Collaboration leads to gift donations for veterans

The Jasper County Veterans Alliance and the county treasurer’s office are joining forces to provide a happy holiday for residents of the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown.

During the Dec. 7 board of supervisors meeting, Jasper County Treasurer Doug Bishop announced his office will be partnering with the JCVA to put on a supply drive to help the Iowa Veterans Home provide gifts for hundreds of its residents during the holidays.

According to its website the Iowa Veterans Home “provides a continuum of care to Iowa’s veterans and their spouses in an environment focusing on individualized services to enhance their quality of life.” Iowa Veterans Home is one of the largest state veterans homes in the nation and provides services to more than 550 Iowa veterans at a time.

And to help those men and women get into the spirit this holiday season, the Jasper County Treasurer is setting up a countywide drive to accept various donations of clothes, snacks and other items to be presents to former service members living at the home.

“Most veterans who are staying at the home are on a very limited income, so my department and the Jasper County Veterans Alliance is putting together a drive to provide gifts for the veterans and their spouses who are spending the holidays there,” Bishop said.

The Iowa Veterans Home released a full list of “wish” items, which include candy bars, model car kits, fabric, paint and various clothing items. The list also requests items be new and never used.

The Jasper County Treasurer’s Office will be accepting donations 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Dec. 8-21 in the courthouse.

Bishop said, “We hope that the county can really come together and give these people a great holiday.”

This is the first year the treasurer’s office is putting together an event such as this. After the drive is completed, Bishop said the items donated by community members will be put together and sent off to Marshalltown to be wrapped up, put under the tree and given to veterans on Christmas Day.

The full list of items requested by the Iowa Veterans Home will be available on both the treasurer’s Facebook page and on the Jasper County website.

Contact Abby Knipfel at 641-792-4687 ext. 6531 or aknipfel@shawmedia.com