Butler County VA to receive $12,000 state grant
The Butler County Office of Veterans’ Services is set to receive a $12,000 grant from the Veterans Trust Fund, Gov. Josh Shapiro announced Friday.
Twelve veterans affairs offices in the state will receive $150,000 in grants from the Veterans’ Trust Fund, while 21 charitable or veteran service organizations will receive $650,000 in grants.
“Our veterans served our country and defended our freedoms — they have sacrificed for us and they deserve access to quality care and services when they come home,” Shapiro said in a statement.
The Veterans Trust Fund, administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA), is funded largely by Pennsylvania citizens who donate $3 upon request whenever they apply for or renew their driver’s license or register their vehicle.
According to Butler County Veterans Services director Shawnee Young, the $12,000 of grant money will be spread out over the next two years. The bulk of the grant money will be directed toward funding the county’s annual “Stand Down” event, which provides services and resources for local veterans, including homeless veterans.
“It’s an annual one-day event where we provide resources and supplies to veterans within Butler County,” Young said. “It's what we do to help the homeless vets around Butler County.”
The “Stand Down” event has taken place in early November each year since 2016. Last year’s event, the seventh annual, was held at the General Butler Vagabonds Center on Whitestown Road in Lyndora.
“Connecting Pennsylvania’s more than 700,000 veterans to these programs is DMVA’s top priority and we cannot do it alone,” said Maj. Gen. Mark Schindler, head of the DMVA, in a news release. “We are grateful to all Pennsylvanians who donate and to the grant recipients who put these funds to good use helping veterans and their families.”
