JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – About 30 homeless veterans who live at the Five Star Veterans Center will have gifts to open on Christmas, thanks to organizations like the Foundation Financial Group (FFG).
The Department of Housing and Urban Development estimates over 62,000 veterans are homeless each night. Jacksonville's Five Star Veterans Center is a nonprofit organization for displaced veterans in need of housing.
The FFG held a drive for items to help veterans get through the holidays. Tanya Mauro, the chief financial officer of Foundation Financial Group and veteran, said vets need a lot of help right now.
"A lot of them have a hard time transitioning back to normal life, as we call it," said Mauro. "We have a lot of homeless veterans, so we decided to step in and help out where we can."
FFG employees donated clothing, hygiene products and reading materials to the vets. It's something Michael Ellis with the Five Star Veterans Center says they're grateful for.
"It's great for veterans that don't have much for Christmas to begin with," said Ellis. "These gifts will go a long way to helping them out."
FFG is planning to do another donation drive next year, and they hope other corporations will do the same.