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10/25/2022 09:59 AMVolunteers will show their appreciation and support for local veterans as part of this year’s Veterans Day Project leaf clean-up effort on Saturday, Nov. 12.
Paulette DeMaio organized the annual event in 2014 as a way to do something tangible for town residents who had served in the military. With help from American Legion Post 76 and First Selectman Michael Freda, what started out as a small effort has grown into a town-wide event drawing volunteers of all ages.
“We got a decent amount of volunteers the first year, enough to do the 10 yards, and it’s just grown every year since then,” said DeMaio.
DeMaio said she expects as many as 100 volunteers will participate in this year’s leaf clean up with the goal of clearing the leaves from up to 40 yards. While the clean up event used to be held on Veterans Day, it has since been switched to the day following the federal holiday. DeMaio said the change occurred mainly due to volunteer availability.
From the beginning of the Project, she has received assistance from Angelo Appi, who DeMaio called her “right-hand man.” Appi has been a part of the leaf clean-up since the first year of the project and DeMai said he always brings additional volunteers with him.
Volunteers will meet at the North Haven Green at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 12 for a greeting by Freda. They will then disperse to hit up the identified lawns in need of raking.
But the Project is not just to help individual veteran’s directly, but to honor them and their memory by cleaning up yards at homes where a veteran’s widow may still reside.
“The thing that I’ve found right from the beginning is we have all these veterans living in North Haven, and a lot of them are elderly and they can’t get out there and do their leaves anymore. Some don’t have the means to pay someone to come and do them,” said DeMaio.
The organizer said that the response to the effort have been of nothing short of gratitude from veterans and their widows, sometimes in the form of cards.
“They just almost can’t believe that the volunteers are coming and doing that for them, and that they remember them,” said DeMaio. “The thing I hear most consistently is that it’s so heartfelt to them that people remember their service.”
DeMaio recalled one particular veteran in town who served in Korean War, which he and others have referred to as “the forgotten war.” He was struck deeply by the help of the volunteers who recognized and honored his service, the same feeling experienced by other veterans of other wars as well.
“It just really brings a smile to their face. A lot of them will come to the window, some of them have come out and show us their Purple Heart or the medal they got in the war, [or] tell some stories,” said DeMaio.
Help for the event comes from volunteers of all age groups and different kinds of groups. DeMaio said that assistance over the years has come from the Post 76 baseball team, the Elite Hockey Program, the Rotary Club, the Key Club of North Haven High School, and the soccer club, among many others. Congregants from Vox Church and Hope Christian Church have come out to assist, as well. DeMaio said many high school-aged kids, and even those who are younger, love to take part in the project. High school students who volunteer receive hours for community service.
A boon to the event over the years has come from local landscapers, such as Iovanna Property Maintenance, who provide all their equipment to volunteers, and has proven to be a tremendous help for the clean-up effort during the day of the event.
DeMaio said 87th District Representative Dave Yaccarino has also demonstrated support for the project by taking part in the leaf clean-up.
“The help is incredible. I’m almost shocked every single at how many people come and want to be involved,” said DeMaio. “The good thing about it is once someone comes one time, they keep coming back.”
DeMaio said that anyone who knows a veteran whose lawn has been part of the Project is encouraged to contact her for their name to be on their list of homes for volunteers to hit during the day.
Volunteers can sign-up for the event either individually or as part of a group on the Project’s Facebook or can contact DeMaio directly at 203-824-6707. Volunteers can also sign up at the email address servingveterans112@gmail.com.