New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
The Veterans Transition House has received a $300,000 grant from the Alfiero Family Charitable Foundation in support of its $1.3 million Building Hope for Heroes Capital Campaign to renovate two New Bedford properties. With only $300,000 left to raise, the Veterans Transition House will move forward with plans to renovate a historic building, located at 1060 Pleasant Street, in partnership with the nonprofit, Waterfront Historic Area League (WHALE) for ten units of transitional housing for veterans. The second building, located at 1311 Purchase Street, will become a new outreach center for veterans seeking services and referrals.
“This is an incredibly generous contribution from the Alfiero family. We are honored to earn their support. We are also proud to recognize the Alfiero’s connection to their hometown and their remarkable service as American military veterans,” stated William R. Eccles, Jr., President and CEO of BankFive and chairman of the Veterans Transition House fundraising campaign. When completed, the Purchase Street building will be dedicated as the “Anthony and Salvatore Alfiero Veterans Outreach Center,” which will also include the “Charles and Ann Alfiero Conference Room.”
“Serving veterans is a major part of the mission of the Alfiero Family Charitable Foundation,” stated Sal Alfiero, Chairman of the foundation. “Any person willing to don a uniform and support the ideals of this country deserves respect and gratitude. The new facilities will help ensure those that willingly put it all on the line will have resources available to them to ease whatever shocks might come their way.”
Salvatore and Anthony Alfiero were born in Westerly, Rhode Island but claim New Bedford as their hometown having moved there at very young ages. Salvatore served in the U.S. Marine Corps as a fighter pilot while Anthony served in the U.S. Air Force, topping off a twenty-year career with service in Korea in 1950 and Vietnam in 1969. Four years of his service was with the Central Intelligence Agency. Subsequently, Salvatore went on to establish Mark IV Industries, a Buffalo, New York-based publicly held company, which helped to fuel the foundation. In addition to the various veteran-based support, the foundation has been integral in the continuing support of the medical community in and around Western New York and a major contributor to the Marine Corps Heritage Museum in Triangle, Virginia.
The Veterans Transition House was founded in 1990 and has provided over 3,000 formerly homeless or at-risk veterans with a combination of housing, programs and collaborations to enable them to gain independence. “We provide hope for homeless veterans in a safe, sober and supportive residence and assist those who desire to achieve rehabilitation, self-sufficiency, and community reintegration,” stated James Reid, Veterans Transition House executive director and a retired U.S. Army helicopter pilot. Owning seven properties throughout New Bedford, Veterans Transition House is the largest veterans organization in Southeastern Massachusetts providing those in crisis with comprehensive resources to rise above homelessness, poverty and health challenges.
“Now that we are so close to reaching the campaign goal, our hope is that many more families, companies and foundations will support the Veterans Transition House. These renovated buildings will be important resources for local veterans so we need to make them available as soon as possible,” said Wayne Carvalho, board president of Veterans Transition House.
For more information about naming opportunities or to discuss a contribution to the Veterans Transition House, please contact Jim Reid, Executive Director, at 508-992-5313 x 111 or jim@vetshouse.org. Contributions can also be made online at www.vetshouse.org/donate.
