At Soldier’s Home near Orting, PHS kids perform a service for those who served
Earlier this month, Peninsula High School Key Club members Caitlin Montgomery, Somer Mayer, Priya Sardinia, and Olivia Bush, all wearing COVID 19 preventive masks, did a community service project of volunteer work at the Washington Soldiers Home near Orting.
My good friend, Gig Harbor Kiwanis Club activist Bob Maynard, who alerted me to the adventure said, “This outing by the PHS Key Club to ‘the Orting VA Home,’ which, as it turns out, is really the Washington Soldiers Home is located on 181 acres in the beautiful Puyallup Valley near Orting.”
Established in 1891, this was the first of four homes built for Washington state veterans. Our State Veterans Homes are Medicaid and Medicare Certified and provide 24-hour nursing care, medical care and pharmacy services.
Kiwanis advisor to the PHS Key Club, Sharon Baker, asked Missy Hill, another Kiwanian, if she could connect her Key Club to some volunteer opportunities. Key Club member Caitlin Montgomery, who is working to letter in Community Service at PHS, got involved.
The four PHS Key Club members drove to Orting to assist in building a community fence for the future home of 35 veteran homes. “When we arrived,” said Caitlin Montgomery, “they had the four of us, go through three metal shipping containers to take inventory of all the donated furniture that will be placed within the veterans’ future homes. We had to pull out numerous nightstands, desks, lamps, etc. just to take inventory!”
Kiwanis member Missy Hill, involved in many community service organizations, is on the board of a nonprofit organization known as the Puget Sound Veterans Hope Center which, in partnership with another nonprofit organization, is building a Veterans Village at the Orting Soldiers Home. It will have 35 tiny homes and a central community center.
Maynard advised, “Missy says ‘there is more work to be done, thus more opportunity for volunteers to help out if interested.’”
Going to the Orting Veterans Village was a great experience,” said Somer Mayer. “My friends and I took inventory of furniture donations that will be used in the 30 tiny homes currently being built for veterans. Although we didn’t get to help with the construction, it felt great to lend a hand in the process and help out the community.”
“Heading out to Orting was an interesting experience,” said Caitlin Montgomery. “I love that I was able to be part of such a wonderful volunteer project. Although I only participated in taking inventory for the veteran’s furniture, I believe that this project will truly change the lives of those 35 veterans who were previously homeless”
Quixote Communities, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, will own and operate the Orting Veterans Village on the grounds of the Soldiers Home. Quixote Communities built and began operating Quixote Village, a tiny house community, for 30 formerly homeless adults in Olympia in 2013. For more info on the Orting Veterans Village, go to: http://www.quixotecommunities.org/orting-veterans-village.html.
Key Club member Priya Sardinia said, “We had a great experience volunteering at the veterans shelter in Orting. The community is very nice and it felt good to be able to see what our services were doing for the people living there. I would love to go back when the tiny homes are built to help arrange the furniture and paint the houses. I think this project will be a great benefit to the community.”
Information on the Puget Sound Veterans Hope Center can be found at https://www.pugetsoundveteranshopecenter.org/. T The Orting Veterans Village is a partnership between Quixote Communities and the Puget Sound Veterans Hope Center. Information on the center is at https://www.pugetsoundveteranshopecenter.org/orting-veterans-village/.
For more info, contact Bob Maynard at: <bob.maynard@comcast.net>
This story was originally published November 18, 2020 at 5:30 AM.