MONROE COUNTY, Pa. — The Valor Clinic Foundation's mission is to help give veterans a hand up on the home front. That's exactly what is happening at the former dining hall at Camp Trexler in Polk Township.
"We don't think the veterans should go off to war, come home and starve, and neither should their children or spouses," said Valor Clinic Foundation Founder, Mark Baylis.
The space now serves as a food pantry for the organization. Ronald Motley of Walnutport is a Navy veteran who, several years ago, found himself homeless. He tells Newswatch 16, he turned to valor.
"Going from a house that you're living in, to suddenly going to nothing, nothing at all. That is hard on a person. But the nice thing about it is that this system works. It helps people, it helped us," said Motley.
Motley is now settled into a home with his wife and spends time volunteering with Valor. Founder Mark Baylis says the non-profit has found a new way to expand its reach to help more veterans.
"We were trying to figure out, hey, how do we get the stand down services we do to people that maybe need it more on call, and we have all of the resources at the house, why not start a day? So we started the walk-in Wednesday concept," explained Baylis.
Walk-in Wednesdays started a few months ago, held on the third Wednesday of each month. For veterans like Ronald Motely, he says the extra help goes a long way.
"My grocery bill would be 200 to 300 dollars a month, with the food you get can that down to something more reasonable that you can afford," explained Motley.
Valor relies heavily on community support and fundraisers to keep the shelves stocked and its other services going.
"Our next significant one is our Patriots Ball, we count on that, it's our last big fundraiser for the year, whatever we raise there gets us through the winter," said Baylis.
Walk-in Wednesdays are from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
To learn how you can support the Valor Clinic Foundation or to purchase tickets for the Patriots Ball, click here.
