I am writing to thank the Bowling Green community for joining together to support BG SONG’s recent Rock Our Vets project.
Project partners Wood County Veterans Service Office and BGSU Nontraditional and Military Student Services helped with outreach to veterans. The university’s C. Raymond Marvin Center for Student Leadership and Civic Engagement supplied tools and personal protective equipment for the three work dates. We connected with prospective volunteers through the Center’s BGSUserves platform.
Fourteen sponsors provided in-kind donations. Major sponsors include Carter Lumber, The Home Depot, Envirocare Tree Service, Gearhart Plumbing, P.O. Designs, Ortinau Art, Dairy Queen and BG Mirror and Glass.
Volunteers appreciated food provided by Kabob-It, Mister Spots and Pisanello’s. The City of Bowling Green helped with referrals and site support. Financial support came from Alexis Klassen and Associates DDS, David and Rose Drain, Mark Hollenbaugh, Newlove Realty and The Phipps Family.
Fifty-two project volunteers accomplished a lot over the three work dates! Organizations that helped with recruitment included VFW 1148, American Legion Post 45, Rotary of Bowling Green and BGSU’s Student Construction Management Association, Purple Hard Hats, Undergraduate Student Government and Omicron Delta Kappa.
We were fortunate to have a number of local residents and university students with construction and home maintenance skills. Their expertise was put to use to make participants’ homes safer, more comfortable and energy-efficient. Other volunteers pitched in to paint, clean gutters, wash windows, trim shrubs and rake leaves.
With major funding from the Bowling Green Community Foundation, the support of partner organizations, the generosity of sponsors and the hard work of volunteers, the community truly came together to support local veterans and senior citizens. BG SONG is grateful as well to our twenty-four participating homeowners. Their willingness to trust gave everyone involved the opportunity to serve.
Rose Drain
Rock Our Vets Project Manager
BG SONG: Building Strong Neighborhoods for Everyone
bgsong.org
