PORT ANGELES — John Braasch, president of Voices for Veterans — which organizes three stand-downs annually on the North Olympic Peninsula — has been selected as runner-up to the 2017 AARP Washington Andrus Award for Community Service.
AARP, a nonprofit organization for people 50 and older, says the award is its “most prestigious and visible state volunteer award for community service.”
Braasch will receive an award and a donation of $500 to Voices for Veterans at 8:45 a.m. today at the stand-down at the Clallam County Fairgrounds, 1608 W. 16th St.
The stand-down will begin at 9 a.m. and continue until 3 p.m., offering direct services and connecting veterans to more than 20 different organizations.
Services range from medical and dental to housing, employment, veteran benefits, counseling, haircuts, food, pet supplies and clothing.
Veterans can get answers to their questions and obtain resources they might not have known were available to them.
Clallam and Jefferson Transit buses will offer free transportation to the stand-down.
Braasch, a former submarine command master, made helping homeless veterans his mission in 2004.
Since then, his nonprofit Voices for Veterans has helped thousands of former service members connect with resources and community services, offering hot meals, medical and dental services, clothing and legal aid, as well as connecting veterans to VA benefits, housing assistance, employment services, haircuts and veterinary supplies for their pets.
Braasch and his service dog travel around the Peninsula, coordinating with more than two dozen organizations for stand-downs.
A stand-down is a one-day operation offered three times a year in May, July and October on the North Olympic Peninsula. The event in Forks was May 3; the Port Townsend event was July 31.
For more information about the stand-down, call 360-640-0296, 360-731-6398 or 360-797-1791.
