2nd Annual Craven County Veterans Stand-Down

Veterans Stand-down

Veterans Employment Base Camp and Organic Garden Teams Up With NCWorks to Host the 2nd Annual Craven County Veterans Stand-Down

(Lovay Singleton, Reeshema Walker, and Richard Gorton)

On Friday, September 18, 2015 in New Bern and Saturday, September 19, 2015 in Havelock, Veterans Organic Garden and NC Works, will host a veterans outreach with a special event called a veterans stand-down this event will primarily benefit Homeless Veterans in Craven, Pamlico, Jones and Carteret County.

What is a veteran’s stand-down? The original Stand Down for homeless veterans was modeled after the Stand Down concept used during the Vietnam War to provide a safe retreat for units returning from combat operations. At secure base camp areas, troops were able to take care of personal hygiene, get clean uniforms, enjoy warm meals, receive medical and dental care, send and receive mail letters, and enjoy the camaraderie of friends in a safe environment. We are expecting 150 Veterans in need of services each day.

The New Bern Stand-down will be held Friday, September 18th from 9am – 3pm at the Veterans Organic Garden at the Stanley White Recreation Center located at 901 Chapman Street, New Bern, NC 28562.

The Havelock Stand-down will be held on September 19th from 9am – 4pm at the Walter B. Jones Park. The rain dates are September 25th & 26th.

Through this stand-down and partnership with the local civic and veteran organizations, we will be able to provide needed resources from federal, state, county and city agencies to homeless veterans or those in danger of becoming homeless. Military Officers Association, Food Lion, Trent Cadillac and many other organizations are sponsoring this event.

Free rides to the event will be provided on September 18th by DAV chapter 40 at the following times and locations:

0730 Veterans Service Office Craven

0800 Twin Rivers Mall

0830 Harley Davidson James City

1500-1600 (3:00-4:00) Drop-off

Free rides to the event will be provided on September 19th by New Beginnings Church at the following times and locations:

0730 Havelock Tourist Center

0800 DAV Chapter 26

0830 Movie Theater

1600-1700 (4:00-5:00) Drop-off

We can accept in kind donations of cases of water, food vouchers or can goods and ask that any clothing donated be new and/or packaged. They can be delivered to NCWORKS Career Center Craven County 2836 Neuse Blvd. New Bern. Financial donations can be made through the website at VeteransOrganicGarden.com.

Submitted by: Lovay Wallace-Singleton, Executive Director, Veterans Organic Base Camp & Organic Garden