Legion visitors drop by VA center
BUTLER TWP — Early Christmas gifts arrived at VA Butler Healthcare's Community Living Center on Tuesday afternoon.
Butler's American Legion Post 117, the legion's auxiliary and Sons of the American Legion put together 60 bags of gifts for veterans staying at the center. Their gifts kicked off a month's worth of visits from service groups around town looking to pay tribute to the center's residents.
Josh Shuler, commander of the Sons of the American Legion, said their group tries to visit every holiday with gifts in hand.
“It's a little gift,” Shuler said. “We need to give back. They sacrifice their lives for us; we can do this.”
The gift bags contained blankets and a variety of personal hygiene products. The recipients also got envelopes with $5 and a book of stamps.
Funding came from all three groups.
Members of the three groups arrived with a pallet of gifts so big that it couldn't fit in the front door of the center. Rather, they relayed the gifts from outside into the building, where they wandered the halls knocking on doors and wishing residents a merry Christmas.
The group even included a Santa Claus among its ranks. Joe Schiebel, 25, got a few comments on his face looking a little younger than Kris Kringle, but the veterans seemed happy to see him.
The center houses 60 veterans at a time, including both short-term and long-term residents.
MaryAnn Capuzzi, a certified recreation therapist at the center, said the team was one of the month's first to visit with holiday gifts, but that they are far from the last. Flipping through her calendar for the month, she said the center is booked with service organizations for much of December.Other groups looking to pay a visit could consider January or February, Capuzzi noted, as the veterans typically get far fewer visitors during those wintry months.All 60 veterans are already “adopted” for Christmas and will receive personalized gifts, she said.Residents such as William Suttie, 83, a Navy veteran, said they appreciate all the love.“It makes me feel good,” Suttie said.
