| DAV Donate Van to Charles Georgia VA Medical Center |
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A van, valued at about $32,000, was donated this afternoon to the Charles George VA Medical Center (CGVAMC) by members of the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), Chapter 18, in Shelby, and the Cleveland County, (N.C.) Veterans Council.
The van will be used to pick up and transport Veterans who can no longer drive, or afford to drive, from a central point in Shelby on Tuesdays and Thursdays to the CGVAMC. The Veterans will also get a ride home in the van. Veterans and taxpayers at large benefit from the donation. The CGVAMC Voluntary Services Office, which tracks the numbers, says that DAV vans and voluntary drivers save the CGVAMC about $18,000 a month that would ordinarily be spent as travel pay to individual Veterans.
The donation was made possible by the members of Disabled American Veterans who raise and handle all the money. Johnny Hutchins, chairman of the Cleveland County Board of Commissioners said that 14 municipalities contributed money to the purchase of the van through a wide variety of fund raising activities. The donated money was sent to the national DAV headquarters which then bought a new vehicle from the Ford Motor Company. The process takes about a year to complete.
The vehicle was donated with the signing of a formal agreement by Medical Center Director Cynthia Breyfogle and Commander of DAV Chapter 18, Durwood McDaniel in front of the CGVAMC, 1100 Tunnel Road, Asheville.
Pictured: Durwood McDaniel, commander of DAV Chapter 18, (left); Donald Schenck, commander of the Cleveland County Veterans Council and volunteer transportation network coordinator (second from left); Johnny Hutchins, chairman of the Cleveland County Board of Commissioners (third from left) and Cynthia Breyfogle, director of the Charles George VA Medical Center all take part in cutting the ribbon on a brand new Ford vehicle. Schenck said that the vehicle it will replace has more than 170,000 miles on it.
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