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DHS Encouraging Participation in National Day of Service Honoring Veterans

11/10/2016

November 10, 2016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:
Brandi Hinkle, DHS Deputy Chief of Communications
Arkansas Department of Human Services
501-683-5286 or [email protected]

DHS Communications and Community Engagement Office Participating in National Day of Service Honoring Veterans
Organizations, families encouraged to take part in event or other activities

The Arkansas Department of Human Services Office of Communications and Community Engagement encourages families to honor a veteran by participating in Family Volunteer Day, Saturday, Nov. 19 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Eugene Towbin Veteran’s Healthcare Center on Fort Roots Drive in North Little Rock.

Family Volunteer Day is a national day of service that celebrates the power of families working together to make a difference in their communities. This is the first time DHS has participated in the event, which is powered nationally by Points of Light and generationOn.

“Volunteering as a family provides new experiences that children and adults can have together and an opportunity to develop strong connections to the communities in which they live,” said Amy Webb, DHS chief communications and community engagement officer. “It also helps parents nurture in their children a life-long commitment to giving back and serving others.”

The tasks at the North Little Rock veterans’ center will include painting benches, helping with the garden and other landscaping projects at the campus lake. The center can accommodate up to 150 volunteers on this day.

To register to participate, visit http://www.volunteer.va.gov/apps/volunteerNow/.

Families not in Central Arkansas or those who can’t make the event Saturday can get involved in a couple other ways, including collecting specific items or creating greeting cards for veterans. To learn more about these efforts, please download our toolkit at https://humanservices.arkansas.gov/dcsns/Documents/AR-Family-Volunteer-Day-Toolkit_2016-(1).pdf.

“It’s important that we reach out to the people and provide volunteer opportunities to help bolster the spirits of our veterans,” said Michael Dobbs, chief of volunteer services at the center, “whether it’s in the community, a nursing home, or at our main facility in Little Rock or North Little Rock.”

Items in high demand include personal hygiene items, coats, scarves, gloves, socks, books and magazines, but a complete list can be found in the online toolkit. Veterans also love to receive handmade greeting cards, Dobbs said, and this project is easy to do with groups of all sizes, at school, home, work, or with church or civic groups.

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