A motorcycle run and a visit to the Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center in 2011 changed Adam Cook’s life.
Cook promised he would be back to visit the veterans at the hospital who were patients of the spinal cord injury floor. The run and the visit gave birth to Operation S.T.A.T. (Standing Tall for American Troops).
“The most disturbing stories we heard were that we were the only people some of them had seen in weeks, months, and some, even years.” Cook said. “This news was absolutely unacceptable to me.”
Operation S.T.A.T. has returned each year since then to help brighten the holidays for the patients at the medical center.
Operation S.T.A.T. is in need of volunteers to help fill Christmas stockings for the patients at the medical center. Stop by American Legion Post 678, 570 E. 328th St. in Willowick, between noon and 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday. If necessary, volunteers will return noon to 3 p.m. Dec. 20 to finish packing the stockings. Cook hopes to fill 3,000 stockings for the patients. Volunteers are asked to show up and lend a hand.
Stockings are filled with donated items, such as playing cards, dominoes, individually wrapped cookies and crackers, notepads and stationary items.
Volunteers who want to help with the delivery are asked to meet at American Legion Post 678 at 7 p.m. Wednesday for details about the process. The filled stockings will be delivered to the patients at the medical centers by volunteers after a short briefing at 11 a.m. Dec. 22.
For details about Operation S.T.A.T., call Adam Cook at 440-413-6225 or Coletta Hribar at 440-474-0082.
Donations may be mailed to Operation S.T.A.T., P.O. Box 38, Chardon, OH 44024

Gunny’s Hall hosts toy raiser
Col. J.M. Chambers Marine Corps League Detachment 555, Gunny’s Hall fundraiser for Toys-for-Tots will be 1 to 7 p.m. Sunday at Gunny’s Hall, 8720 Twinbrook Road, Mentor.
The event will include music, a Chinese auction and a 50/50 raffle. Please bring a new unwrapped toy to donate or a cash donation.
For details, call 440-974-9380.

Stockings for Soldiers a smash
DeJohn Funeral Homes & Crematory’s “Stocking for Soldiers” program saw tremendous community support in the fifth year of the program. More than 900 stockings will be sent to returning American military troops and veterans for the winter holidays.
The community effort involved schools, churches, senior groups and the general public and is sponsored by the funeral home. The stockings will be turned over to the USO Office of Northern Ohio, which will distribute the stockings during various events and at local armories leading up to Christmas.

Help warm the homeless and stuff the bus
Sub Zero Mission will host the stuff-the-bus event at Mentor Plains United Methodist Church, 7271 Lake Shore Blvd. in Mentor, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday.
Donate gently used men’s and women’s winter coats, sleeping bags, tents, blankets, hats, gloves, scarves, snow pants, sweatshirts and hoodies and help stuff the bus.
Items collected will be delivered to the homeless during the 2013-2014 winter months. On any given night, there are tens of thousands of homeless on the streets of America, and one in five of them are veterans.

Frog leg dinner hops into Painesville post
The Ladies Auxiliary of American Legion Post 336, 60 Chester St. in Painesville, will host a frog leg dinner 5 to 8 p.m. today at the post home. Dinner is $10 and includes frog legs, french fries, hush puppies, slaw and dessert. For details call 440-357-7711.

Fish on menu in Willoughby
Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7754, 540 New St. in Fairport Harbor, hosts fish fry dinners every second and fourth Friday of the month. Lunch will be served 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and dinners from 4 to 7 p.m.
The public is welcome. For details, call the post at 440-352-1123.

Steak dinners offered at AMVETS
AMVETS Post 40, 9141 Jordan Drive in Mentor, will serve a steak dinner from 5:30 to 8 p.m. the second Saturday of each month at the post home. Dinner will be $12 and includes steak, salad, corn, baked potato and roll. The dinner is open to the public. For details, call 440-527-1911.

Ohio Military Reserve host Open House
Alpha Company, 1st Battalion of the Ohio Military Reserve will host an open house for Ohio citizens wanting to serve their state and country in a disaster response unit locally.
Ohio Military Reserve is a part of the Ohio Adjutant General’s Office and serves only in the state of Ohio responding to natural and other disasters. The unit drills one weekend each month and attends a one-week annual training camp at Camp Perry in Port Clinton.
No prior military experience is required and ages 17 to 62 are accepted. The open house will be 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday at the National Guard Armory, 1175 W. Vine St. in Alliance.

Gunny’s Hall breakfast AWOL for holidays
Breakfast at Gunny’s Hall will not be served Dec. 22 or Dec. 29 because of the holidays. Breakfast will be served as usual after the new tear. For more details, call 440-974-9380.

To submit items for this column or the online listings, send them to: The News-Herald, Attn.: Larece Galer, 7085 Mentor Ave., Willoughby, OH 44094; fax to 440-975-2293; or via email to LGaler@News-Herald.com.