RUTLAND, Mass. - Shoveling is the last thing Neil Viner wanted to do fresh off a plane from Aruba.

"Well, this is the first time I've had to shovel my spot," Viner said. "Usually, Mother Nature, it has been in the sixties, fifties setting up and then she drops the stuff."

But for 10 years now, like clockwork, he sets up a tent and mattress on the Rutland Town Common. In what has become a holiday tradition, this will be Viner's home for the week where he'll raise money for homeless veterans.

"This is our Christmas morning, little kid feeling," Viner said.

Viner has seen it all over the last decade, from unseasonably warm weather to devastating blizzards. His only source of heat is a small fire pit. But believe it or not, he prefers when Mother Nature is a bit unhinged.

"I'd rather have it cold and snowy," Viner said. "Because homeless veterans and veterans in need, they can't predict the weather. They can't make the weather. So if it's cold, they're out in the cold."

It's a cause which hits home for Viner, who has a son in the Air Force and is stationed in Germany this holiday season.

Money raised will benefit Veterans Inc. in Worcester.

"Whatever comes, comes," said Viner. "It's more bringing awareness to the homeless veterans and veterans in need."

Speaking to Spectrum News 1 last year, Viner said the week in the elements is getting harder to do each year. But it's the responses to his effort which pushes him to keep doing it.

"People bump into me and say, 'Hey, are you the guy that sleeps out on the town common for veterans?' I'm like, 'Yes.' That's what really hit home," Viner said. "Even in the summertime, there's still people that think about what's going on here and why I do it."

In a way, Viner is like Santa Claus. But he says this is far more rewarding.

"It's a good feeling when you can go in there and they're like 'Wow, you did all this!' It really hits home when we can drop off a good donation," he said.