April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
VETERANS' AID
Emma's freezing for a good cause
For the last few weeks, Emma has been collecting warm clothes, as well as business attire, to donate to Sheehy-Palmer Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 6776 in Albany.
Her donations are part of the VFW's fourth annual "Freeze Out" on Jan. 30, an event that helps raise support, as well as donations, for homeless veterans. Although the Freeze Out is meant to collect clothing for veterans, its main event is a night when volunteers sleep outside to raise awareness of the plight of those who fought for their country but end up homeless.
Volunteers like Emma lay down sleeping bags and cardboard on the frozen ground of the VFW post's front lawn on Delaware Avenue in Albany. Since the Capital Region avoided the recent massive snowstorm downstate, "there's not that much snow on the ground; it might be better," she noted.
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Emma has taken part in the Freeze Out for three years. She said she enjoys the event because she likes the outdoors -- "I love camping" -- but also because she participates along with her father, Andrew, who served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. She likes the comradery felt between the participants in the Freeze Out, veterans and non-veterans alike, and all who support them.
Emma said the Freeze Out would start with participants drinking hot chocolate, sharing stories and stoking a fire. She planned to wear leggings, snow pants, three shirts and a heavy snowboarding jacket and use a sleeping bag meant for sub-zero temperatures.
The event, organized by James Ader, past commander of the VFW, may not have happened this year, had it not been for Emma.
Mr. Ader noted that he was feeling overwhelmed by the project and thought he'd take a break from the Freeze Out. Then Emma called him, asking how she could get more involved.
He felt like he had to go forward with the event. "She's been with me from the start," he explained.
Scholarly effort
Emma took a special interest in the project this year because, to fulfill the requirements for a particular scholarship, she had to write an essay on a community service project she completed that helped veterans. She decided to try extra hard to collect donations for the VFW.
Emma put up posters at school and asked community members for clothing donations. "I had teachers coming up to me saying they cleaned out their closets," she told The Evangelist.
She collected three large garbage bags of clothes, as well as sleeping bags and several pairs of shoes. "I didn't think it would be this big," she said.
Usually, the Freeze Out collects more clothing than the VFW can handle. Mr. Ader noted that, last year, the New York State Police donated 250 suits. He's learned to never say no to a donation: "Even if I know that the back room is going to be packed to the gills, I get my volunteers to work on it with me and we get it all to good homes."
The donated items at the VFW are first offered to members; what's left is taken to the Veterans Miracle Center in Albany, which provides free goods and services for veterans. In addition to a store-like setting where military personnel can shop for clothing and other items, the center offers counseling, job-search help and housing assistance.
Girl power
In the past, Emma was both the youngest and the only girl at the event. This year, she heard that a few others her age would be participating, as well.
"I don't think of Emma as much as a young girl, but rather as one of my MVPs," said Mr. Ader.
Emma, who attends All Saints parish in Albany, said she "grew up knowing that helping people in need was the right thing to do." She helps out at the food pantry at St. Vincent de Paul parish in Albany, too: "She just jumps right in with the other volunteers," said Angela Warner, director of the food pantry and social justice ministries.
Ms. Warner noted that St. Vincent's food pantry sees patrons who are veterans. "A lot of them struggle in finding long-term employment," she said, and many deal with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Emma not only assists veterans, but plans to become one: She hopes to join the Army after graduating from college with a degree in psychology.[[In-content Ad]]
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