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Home For The Holidays

This holiday season, WCCO is proud to partner with the Minnesota Assistance Council For Veterans (MACV) for "Home for the Holidays". Our goal is to bring awareness and support to veteran homelessness in our community. MACV provides comprehensive programs and supportive services to veterans who are homeless or on the edge of homelessness.

During Vietnam, StandDowns provided a safe retreat for units returning from combat operations. They afforded battle-weary soldiers the opportunity to renew their spirit, health and overall sense of well-being. MACV has created their own version of a StandDown for veterans experiencing homelessness in our community. Their StandDowns bring veterans into one location and connect them with services to help bring a sense of security to their lives.

As part of "Home for the Holidays", WCCO will host a Holiday StandDown on Thursday, December 14 at Target Field. 300 veterans will receive services such as haircuts, legal assistance, dental and medical care. We will provide a warm holiday meal along with a special program featuring Minnesota Twins notables and a musical performance by Kat Perkins.

On Tuesday, Nov. 28 and Dec. 5, join WCCO as we host phone banks benefiting MACV. Volunteers will be taking your calls during all WCCO newscasts. Proceeds from the phone banks will provide warm weather gear and essential needs kits for the veterans. Any additional money raised will go towards MACV's overall mission to support homeless veterans in our community.

One of MACV's biggest programs provides transitional and permanent housing to help veterans achieve self-sufficiency. The goal of the program is placement in appropriate housing with services that meet the needs of each veteran. While living in a safe environment, veterans can receive services such as job skills training, mortgage assistance, food vouchers and job search assistance.

To help spread the holiday cheer, WCCO is asking viewers to send us ornaments to hang on our Home for the Holiday's Community Tree. Once the tree is filled with ornaments from around the state, we'll bring it to one of MACV's new transitional homes for the current family to enjoy this holiday season. WCCO hopes the Home for the Holiday's Community Tree will bring joy to the family currently living in the home as well as future families that arrive at the MACV home. To learn more about donating an ornament, visit wcco.com/ornament.

Donate to MACV online now by clicking here.

To learn more about MACV's housing, assistance and outreach programs, click here.

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