FOXBOROUGH — The Melrose, Wakefield and Stoneham Police Departments are pleased to announce that each department participated in the Massachusetts Military Support Foundation’s (MMSF) “Coats4Vets Buckets” event Tuesday, Dec. 8.
The event brought together local police departments, state police and sheriff’s departments to help distribute coats to veterans in need.
On Tuesday, Dec. 8, local police officers from the state’s 351 cities and towns convoyed in police cruisers and other law enforcement vehicles to Gillette Stadium to retrieve “Coats4Vets Buckets”. Each bucket contains a coat, masks, hand sanitizer and snacks that will be distributed to veterans in local departments’ cities and towns.
Melrose Police collected 21 buckets, Stoneham Police collected 12 and Wakefield Police collected 10, which they’ll bring back to benefit veterans in their respective communities.
The distribution method of the buckets is meant to encourage local authorities to engage and connect with homeless veterans in their communities.
“This is an extremely worthy cause that we were honored to support, and I’m hopeful that this gesture will go a long way toward helping veterans in Melrose and communities throughout the Commonwealth,” Melrose Police Chief Michael Lyle said.
“Our department is proud to support veterans in need in Stoneham, and today’s event was an inspiring show of solidarity with those who have served our country,” Stoneham Police Chief James McIntyre said.
“We are thankful for the opportunity to strengthen our connection with the veterans in our town by lending a helping hand, and I commend the Massachusetts Military Support Foundation for their tremendous work in making today’s event happen,” Wakefield Police Chief Steven Skory said.
The Massachusetts Military Support Foundation has distributed 34,500 coats to veterans since 2016. The sponsors and donors for this years “Coats4Vets Buckets” include the Massachusetts State Police, Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, New England Patriots Foundation, Ocean State Job Lot and Home Depot.
About Massachusetts Military Support Foundation:
The Massachusetts Military Support Foundation is an organization dedicated to providing programs, services and goods that help satisfy critical needs and enhance the well-being and quality of life for veterans, active-duty Military and their families in Massachusetts. Each of their programs is designed to have maximum impact on the many issues veterans and active-duty Military face.
The MMSF also run three empowerment centers throughout Massachusetts. Each of these empowerment centers provide food, personal hygiene products and other life essentials for families These centers allow servicemen and their families to connect to various services such as health care, mental health and substance abuse counseling, and job training among others. Since they opened these empowerment centers have served over 383,000 veterans, active-duty military personnel, and their families who live in Massachusetts.
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