The Westfield Lions Club hosted Robert White, community engagement director for the Hoosier Veterans Assistance Fund of Indiana (HVAF) at the club’s program meeting for February.
The mission of HVAF is to house, support and advocate for all veterans and their families in order to help them achieve the best possible quality of life. Founded by three Veterans Administration staffers, the HVAF has a unique partnership with the VA to help and support at-risk American military veterans.
Director Robert White, an Air Force veteran himself, said, “We have around 500 homeless veterans right here in Central Indiana. We have both transitional housing where we provide not only homes, but also substance abuse counseling services, as well as more long-term apartments for our vets.”
HVAF’s Veteran Services Center at 964 N. Pennsylvania St., Indianapolis, provides food, clothing, furniture, household items and personal hygiene supplies to all vets in need.
Photo provided by Westfield Lions Club
HVAF has over 200 beds now, but the need greatly exceeds this capacity. At the meeting, the Westfield Lions donated a huge amount of food and supplies as well as $1,500 to the organization. Several Lions opened their hearts and wallets with additional donations to HVAF. The Lions also supported HVAF with a donation at the last Lions Poker for Sight tournament this past fall.
For more information on the Hoosier Veterans Assistance Fund, go to hvafofindiana.org.
About the Lions
Lions Clubs International is a non-political service organization of over 1.7 million members worldwide, established originally in 1917 in Chicago by Melvin Jones. It now has over 46,000 local clubs in more than 200 countries worldwide. The Lions’ motto is “We Serve.” Local Lions Club programs include sight conservation, hearing and speech conservation, diabetes awareness, youth outreach, international relations, environmental issues and many other programs.