Sons of American Legion Squadron 75 Freezin' for a Reason to raise funds for homeless vets
FOND DU LAC – Sons of the American Legion Squadron 75 will host its second annual Freezing for a Reason fundraiser Feb. 15-16 at American Legion Post 75, 500 Wisconsin Ave., including 50-50 and bucket raffles throughout the weekend.
The evening will start with a $10 spaghetti dinner from 4 to 7 p.m. Feb. 15, followed by Military Appreciation Night at the Fond du Lac Bears game next door.
Then, Sons members and other participants will camp outside Post 75 overnight to raise awareness for homeless veterans and the fact veterans are twice as likely to experience homelessness than those who didn't serve in the military, according to member Shawn McCrary.
After the sun rises Feb. 16, a $7 pancake-and-sausage breakfast will finish the weekend from 9 a.m. to noon.
Last year's event raised almost $15,000, all of which went to to aiding homeless and at-risk veterans: 75% stayed in Fond du Lac County, 15% went to Wisconsin causes like the Fox Valley Veterans Council and the American Legion Department of Wisconsin Troop and Family Support Fund, and the last 10% went to the American Legion National Emergency Fund for veterans who were impacted by Hurricane Helene.
Within Fond du Lac County, the Sons group works with the Fond du Lac County Veterans Service Office to help provide direct relief to veterans, including more than $2,500 in gift cards for food and fuel in emergency situations.
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McCrary said they met a family this year that had to choose between paying rent or fixing a ruptured hot water heater, so the Sons purchased and installed a water heater themselves. Another veteran couldn't commute to work because the tires of their car were bald, so the Sons replaced them, too.
"Sometimes we can assist in things like this so it doesn't snowball into a situation where a family is displaced," McCrary said.
Anyone who wants to support the event but can't make it out to the dinner or breakfast can visit the Supporting homeless and at-risk veterans GoFundMe page.
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Daphne Lemke is the Streetwise reporter for the Fond du Lac Reporter. Contact her at dlemke@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Fond du Lac Reporter: Freezing for a Reason campout in Fond du Lac raises money for veterans
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