CULLMAN – Local nonprofit agency Saving Forgotten Warriors (SFW) played host to a fundraising effort on Saturday night where Todd Simpson and Mojo Child played to a small but loyal group. Jeremy Hogan, SFW founder, is concerned about the future of the organization as Saturday night’s event most likely put the fledging nonprofit into the red.
“Right now we’re working on a very shoestring budget. It’s bad. We are doing really well at raising money when we go to events, but we can only do so many events. If we do events during the weekend to raise money, we take away time that we need to be helping veterans. During the week, we’re having to cut grass and do whatever we can to raise enough money to do certain things we do for veterans.
“We’re grateful for companies in the area that help with events like this. Johnny’s BBQ gave us a great deal on the food and Publix helped us out. Warehouse Discount Groceries and Wal-Mart helped out. We went to all of these different companies and asked them for help. Sunbeam Bakery offered the buns up for the BBQ and Nationwide donated $50.”
Even with the donation of goods from local businesses, SFW still forked out $1,800 for Saturday night’s event, which has put them at a serious deficit considering the state of their equipment and high operational costs.
“I put between 2,000-4,000 miles on the SFW truck each week. The maintenance on just that is really bad. We have to be able to pay for that. We work day in and out as volunteers just to raise enough money to go buy one veteran groceries or pay another’s power bill or take them to the VA.
“Right now it costs us about $180 to take one veteran to the VA. We have to lease a vehicle for the day and that’s $108 for the first 100 miles. From here, it’s 110 miles roundtrip plus the gas. We buy the veteran lunch while we’re there. We had one gentleman who was at the VA until midnight so we bought him dinner. We want to make sure we can provide them with meals while we’re there. We spend about $180 per trip to the VA. There’s a better option. We could go lease a van for $349 a month but we can’t do that unless we can guarantee we’re going to make that much in a month and we can’t do that. It’s all business operating expenses.”
Hogan says the agency gets many pats on the back and commendations from throughout the community for the work they do with veterans who have fallen through the cracks and need financial assistance. However, the respect SFW has earned does not translate to concrete help for U.S. veterans who are suffering.
“We have 1,112 people following us on Facebook. If they all donated only $5 each month to SFW, that’s $5,560 a month and we could help so many veterans with that amount. That is enough to operate, build a ramp and have gas to go around and do yards. The PTO clutch is going out on the lawnmower and we can’t do any more yards until we get that fixed.
“The donation link on Facebook and through our website is secure and donations go directly into the Saving Forgotten Warriors account to help veterans in our community. When you donate to us, the money goes to helping veterans in our town.”
To donate to Saving Forgotten Warriors or for more information, please visit their website at www.savingforgottenwarriors.org.
More: http://www.cullmansense.com/articles/2016/03/28/cullman-city-council-meets-saving-forgotten-warriors-honored-municipal-golf
