UNION GROVE, Wis. — Ground Zero Veterans Outreach is an all-volunteer organization that helps veterans get back on their feet.
Now, the organization itself needs some help to keep going.
Ground Zero Veterans Outreach operates a thrift store in Union Grove. Anyone can buy items there for low prices, but veterans can take anything from the store for free — including food, clothing, household supplies and furniture.
Ground Zero Veterans Outreach also ensures veterans are utilizing all the VA benefits available to them, such as housing vouchers.
The organization said it regularly helps veterans who are homeless — and living in shelters — move into their own apartments.
Christine Luxem, Ground Zero Veterans Outreach founder, said her work at the organization is truly a labor of love. She doesn’t get paid a cent for her work.
“I just love helping people, and it ends up that I am helping vet,” said Luxem. “I’ve been moving three to four vets a week. I have no time to help them, run the store, move people. I need lots of volunteers.”
Not only is Luxem in need of more hands, but she is also struggling to pay for electricity to keep the lights on at the thrift store. She said it is also hard to stay on top of rent payments for the building.
She said she is hoping to find a volunteer grant writer to help her apply for public and private funding to help the organization stay afloat.
Carl McDaniel, a U.S. Army and Navy veteran, said a lot of people like him would be lost without Ground Zero Veterans Outreach.
“They make sure the veterans are taken of, and that we are not forgotten,” he said.
Less than a year ago, McDaniel was living in a veterans’ homeless shelter in the area. He found out about the organization and was able to get help from it. He said he’s now in a much better place.
McDaniel pays it forward by volunteering for Ground Zero Veteran Outreach.
“It gives me purpose,” McDaniel said. “Every day I get up and this is what it’s all about for me. It makes me whole.”
If you’d like to help Ground Zero Veteran Outreach, reach out to Luxem directly at 262-822-4145.