As a military mother, Darlene Scalese counts her blessings that her son Casey returned home from Iraq and Afghanistan healthy and whole. “He has no issues, he is 100 percent, blessed, safe and going to college.”
Mrs. Scalese, 55, of West Mifflin, took those blessings and started giving them away through her work with Operation Troop Appreciation. She volunteers 30 hours a week coordinating the “Welcome Home” program serving homeless veterans. Because of her efforts, she has been selected as one of the seven finalists for Outstanding Volunteer of the Year for the 2014 Jefferson Awards for Public Service.
As part of the program, PNC Foundation will donate $1,000 to Operation Troop Appreciation on Mrs. Scalese’s behalf.
She was introduced to the all-volunteer organization when her son was returning from Afghanistan in October 2013. She met Amanda Thompson (another Jefferson Award winner) at West Mifflin’s Community Day and was bowled over by the good things happening there. “I said, ‘I’m sold.’ ”
She does all the volunteer work around her full-time job at the School of Design at Carnegie Mellon University. “I give back, because I am just storing up those blessings ... I don’t want them to be forgotten.”
The original mission of Operation Troop Appreciation, headquartered in West Mifflin, is to support deployed members of the U.S armed forces. When the troop drawdown from the Middle East started in 2013, a whole new set of needs arose.
Monica Orluk, the organization’s president, nominated Mrs. Scalese for the award. “There are lot of homeless veterans. PTSD, traumatic brain injuries, physical disabilities,” she said. “They are unable to perform jobs they had, or have no support systems through the recovery process. The VA helps them with treatment and finding a residence, but there is nothing to outfit the place.
“We have veterans in apartments trying to heal from traumatic injuries who have no bed to sleep on and are eating off of paper plates. You cannot heal when you don’t even have a pot to cook in or a bed to sleep on.”
In April 2014, it launched a program that provides a “Welcome Home” kit. It includes a bed from The Original Mattress Factory for all family members — as many families are divided through homelessness — bedclothes, dishes, pots, cleaning supplies and more. “The stuff you need to get started in a new home, our vendors go above and beyond to help us with discounts.”
“Darlene stepped up to spearhead the program. She is a godsend. We projected we’d be able to help 150 families through December; we took care of 268. That was all Darlene. She is now handling about 40 assessments a month.”
She personally coordinates each kit to ensure that needs are met, including contacting caseworkers to find the nearest grocery store to provide a gift card so the veteran won’t go without food until his or her first check arrives. “She also organizes transportation for the medical care, working with agencies late into the night via email.”
Every Saturday, Mrs. Scalese coordinates a group of volunteers who pack up the kits for delivery. “I have a personal goal of seven days turnaround time. If there is a homeless vet moving into an apartment, why should they have to wait?” She says that other agencies cannot move that quickly “but we can control what we have to do.”
The items are packed in reusable red Operation Troop Appreciation bags and presented as welcome home gifts. “The program is a hand up, not a hand out. We want them to have a new, true gift.” Ms. Orluk agrees, “They are completely transformed, they are struggling for months and years and we do it to say thank you.”
Last Christmas, someone walked in the office and wanted to help the vets for the holidays. Mrs. Scalese ran with it. “She is a shining angel,” Ms. Orluk said. “We had a Santa shopping experience. She said ‘Don’t come with your kids.’ The veterans could pick up off the table what they needed, we had a gift wrap station, she ran for weeks and made sure that each child got one or two gifts off of their Santa wish list.”
That night, they served 26 veteran families. “There were a lot of happy tears,” Mrs. Scalese said.
“It makes you appreciate what you have, and opens your eyes to help people who are less fortunate.” she said. “You should never pass up an opportunity to help someone.”
For information about the program: operationtroopappreciation.org or 412-653-1317.
Rosa Colucci can be reached at 412-263-1634 or rcolucci@post-gazette.com; Twitter, PgRosa_Colucci.
First Published: May 1, 2015, 4:00 a.m.