Hunter Vespie and Regent Jan Owens Perry
Hunter Vespie is a 16-year-old female, Petty Officer First Class with the United States Naval Sea Cadets Corps – Signal Mountain Division. When her Commanding Officer Stacy Kehoe told her about the Tennessee Daughters of the American Revolution project “Phones for Veterans,” Hunter decided to take the project to her hometown of Lancing, Tn., with the goal of raising enough money to purchase 100 telephones.
Through social media, newspaper ads, speaking to her local American Legion, and by talking to her friends and family, Hunter exceeded her goal – singlehandedly raising $1,224, which will fund 102 phones.
The phones are lightweight, inexpensive, disposable, and designed to lie flat on a table or bed. They have large, raised numbers that are easy to read. The patients at VA hospitals may receive the phones while they are inpatient and then they may take them home when they leave. The disposable phones help prevent the spread of disease while providing the veterans a means of keeping in touch with family and friends while hospitalized.
The Judge David Campbell Chapter NSDAR presented Hunter Vespie with the chapter’s DAR Service to Veterans Outstanding Youth Volunteer Award on Oct. 8. This award is given to a youth volunteer in recognition of outstanding or unusual care of veteran patients. Hunter has a passion for service to our nation’s veterans and certainly stands as a leader and role model for her peers.
If you would like to contribute to Phones for Vets, you may contact Jan Owens Perry, Regent, Judge David Campbell Chapter at regentjudgedavidcampbell@tndar.org.
The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution was founded in 1890 to promote patriotism, preserve American history, and support better education for our nation's children. Its members are descended from the patriots who won American independence during the Revolutionary War. With more than 165,000 members in approximately 3,000 chapters worldwide, DAR is one of the world's largest and most active service organizations. To learn more about membership and the work of today's DAR, visit www.DAR.org.
Hunter Vespie and Regent Jan Owens Perry