Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) on Friday presented the Beck Veterans Center with $47,000 to support Veterans Cottages of Jonesboro during a ceremony at the Arkansas State University ROTC Armory.
Speakers included Beck Veterans Center board member retired Col. Clarence Overbay III, National Advisory Council for the Vets chairman retired Brig. Gen. Keith Klemmer, Beck Veterans Center Director Jana Haskins, Jonesboro Mayor Harold Copenhaver, and DAR Arkansas State regent Gale Markley.
After the presentation, Markley noted that each state regent gets to select a project which they will support during their term through donations, fundraisers, promotions and other supportive works. The Veterans Cottages of Jonesboro was hers during her 2022-2025 term.
“I wanted something that focused on those 13 counties that make up northern and Northeast Arkansas,” Markley said. “The Veterans Village (now the Veterans Cottages of Jonesboro) had just opened six months before I took office, and I came up with the theme ‘A Journey of Service Should Always Lead You Home,’ and that is where it all came from, because these people have served. They’re veterans, they’ve served, they need a home. They’re in a part of their life right now that, for some reason, they are without a home, and this is a transitional answer to that.”
The Veterans Cottages of Jonesboro are all fully furnished homes, complete with appliances such as washers and dryers. An administrative building on site has computers for the veterans’ use. The facility is located at 920 Aggie Road.
Haskins noted how the donation will help the center and the veterans it serves. The center is a full-service, nonprofit agency for veterans.
“We do not charge for anything that we do for our veterans. We have individual counseling and group therapy. We have a food security program, food pantry, and clothes closet. We train battle buddies. We do everything. We’re kind of like a resource hub for veterans. If there’s something that we can’t provide when they come in, we find someone that can,” Haskins said. “This donation is going to be amazing. It’s going to really going to help us help our veterans and help with the Veterans Cottages. It’s going to help with their security and all the wraparound services for them.”