoned 120+ unit hotel in downtown so you can probably imagine the condition of the property . ) The result ? A $700,000+ grant from Home Depot to repair the property !! Another example of giving ? Sands Corp. graciously contributed hotel furniture to furnish the units. There have been numerous charitable organizations and church groups that have contributed to VA Village to help make it a reality -God Bless America and God Bless the amazing citizens of Las Vegas that DO CARE ! ( oops, i did it, i stood on the soap box, albeit only for a second... sorry ) \n\nBack to Veteran's Village and what it's about. Simply put, the goal is to put a roof over the heads of Veteran's. A portion of the hotel is reserved for Vets that are simply visiting Las Vegas. More importantly, a large portion of the property is to assist Veteran's in need. Not only housing but they also assist veteran's to find assistance/resources, basically, to get back on their feet. The first tenant of the hotel was a veteran, his pregnant wife and their young child. They were homeless. They weren't looking for pity - I believe he was actually employed at the time - they needed ( and deserved ) a helping hand.\n\nI'm really impressed with the hotel manager, Dennis. He is a partially disabled veteran that worked his way through the \"system\" to obtain his deserving government benefits after serving our country in Iraq/Afghanistan. He bends over backwards to educate other veterans on what benefits are afforded to them. He follows a simple philosophy,\" I'll work as hard for you as you work for yourself.\" Meaning - you make the effort and I'm with you every step of the way.\n\nAs of late, the word is getting out about Veteran's Village. Local restaurants are providing food for the pantry, local charities are bringing clothes and numerous people are volunteering their time to help the cause. Future plans include, \" sponsor a room\" where people can contribute the cost of housing a veteran at the hotel.\n\nI try to visit Veteran's Village every other week to bring gift cards and non-perishable food. Everytime I visit i hear about the amazing progress of this non-profit hotel and it truly warms my heart. \n\nSo if you know of a Veteran that needs housing assistance, have them call Veteran's Village. If you have a few extra cans of tuna in the pantry, don't be shy, simply drop them off at the front desk of Veteran's Village. if you have an extra $10, next time at Walmart or McDonalds, buy a gift card and drop it off - I promise, it will put to good use !"^^ . "7"^^ .