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Highlands Today

Vets Groups See Less Money As Activity Wanes

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By Douglas  Carman | Highlands Today

Published: January 7, 2008

AVON PARK — With World War II veterans quickly dying off, newer veterans not replacing them and members all around showing up a bit less, some of the service organizations in Highlands County are finding both their contributions and their treasuries thinning out.

V.F.W. Post 9853 Quartermaster Cesar Pinzon saw a sharp drop this year from last year's contributions to the post's fundraising drives for Operation Uplink, a state-wide effort that donates phone cards to servicemen deployed overseas.

Last year, which started June 1, 2006, Pinzon said they raised nearly $4,000 for Operation Uplink. In fact, the post ranked second in the state that year in fundraising for that effort, which Pinzon called a "banner year" for them.

This period, he hoped the V.F.W. could trump that, but the summer was slow, even by summer standards. With only 10 to 15 people showing up at each attempted Bingo game, Pinzon said the V.F.W. had to cancel many of them since it wouldn't make up for the cost of hosting them.

Half-way through the current snowbird season, he barely reached $1,000 for Operation Uplink, well off last year's mark.

"We just haven't had the Bingo players we had," Pinzon said.

The Avon Park-based V.F.W. post was not alone.

J.P. Plunkett, commander of the American Legion Post 25 in Lake Placid, said DVD and cassette donations for the Fisher House at West Palm Beach went well, despite the post's membership diving from 1,200 to 900 the past two years.

"The pattern doesn't change much," he said of the post's charitable donations over the years. "Mostly the same ones that contribute year to year."

Then again, the loss of membership might affect those efforts, he worries. Members pay membership fees, and those fees keep service clubs above water.

"The deaths are not going to slow down," Plunkett said. "It makes it tough to meet the bills."

Even House Chairman John Smart of the Sebring-based V.F.W. Post 4300 said it was tougher for his post to raise charity money. This is despite the fact that his post, holding between 600 and 700 members the past decade, didn't have the decline witnessed at the American Legion down in Lake Placid.

"Things are wearing thin," Smart said. "People are running out of money ... must be the gas prices. (They) don't come in as well as they used to, that's for sure."

Both the American Legion Post 25 and the V.F.W. Post 4300 have also pitched into the Veterans Assistance Fund. Neither Plunkett nor V.F.W. House Chairman John Smart had a ballpark figure on their contributions immediately available at press time.

The fund goes to help out needy veterans.

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