Helping Veterans in Need--Caring Patriots' 9th Annual Veterans Food Drive

With a mission to provide plentiful Thanksgivings to 1,000 veterans, every contribution counts, no matter how small. One recent $5 donation was extra-special to Mike Cozzi, founder and president of Caring Patriots NFP, Inc., a non-profit in the midst of its 9th Annual Veterans Food Drive. Six-year-old Abriel saved up her weekly allowance for over a month. She and her family were recipients of a Caring Patriots Thanksgiving Basket last year, and she insisted on helping another family enjoy Thanksgiving this time.

Stories like this one come up continually in conversations among those who are part of Caring Patriots, a 501(3)c non-profit made up entirely of volunteers, with 100% of all money raised going directly to the veterans food drive. Caring Patriots collaborates with businesses, clubs, schools, churches, and other organizations to collect non-perishable food items. These are combined with fresh foods to provide carts full of groceries, aka “baskets”, to veterans and their families.

It all started in 2008, when Cozzi, walked into the office of a veterans outreach program in Alsip, IL. Cozzi was there, as a union truck driver, to share information about Helmets for Hard Hats, a program to help veterans find employment when they came back. “I was blown away that there were so many veterans that were looking for work,” Cozzi said, as he recalled the roomful of vets that morning. It was October and he knew the holidays would be a hard time for these folks and their families. He couldn’t leave without helping out in some way, so he told the director that he thought he could pull together Thanksgiving dinners for 10 or so veterans, and the director happily accepted. Life soon turned out to be challenging for Cozzi as well; shortly thereafter, he was laid off and struggling financially, but anyone who knows Cozzi knows that wasn’t going to stop him from doing what he set out to do. He and his family knocked on doors and asked local businesses for donations, and by the time they set up Thanksgiving at an area VFW hall, they not only had enough to feed 10 veterans and their families, they had enough to feed 109.

To Tiffany Cozzi, secretary of Caring Patriots, the dedicated and compassionate volunteers are key to its success. “We have over 1,000 volunteers working during the sorting, packing, and distribution weekend in November, not to mention all those who collected donations at locations around the city in the weeks before that. The more people we have help, the more people we can serve,” she said. “We are very thankful for the volunteers who come out, help out, and give support.”

To the Cozzis and the vast number of volunteers that make Caring Patriots possible, it’s about saying thank you to those who have served. “There are veterans that have served in past and current conflicts that do not have the same luxury or opportunity, that do not have the same means to provide right now, that I do,” Mike Cozzi said. “We do not want to turn away veterans and their families.”

Last year, 1,000 veterans each received a Thanksgiving Basket, which included a 22-pound turkey and bags stuffed with non-perishable food and fresh fruits and vegetables. Caring Patriots hopes to be able to provide as much to veterans this year.

Financial donations are still needed to ensure that there will be sufficient baskets to meet demand. Those who would like to donate can do so online at caringpatriots.org. Volunteers can register on Caring Patriots website to help with sorting, packing and distribution to be held Nov 17-18 in Romeoville.