Nassau Resident Helps Veterans All Year Long

Massapequa resident Betty Harms doesn't wait until Veteran's Day to help local veterans, she's been doing it all year.

The wife of Vietnam veteran has been helping local veterans for years.

However, last year Harms, who is also the President of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Seaford American Legion, got the idea to post on a Massapequa Mommas Facebook page, which is a forum for local moms to sell items, and asked for donations.

"I was starting to think differently, I was sick with cancer and thinking about how lucky I was to be around and thinking about our veterans and how I can help," she said.

Since then, word started spreading and she began receiving more and more donations to her home. So far, she has received between 6,000 and 8,000 items to donate to veterans.

"It's funny for 5 years I tried just asking people for donations and barely got anything and within 5 minutes of posting on Facebook I got 20 people responding to donate things," she said."I'm just overwhelmed at what has happened, it quickly escalated all for the good."

Harms was began collecting several different types of items, including food, toys, toiletries and more before delivering them to a man in Rockville Centre who delivers them to veterans. The items are then given out during the "stand downs" events where over 300 homeless veterans come to receive free dinner, free haircuts, shoes, clothes and whatever else they need.

Two such events have taken place in the past year and the next one is scheduled for Nov. 22 at the Freeport Armory.

"I just feel that in our country we should not have veterans who do not have a home or what they need," Harms said. "We may not know they my name but we know them by their sacrifice."

She says she hopes to be able to have a storefront to be open and provide the donated items to the veterans.

"My goal is to make the lives of our veterans easier, it's what they deserve," she said.

If you would like to donate, Harms says she is always accepting items such as: gently used clothing, shoes, boots, bedding, toys/games, sealed unused socks and underwear, non-perishable foods, watches, eyeglasses, wheelchairs, benches/shower chairs, toiletries or checks made out to ALA Unit 1132.

Those who would like to donate can contact Harms at: 516-795-3679.