Photos of Ashley White-Stumpf courtesy of Catherine White.
Catalyst for starting Villagers for Veterans: Marie Bogdonoff attended a Christmas party at Walter Reed Medical Center on Dec. 7, 2014 for veterans recuperating from injuries and was stunned to see many warriors were still recovering from devastating injuries. The trip motivated Marie to start the nonprofit, 100% volunteer group Villagers for Veterans to help severely injured vets regain their independence.
Think about that for a minute. How much better would this world be if every person, at the happiest, most fulfilled point in their life, thought not for themselves, but for the good they could do for things bigger than themselves?” It is a question for each of us. Author Gayle Tzemach Lemmon ends “Ashley’s War” with those eight words. “When I was reading the first chapter of the book, it gave me chills and backflashes,” recalls Kathryn Wilgus, retired lieutenant commander of the U.S. Navy, who serves as vice president of Villagers for Veterans. Kathryn was an operating room nurse in Kandahar, Afghanistan and also deployed to Mazar-e Sharif, Afghanistan as a medical embedded training team member and female engagement team member that went on some special ops to interact with the Afghan National Army and police. Unlike Ashley, she says, “I didn’t have to go knocking on doors.” Kathryn began her military career in 1987 as part of the U.S. Army Reserve Delayed Entry Program and enlisted as an operating room technician. Some of her other key deployments were to Landstuhl, Germany in support of Operation Enduring Freedom; and a deployment on the United States Naval Ship Comfort for their Continuing Promise Mission to Antigua, Columbia and Panama. She retired in 2016 with 20 years combined military service. Kathryn cherishes serving as the board vice president of the Villagers for Veterans where she has promised on the group’s website to be a “force of nature” to move mountains and achieve great things for Veterans in The Villages as well as the Central Florida and greater Orlando area. Other board of directors for Villagers for Veterans are Paul Immordino, treasurer; Stephanie Gradford, military liaison; Sonya Kurfliss, secretary; Kevin St. Amant, Veterans Affairs director-at-large. To learn more about Villagers for Veterans’ services, programs and activities, visit VillagersforVeterans.org or call 516.220.5068.
SOME OF THE GROUP’S NOTABLE PROJECTS: • Presented disabled Army Sgt. Pam Kelly with a new smart home on the historic side of The Villages after a major fundraising campaign. Pam suffered a devastating injury in 2002 while training for deployment to Iraq which left her permanently paralyzed with very limited use of one arm. • Brought actor and veteran activist Gary Sinise to The Villages twice in 2019. He is best known as Lt. Dan in the movie “Forrest Gump.” Gary made an appearance to promote his best-selling book, “Grateful American: A Journey from Self to Service,” and returned with his 13-piece Lt. Dan Band, performing at Lake Sumter Landing. The Gary Sinise Foundation aims to entertain troops, perform at USO shows, and raise money for disabled vets. “The point is, each and every one of us can all do something to empower Veterans and make their lives better. It doesn’t have to be a big thing. You just have to take the time to care,” Gary says on the Villagers for Veterans website. • Villagers for Veterans successfully raised $100,000 for an allwomen Honor Flight to take place in early 2022. • The group spearheaded a USO-themed event at Paquette’s Historical Farmall Tractor Museum in Leesburg to benefit Project SOS, which provides food to veterans and their families in the Ocala National Forest. • Villagers for Veterans is currently selling memorial bricks, ranging from $75 for a 4x8 brick to 8x8 bricks with logos for $175. The bricks will form the base of the flagpole at the women’s transition home in Eustis and be used to create a pathway from the house to the reflection garden.
MEETINGS AND EVENTS: • Villagers for Veterans’ meetings have resumed on the third Tuesday of each month, 6 to 8 p.m. at Lake Miona Recreation Center. Meetings focus on upcoming events, and members are to bring their own snack and beverage. Speakers, movies and more are featured at the meetings. • Villagers for Veterans’ monthly bingo is back on the second Monday of each month from 6 to 8 p.m. at Wildwood Community Center. Doors open at 6 p.m. Admission is $5 at the door. • The seventh annual Orchid Gala, “A Night in Havana,” begins 5 p.m. Aug. 7, at Brownwood Hotel & Spa, 3003 Brownwood Blvd., The Villages. Music will be provided by Latin Fusion, and the gala will feature dinner, cash bar, silent auction, and a special appearance by the Hula Hands in Aloha. Tickets for the gala are $75. Proceeds from the gala will benefit Ashley’s House, the first transition home for female veterans to be built in Eustis.
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