(left to right) Khosbayar (Hosa) Rentsendorj, Emile Phaneuf, Brandon Hittson, Jeremy Johns

After an ice storm hit Northwest Arkansas in a way the community had never seen, many were left with electrical lines, trees of all sizes, and debris in their yards. Most of the Fayetteville area was without power for several days. This made travel very dangerous and in some cases impossible.

On February 7, 2009, MPPOC members volunteered their time to the community with the cleanup. One family was still without power nearly a week after most of Fayetteville had regained electricity and had a recent medical issue in the family which made it nearly impossible to make their large piece of property look normal again. MPPOC was happy to step up and make a positive difference. Shortly after, we received the following letter from the family:

The recent ice storm here in Northwest Arkansas put everyone in our area in some kind of tragedy or at least an inconvenience. I was in the hospital when the storm hit and was thankful that their generators worked well. When my husband and I drove home from the hospital on Thursday, January 29, we couldn’t believe what we saw in our yard. We couldn’t even drive close to the house and could see that our electric lines were down. We got out the candles, and our little gas burners on our range were helpful in keeping the temperature in the 50’s. We were very thankful that we had an invitation to spend a couple of nights with some friends who had power. My husband stayed busy during that time purchasing a generator and getting it hooked up, then started in on the enormous task of cleaning up the yard. We had several acres of devastation to clean up, and he worked tirelessly and by himself for three days dealing with our downed trees and with the branches and limbs that were everywhere. There was still a lot that needed help, particularly the limbs that were high up in the trees and hanging, ready to fall. We got a call from the young vets from Military Past and Present at the U of A asking if they could come out and help. Of course we said, “Yes”! I fixed a big dinner for them while they worked very hard along side my husband for around three hours. They did a tremendous job, and really seemed happy to help. We are very grateful to them, and my husband and I want to thank them again. We appreciate vets and think that this is a great organization!
Mrs. C, Fayetteville

The employees of the VA Medical Center (VAMC), Fayetteville, AR partners with the local University of Arkansas Registered Student Organization – Military Past and Present on Campus (MPPOC) to identify needs and distribute school supplies to Northwest Arkansas veterans and their families.

The Federal Women Program (FWP) committee, at the VAMC in Fayetteville, AR recently conducted a school supply drive titled “Send ‘em Packin” for veterans and their families.  The FWP School Supply Drive committee was led by Sue Crawford, Chairperson; Jelain Light, and Esther Wagner in Fayetteville; Mary Lee Sheldon in Mt. Vernon, MO; and Dana Vickery in Ft. Smith, AR.  Boxes with yellow school buses crafted on them were strategically placed around the VAMC and the employees of the center dropped off schools supplies from 1-31 July 2008.  The supplies included: backpacks; paper; pencils; folders; pens; glue; color markers; colored pencils; USB Thumb Drives; crayons; rulers; and much more.

During the first two weeks of August, MPPOC identified and distributed almost all of the supplies to Northwest Arkansas veterans and their families.  The other remaining items were disbursed into the community at common areas/places that veterans and their families frequent for them to be able to utilize at those locations.  The items were dropped off at daycare centers, churches, and community centers, etc.

The totals are in and what a success! Through the FWP and the employees of the VAMC (Fayetteville, Ft. Smith, and Mt. Vernon), MPPOC was able to distribute enough schools supplies to help a total of 21 veterans, with a combined service of 203 1/2 years, from all branches of service, and 47 veteran children.  The families were so appreciative and give many thanks to the FWP and the VAMC employees for their generous support.  The students and staff advisor for MPPOC want to thank the FWP, and the employees of the VA, for selecting us to participate in this program.  This program/project showed that the above parties are focused on placing the veteran “first” and are committed to quality care of the veterans’ of Northwest Arkansas and Southern Missouri.