Gathered in a meeting room in the Cass County Government Building, volunteers worked to make sure veterans in assisted living facilities across the county would receive a Christmas present. Members from various organizations neatly packed shampoo, lotions, socks and old-fashioned candy into gift bags. They planned on adding a quilt to each bag, too.
An illustrated penguin wearing a warm cap and holding a wrapped present peered out from the front of every bag. With Christmas tunes playing on the radio, head of the Cass County Veterans Service Office Tamara Derrick explained there’s a total of 33 veterans in Cass County the volunteers plan to deliver the gifts to. They packed 40 bags just in case.
They planned on hitting four assisted living facilities on Saturday to drop off the gift bags and host a Christmas party for the veterans. “It’s not about the gift bags,” Derrick said. “It’s about letting them know that we support them.
” She added some of the veterans don’t get many visitors. The gift bags helped show the veterans that they’re still thought of during the holidays. Other than the Cass County Veterans Service Office, volunteers from the One Warrior Foundation, Amvets Post 82621 and A Hero’s Welcome.
This year marked the first time the different organizations joined forces. In the past, Derrick explained, the different organizations would stop by with their own gift bags. They were told by the veterans and their families that all the gifts could be a .
