ST. GEORGE — Veterans around Washington County will receive kits full of supplies for their homes courtesy of the local chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution and United Methodist Women.

Representatives of both groups were on hand with several veterans at DAR member Karen Mangano’s home in Bloomington Friday morning.

Mangano told St. George News that the kits were created after she had a conversation with Christopher Scott, who is the chief of voluntary service for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Salt Lake City.

“He was telling me about the need in the veteran community, with homeless veterans,” Mangano said. She went on to explain that the Federal Government gives veterans housing grants to help them find homes or apartments to live in.

“But when they get into these places they have nothing,” Mangano said. “So they have what are called Welcome Home Kits. We have the kitchen kits and the bed and bath kits.”

Scott came to the event to collect all of the kits and put them at a central location so they can be distributed to local veterans who need them.

“We also have clothing for him to pick up, and gift cards, and just all kinds of things that the community came together to provide,” Mangano added. “It was a small group of people that helped put together these kits. But they came together and we’re so happy that our veterans will get what they need.”

Mangano assembled the members of DAR that helped with the kits and Karen Cole helped coordinate the event with United Methodist Women.

“I first got involved in it along with my husband,” said Cole, who is president of the local UMW chapter. She went on to explain that UMW gives money yearly to missions, mostly to programs that assist women and children.

“This year we had some extra money, so I suggested we get a couple of these kits,” Cole said. “So they provided two of the kits and then a friend of mine and I did another one.”

“It seems like the right thing to do,” she added. “We have a soft spot in our hearts for our veterans who are struggling.”

Karen’s husband Neil Cole, a veteran of the United States Air Force, helped load the kits onto trucks for delivery to veterans.

“I have always felt that especially the Vietnam veterans were not treated all that well when they came home. Many of them ended up homeless because they had no help available,” Neil Cole said. 

“Now they’re going to have a place to live, but they need things to support that,” he added. “So I was pleased to be able to do this. I have to give credit to my wife, she did most of the work!”

Items in the kits included blankets, bathroom and shower necessities, coffee makers, appliances for the kitchen and other items useful to veterans moving into new homes.

“Normally a homeless veteran doesn’t have anything that they can get started with,” Scott, a veteran of the United States Army, told St. George News.

“So we asked the Daughter of the American Revolution to help us in that endeavor,” he added. “They’ve been working like crazy to put the kits together.”

Scott said that collaboration with local groups like DAR and UMW makes his job possible.

“We love the help of local groups,” Scott said. “We look for collaboration. The community engagement piece is where we need the help of community leaders and grassroot organizations that help us serve our veterans.”

“And we look around here and see the results of that work, and we’re just stunned,” he added. “We’re absolutely thrilled.”

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