‘We Are Going to be Here Until the Families Don’t Need Us Anymore’

A VFW Post in San Diego accepted help from its community when it needed a new refrigerator after the Post's had broken. When the original stopped, volunteers at the Post were in the process of cooking hundreds of meals for displaced flood victims.

During an interview with CBS 8 in April, volunteers told the news station that the Post's main industrial refrigerator stopped working and that they were accepting donations for a new one. After the story aired, VFW Post 7420 Commander Livy Lazaro told CBS 8 that "everyone just started calling and blowing up our phone."

CBS 8 reported that the Post received $3,000 in donations from across San Diego County. VFW Post 7420 Commander Livy Lazaro said to the TV station that his Post's mission is not complete until "everyone is taken care of."

On April 2, VFW Post 7420 told CBS 8 that it was providing 400 meals daily. In January, historical levels of flooding hit the military town. Many families were displaced and in need of meals. VFW Post 7420 members and volunteers immediately started preparing hot meals for flood victims in shelters and hotels. And even when the refrigerator stopped working, volunteers did not.

"We are going to be here until the families don't need us anymore," VFW Post 7420 Quartermaster Johnny Odom told CBS 8.