11th annual Patriot Day Give Back event in Colorado Springs to honor military, veterans, first responders, local community
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- The Mt. Carmel Veterans Service Center's motto is to ensure "that no veteran falls through the cracks."
But the organization has expanded that mission beyond active-duty personnel, military veterans, and their families -- to include first responders and their families, along with citizens in need, and anyone somehow impacted by the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
On Friday, Mt. Carmel hosted its traditional Patriot Day Give Back event, outside its headquarters in southwest Colorado Springs.
The event began at 8 a.m. with the opening ceremony featuring remarks from local leaders; the keynote speaker was Denis McDonough, former White House chief of staff and U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
"Fittingly, this morning in New York City, there was -- for the first time -- a moment of silence for the first responders of that fateful morning, who turned and ran into those buildings," he noted.
During the opening ceremony, three civilian pilots performed a flyover, using the "missing man" formation.
Between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., Mt. Carmel conducted a free food giveaway for 400 families at the nearby Norris Penrose Event Center.
"The extra food helps me have money to put towards other things like car repairs or house repairs," said recipient Bernice Mulvihill. "Definitely stretched my budget."
Local artist Molly McClure observed the Patriot Day event in a special way -- by displaying her recent painting of the bond between the military and first responders.
She explained that it's one of a dozen similar scenes she will paint over the next few years that will become wall murals.
"I was a freshman in high school when it happened, and I had a lot of friends who were in the military at the time," McClure recalled. "And I lost friends. Some I lost when they came home."
Mt. Carmel provides counseling, support services, job placement, and a variety of other programs.
"Do I have a sense of how many people seek them or still don't know about them?" said Bob McLaughlin, Mt. Carmel's executive director. "We can always do more. Every day, we try to tell people what we're doing. No one is unserved. Someone is always struggling or needs help."
Paul Price, Mt. Carmel's director of operations, said that the event has grown each year.
"It began with a small ceremony before the food distribution," he said. "We try to add something every year."
For more information about Mt. Carmel's programs and services, click here.
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