Georgia Post 193 and SVA’s Georgia Southern University-Statesboro chapter joined with a fraternity and the university’s police department to clean up veteran’s yard, help with home maintenance.
Around two years ago, Korean War-era veteran Danny Duncan received assistance with his U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs benefits claim from Statesboro, Ga., Dexter Allen American Legion Post 90 service officer Bobby Godwin. A few months later, Duncan joined the post.
Godwin began driving Duncan to and from his various medical appointments. That’s when Godwin noticed that Duncan’s home and yard needed some work. Walking around the yard was dangerous because of the presence of rusted steel and iron, and broken glass. Inside, items that had accumulated over decades made it difficult for Duncan and his wife to get around.
“I got to know him and got to know his house and the disarray it really was in,” Godwin said. “He can’t get out there and (clean it up).”
That prompted Godwin, also Post 90’s commander, to organize a clean-up effort. He first proposed the idea at a post meeting and then reached out to the nearby Georgia Southern University (GSU) Division of Public Safety, who helped him make connections on campus.
The result was a collaboration between Post 90, GSU public safety officials, the university’s Student Veterans of America (SVA) chapter and Kappa Alpha fraternity. The four entities performed much-needed yard work, home maintenance and other tasks on the couple’s property.
SVA Chapter President Joe Jaurgui, who served in the U.S. Army from 2006-2014 before being medically retired, said answering the call to help Duncan – someone he’d never met – was an easy decision.
“We didn’t have to know him,” Jaurgui said. “He was a veteran in need, and we’re an organization that’s there to pretty much help or do whatever we can to prop up other vets. That’s what we’re there for. We’re trying to do some more engagement with our community and (veteran service organizations). Just trying to be a good student organization but providing for the veterans in our community too.”
Godwin said being able to help Duncan – and incorporating other groups and agencies in the process – “is a really great feeling, especially getting all the different groups to come together. It was life-changing for Danny and his wife because now she can move around. She had fallen a few times, and when you’re older like that and you fall, it’s a big deal.
“It’s an awesome feeling knowing that all these people came together to help a wartime veteran like that and make his life much easier for him.”
Jaurgui said going beyond just assisting fellow student veterans is a part of what SVA represents. “We’re there to advocate for our military-connected students, but we’re also there to impact our community and our veterans in those communities,” he said. “So if there’s ever a need that arises, we’re there to respond. It doesn’t take anything to just go and help someone – to be a good steward and try to be helpful when you can.”
Post 90 had crossed paths with the SVA chapter prior to the cleanup effort. The chapter conducts biweekly meetings, which Godwin now attends as a Post 90 representative. At one of those meetings, it was shared that The Vault, an on-campus apartment complex, had to close in early April because of structural issues. Both Post 90 and the SVA chapter then set out to assist the veterans who were forced to vacate
Post 90 provided a space for program coordinators from the VA Supportive Services for Veterans Families Program from both Augusta and Savannah to assist veterans with rehousing. The SVA chapter, meanwhile, worked to put residents who are military dependents in contact with the school’s dean and military services office to figure out a course of action. The chapter also put into place mechanisms to be able to respond quicker if a similar incident happens in the future.
The collaboration between Post 90 and its SVA counterparts didn’t end with the cleanup effort. On May 10, the post hosted an “End of Semester Bash” attended by 43 people and included games, a cookout and camaraderie shared by the post’s Legion family and the college students.
It’s important to continue that relationship. “Us, as a veterans student organization on campus, we want to bridge that gap between the veteran community that’s not attending school,” said Jaurgui, who is four classes from graduating. “At some point, we’re not going to be attending school any longer. Some of us might actually stay in that area. If we don’t stay in the area, it’s a place where we know we can go … if they ever need anything.”
Godwin also sees the relationship as a long-term win for both organizations. “In my opinion, by forming this relationship, it helps the Legion in the future,” he said. “As these young people graduate and start going back to their places they choose to live, they might get involved in a Legion post there because of the work we’re doing with them now. The Legion needs more young people involved, and this is a good way to get into the community, work with them hand in hand and grow the Legion at the same time.”
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