Young Women’s Group Organizing Veterans’ Stocking Donations

By Dawn Hensil
Staff Writer
Members of the Young Progressive Women’s
Association are once again working to ensure that some
local veterans have a brighter Christmas season.
For the fifth year in a row, the Clarksburg-based group
will be collecting items to fill stockings to go to the Louis
A. Johnson VA Medical Center, WV Veterans Nursing
Facility, and to homeless veterans. These young women
started this project five years ago when they filled a single
stocking full of items for local veterans.
“Most of these young women have had family or a
loved one who served … and they want to give back to
other veterans as a thank you for their sacrifices,” said
Betty Felts of the Young Progressive Women’s
Association.
The goal is to help as many veterans as possible and
they are looking for help from the community.
Each veteran will receive two stockings: one filled with
personal hygiene items and one filled with small
Christmas-themed candies, games or gloves. Each pair of
stockings will include a tag that tells you which location it
will go to.
“Different items are needed for each of the locations,”
Felts said. “Items that are needed for the VA Nursing
Home may not be useful to the VA Hospital and so on.”
The Young Progressive Women’s Association is asking
for help from anyone who would be willing to donate.
They have set up multiple locations where you can pick
up stockings to fill yourself. Locations include including
JR Barber Shop in Shinnston, My Little Cupcake in
Bridgeport, My Mother’s Daughter in Clarksburg, and
Uptown Event Center in Clarksburg.
They ask that all stockings be returned by Dec. 3 so that
they can make it to their destinations in time. If you are
interested in helping and do not have time to stock a
stocking yourself, they also created a way to make
donations so that the girls can do the shopping for you.
You can find more information on their Facebook page as
well as their Instagram.