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FAIRMONT - The Knights of Columbus will be kicking off a new project to benefit area veterans, a Veterans Assistance Fund, at a fundraiser on Oct. 11 at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Fairmont.
Event Co-Chair and Fairmont Area Knights of Columbus Member Bob Millette said they do six to eight fundraisers a year, many for veterans-related causes.
"We’ll have door prizes," he said. "We’ll have some raffles. Right now, we have 34 businesses that have donated for door prizes, and then we’ll have some meat raffles, and there’ll be a cash bar."
Doing a Veterans Assistance Fund came from meeting with Martin County Veterans Service Officer Douglas Landsteiner.
"I talked to Doug and he said, 'Well, what if we come up with something like a fund set up separately through our assembly?'" Millette said. "The plan is that Doug will vet the veteran, make sure all the qualifications are there. He will contact me, and then we in turn would give the veteran pay for their utilities, or it would be gas needs, fuel, food costs, that sort of thing."
The fund will be handled by the local 4th Degree Assembly, a smaller group within the Knights of Columbus umbrella. The local group covers Watonwan, Jackson, Martin and Faribault counties, and as such, the veterans assistance fund will seek to help veterans from Martin County and the surrounding counties.
"When I talked to Doug, he said Martin County does not have a program like this," Millette said. "They’ve got a program through the state, the county, and the federal, but he said other counties have something similar to this, but Martin County does not."
Millette said they felt that they needed to put their foot forward now and try to help in this area.
"The veterans are the ones we focus on to get them the help," he said. "We felt this would be a good opportunity this time of year, just calendar-wise."
With their first fundraiser for this fund being a feed, Millette said people always need to eat.
"We feel that’s the best way to get people from our community to come in and share some fellowship besides helping whatever group we’re sponsoring," he said. "Same with the 4th degree because our theme or pillar of the organization is patriotism. We try to get people involved."
Not everything is set in stone yet, but they have a strong foundation to build on.
"Talking to Doug, he is going to set up some kind of application process," Millette said. "I’m not sure exactly how, but he knows most of the veterans in the area, and he’s made contacts with the other veterans affairs officers in the counties."
To have collaborations available like this, Millette said community is key to the whole thing.
"I don’t care what fundraiser you do, but we need to get community involvement," he said. "I’m sure most people in Fairmont and other counties see that the veterans do have their needs. You see the advertisements on television for the different things they’ve got going on, and we just thought this might be a good way to involve the community."
If everything goes well, Millette said they would like to continue hosting fundraisers like this and overall make this fund a perpetual, ongoing program.
The event on Oct. 11 is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Donations to the program can be made by mailing a check to P.O. Box 992 in Fairmont, with Fairmont Fourth Degree or Assembly #551 written on top.