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Green clothing donation bins that belong to the local chapter of Disabled American Veterans (DAV) are located behind Luann’s Gas & More and outside of Hank’s Foods.
Those who have driven by Luann’s Gas & More or Hank’s Foods, have likely noticed the bright green bins sitting outside of either establishment. Those bins are a part of the ongoing effort of the local chapter of the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), Chapter 33, to raise money in support of disabled veterans in Pipestone County and across the state.
According to Darwin Sietsema, the adjutant/secretary of Chapter 33 of the DAV, the DAV is a service organization much like the American Legion or Veterans of Foreign Wars. However, the DAV specifically serves veterans who have been identified as having a service connected disability. Donations of gently used clothing deposited in the bins are used to raise funds to support disabled veterans in an eight-county area in southwest Minnesota, including Pipestone County. Twice a week local chapter members empty the bins in Pipestone and put them into a trailer Sietsema has parked in the city, he said.
“I’ve got a trailer parked in Pipestone where the clothes go until it gets full,” he said. “We have a semi trailer parked over in Garvin where I bring my trailer and about 15 of us guys get together and unload the little trailer into the bigger trailer.”
Once the bigger trailer is full, chapter 33 members contact Savers, a thrift store company much like Goodwill, that the Minnesota DAV has a contract with that enables them to bring clothing donations to the company in exchange for a monetary donation to the DAV. Savers then resells the gently used items to its customers.
“When we bring in the items they pay us by the pound,” Sietsema said. “They take all of the trailers up to the cities where they have a new center where they sort everything out there and send the items to their stores all around the country.”
Sietsema, who is a Vietnam era and Navy veteran, said the bins have been in the area for around nine years and have helped to support many local veterans. With the money they receive for donations, chapter 33 members work with local Veteran Service Officers (VSO) to identify and provide emergency funding for a variety of issues faced by disabled veterans in Pipestone and surrounding counties.
“They (VSOs) help us because our reason for being is to help other veterans,” he said. “A VSO will call us and say, ‘Hey, I got this veteran and he’s out of work or facing hard times and he’s behind on his electric payments.’ Or sometimes it’s a veteran that’s in the hospital that will be getting out and he’s in a wheelchair and he needs a ramp. Maybe someone’s furnace went out and they can’t wait for help through the government process. We help them on the spot now. We work to help with a lot of different issues.”
Funds raised by chapter 33 are used for other local projects, Sietsema said, including donations to the Minnesota Veterans Home in Luverne and brass grave markers purchased for local veterans. Additionally, the state chapter of the DAV provides vans and volunteer drivers for veterans who need assistance in getting to and from their VA and other medical appointments.
For area residents interested in donating their gently used items, chapter 33 members request that they are deposited in a bag, Sietsema said.
“If you make a donation, we would appreciate it if they are left in bags instead of loose,” he said. “It makes a big difference. It makes it easier to empty the bins and it keeps them from getting ruined in the rain. We also have to purchase bags to put them in.”
Members of Chapter 33 of the DAV are thankful for the support of and donations from community members, Sietsema said.
“I can’t express how much we appreciate the donations,” he said. “Every donation counts and helps a veteran in need.”
