By DUSTIN ROW

As founder and president of Songs4Soldiers,  I want to provide an update on what this local 501(c)(3) not-for-profit group has been up to. Our organization helps St. Louis area combat veterans with needs the VA doesn’t cover.

While we highlight everything we do on our Facebook page and website, we thought it would be good to do a monthly update for all of our supporters who may not see those sources.

Songs4Soldiers sponsored two disabled polytrauma veterans to be a part of the Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic held in Snowmass, Colo. The trip allowed the veterans to learn from the best specialized ski and snowboard instructors in the country. After four days of skiing and other activities, it was truly inspiring and humbling to see these men and women overcome their injuries and disabilities to conquer the mountains!

Iraq war veteran Ron Thurber contacted us about receiving help getting his car back in shape so he could continue his college education at St. Louis University and graduate this December. Big thanks to T&M Automotive in Columbia for fixing Ron’s car at cost. Mike and Adam, we really appreciate your help.

Valerie Young, also an Iraq war veteran, was a full-time student working on obtaining her master’s degree in criminal justice. She contacted us for some help in getting her and her two young kids some decent clothing for school. Thanks to Lindsay Pulse, Fashion Attic 4 Kids, Illini Pediatrics and Bud and Katie Amos for securing some really nice clothes for this family. Songs4Soldiers didn’t have to spend a dime on Valerie because of our community’s graciousness.

Navy veteran James Capraro needed help getting into permanent housing through the VA. James has literally pulled himself off the streets and back onto the right path. Songs4Soldiers was happy to pay James’ permanent housing deposit and provide groceries and specialized dog food for his late service dog, Bianca.

Kelly Larrieu, a Navy veteran, has been on a tough road for quite some time now. She has a little boy who was diagnosed with a form of brain cancer called medulloblastoma. He went through three years of chemo and radiation. During that time, she decided to use a G.I. Bill for school and complete her bachelor’s degree in administration of justice. She later found out her son was never in remission but was actually diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder. Her family had to move to the St. Louis area in order to be closer to the necessary hospital facilities.  Kelly had not been able to work because of the weekly treatments her son receives. Songs4Soldiers worked with Kelly’s landlord to not only keep Kelly in her home, but also pay some rent in advance until her son’s Social Security benefits were activated.

Army engineer and Iraq war veteran Erik Williams was injured in a motorcycle accident late last year and has been on a long road to recovery. Erik essentially had to relearn everything from speaking to movement. Unfortunately, Erik will be disabled for the rest of his life, and an adjustable hospital bed is required for Erik to sleep comfortably. His wife contacted us to see about help in acquiring a specially customized Sleep Number bed that would allow her and Erik to once again sleep in the same bed.

Thanks to Sleep Number for selling us this bed at manufacturing cost. Erik and Sheryl should be receiving their very own bed any day now.

Songs4Soldiers is so grateful to have such amazing community support. We are an organization run completely by volunteers and can honestly say 100 percent of your donation goes to helping combat veterans.

For a full list of veterans S4S has helped, visit our website at www.songs4soldiersstl.org.

This year’s benefit concert is Saturday, Sept. 12, from 3 to 11 p.m. at Bolm-Schuhkraft Park in Columbia on the baseball field. The rain date is Sept. 13, from 2 to 9 p.m.

We will be featuring pictures of local veterans throughout the night on the huge HD video wall behind the stage. If you are or know a veteran we can honor, please send a past or present JPEG photo file with name and hometown of your veteran to naomi@songs4soldiersstl.org.