American Legion hoping to raise $20,000 for new building

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Volunteers from Ben’s General Contracting Corp. busily coated the sheet rock walls with thick white compound, while owner Ben Jackson walked outside to assess and create a to do construction list for the soon to be home of Freeport’s American Legion William Clinton Story Post No. 342 last Saturday. For months, the American Legion has been planning and preparing to move into the vacant building across Seabreeze Park at 925 S. Ocean St. in Freeport. While the new location has been under renovations, they’ve been meeting at the Freeport Memorial Library.
“I think we have accomplished a lot over the past few weeks,” Commander Coy Richardson of the Post said in a letter. “There is still a lot to be done. We need everybody to work together to make this work. I am working on a few things that will make our post self sufficient.”
Working diligently alongside the volunteers, Jackson said although his crew has only been working on the building for close to two weeks on the weekends, he’s excited to see the amount of progress they made in a short period of time. Adding that it’s been tough trying to help the Post get a bulk of the funds to purchase the material, he’s optimistic and says he’s been able to provide the labor and bought materials with his own money to support the veterans. Jackson also shared he’d been working alongside United Friends of America, a nonprofit organization he cofounded to help organizations and families in need, to get the project done in time for Veterans Day in November.
“This is for veterans and we wouldn’t have this country if it wasn’t for the veterans,” Jackson said. “I am a big supporter of them—anything they need, I am here to support. The Post is not just an advocate for veterans, they advocate for the community. They do a lot of community stuff. They’re a good bunch of people.”
The William Clinton Story Post 342 is a civic and veterans organization that has served the Freeport community since 1919. The nonprofit and registered 501c3 organizations has hosted Freeport’s Memorial Day festivities, awarded scholarships for graduating Freeport High School students, supported wounded veterans and provided support for Freeport veterans in hospice or in need of care. As of late, the group has also been making strides in providing young veterans who are returning from overseas or the Middle East with help in finding employment, in need of clothing and other services.

With the help of hefty donations from the community, along with the support of the Village of Freeport, Senator John Brooks, Friends of Freeport and local contractor Jackson, the American Legion is practically two months of away from moving in. The new location will have a small kitchenette and meeting spaces that the Post will make available for groups to use as meeting places when needed.
“We are aiming to open by Veterans Day,” Post member, VCMDR David Cockerel said enthusiastically. “Our main focus is to ensure we are able to continue to provide the support (we’ve always given) to the Village.”
Relying solely on the kindness of the community and construction volunteers to help renovate the building on Ocean Avenue, Cockerel says the group is still trying to raise the rest of the funds to finish the construction. On July 30, the veterans launched a Go Fund Me campaign in efforts to raise $20,000 to complete the construction. By press time on Wednesday, the group had already raised $110.
“We are almost complete,” Cockerel said. “We are just need some more funding because there is still a lot of things to do (while the building is under construction) and after the building is finished.”
Senator Brooks has also been making strides in efforts to help the Post by trying to secure money from the state. Brooks shared he was confident he would be able to help the Post and hoped the renovation would be completed by Veterans Day.
"The American Legion plays such a vital role in our community,” Brooks said. “These men and women have valiantly served their nation and it's wonderful to see the community come together to help them rebuild.” 
Donations to the William Clinton Story Post 342 are tax deductible and can be made at https://goo.gl/g9m8mn. For more information email wcspost342@gmail.com.