Helping Homeless Vets

By Brenda Blevins McCorkle, The Daily News

Jacob Johnston saw homeless veterans in tattered clothing meander in and out of the Kelso VFW hall every time he visited to volunteer his time.

After a while, it got to the 10 year old.

That’s when he decided to form his own organization named Operation SAVE (Support American Veterans Everywhere). He got a little guidance from his mother, Elizabeth Johnston, founder of MOMS (Mothers of Military Support).

My mother was the inspiration,” Jacob said.

When he broached the idea with his mother, it took her by surprise.
I said, “That’s a great idea,” Elizabeth said. “But we’ve got so many projects going right now that I couldn’t stop to help him.”

She soon discovered that he needed little aid. With guidance from Kelso VFW commander and auxiliary president, Dough and Helen Reid, Jacob planned his strategy for helping the veterans.

“He had been talking about doing this for several months,” said Helen. “Before, he wanted to just do a clothing drive and have people bring stuff in. Then, he really wasn’t happy with that.”

Jacob decided clothing drives might bring in only ripped or stained clothing.

“He didn’t want that for the Vets. He wanted them to haven new things,” Helen said.

The Reids and Jacob visited the local police department to locate homeless veterans.

“That was a big concern of ours,” Elizabeth said. “We didn’t’ just want to hand things out, outside of what the project is.”

While volunteering with MOMS, Jacob raised about $1000 through selling pens and other items, Elizabeth said. So, when Christmas rolled around, the Reids and Jacob took the money to Wal-Mart.

And they shopped.           And they shopped.

“They had nine cartloads of stuff,” Elizabeth said.

The blue Wal-Mart buggies bulged with shoes, socks, slippers, underwear, mittens, hats, pajama bottoms, blue jeans, shirts and tarps.

Lastly, Jacob piles 20 boxes of chocolate-covered cherries on top.

“He knew that the vets can’t afford to buy goodies,” Helen said. He said, “ maybe if they had two chocolate-covered-cherries every night before they go to bed, that would give them something sweet to eat and help them get through these rough times."

Days later, the Reids and Jacob hauled the goods where many of the homeless vets camp near the Cowlitz River. The Reids opened their van to reveal boxes of clothing and other good, and Jacob handed them out.

“It made me feel nice and all that good stuff,” he said afterward. “They all told me thank you.”

Some of the vets were bowled over by the project.

“The last guy, I was really surprised,” Jakub said. “He was yelling all kinds of things, like thank you, God bless you and that stuff. So, even when we couldn’t see each other, he kept yelling it.”

Christmas is over, but Jacob plans to keep his project going. MOMS will have a donated booth at upcoming Home & Garden show, and Elizabeth said her son probably will be on hand to raise money for Operation SAVE.

“If I get enough money, I’m going to get them tents and all that,” Jacob said.

Average 10-year-olds might be worried about where their next Xbox game is coming from. Not Jacob. Operation SAVE is at the top of his list.

“It’s hard to explain,” he said. “I feel bad for the homeless (vets). They’ve already done everything for us….What they did was give us a free country, and I think that’s all the needed to do,” he said. “So, I’m giving them something in return.”

3:48 PM 11/11/2007

Impressive young man
Friday, March 4, 2005 7:08 AM PST

"We just finished reading the March 1 article about Jakub Johnston, and we can't say how impressed we are with this young man. He has done something most of us only think about once in a while. We are so busy with our own lives, we forget about the homeless who really need a helping hand. We feel very humbled by Jakub and his unselfish works. If he is this caring and thoughtful at the age of 10, can you imagine what kind of a man he will grow into? Way to go, Jakub!"

Jackie and Rich McNally