Everett Taylor: Taylor's Yarns

By EVERETT TAYLOR

It's crunch time for those who tend to put off their Christmas shopping. The 2007 countdown shows slightly more than a week before the holiday.

Even though a flood of new products join many of the old standbys every season, the task of trying to pick the right item for everybody never seems to get easier.

In the midst of bustle of these final days before Christmas there is one special group of people who might tend to be overlooked - war veterans in hospitals, rehabilitation centers or those just down on their luck.

Veterans are honored on other special occasions during the year, particularly on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, but many of those who may be undergoing particular hardships might not be remembered by many during the Christmas season.

One relatively new service trying to keep that from happening is DVDs4Vets. It was started in November 2006, and the Web site DVDs4Vets.org went live last month just before Veterans Day.

This service has been providing a local effort to collect and deliver donated DVDs to veterans' hospitals and centers in the New York area. A growing number of schools, businesses and community service organizations have been hearing about the service and collecting and donating DVDs to locally based veterans' hospitals.

The group's mission is to provide public ability to locate local veterans' hospitals and centers providing in-patient or walk in services in order to allow for donation of new and used DVDs, regardless of service, said Laurance Baschkin, a spokesperson.

Baschkin said the idea to start DVDs4Vets came about on Veterans Day, 2006. With increasing reports of severely wounded soldiers returning from Iraq, many, due to physical hardships, were unable to obtain some of the most basic entertainment.

When it became known many returning veterans have suffered traumatic brain injuries and other serious wounds which required long-term rehabilitation, Dr. Richard Landis of Westport, Conn., wanted to help.

During a two-week visit to Afghanistan, Dr. Landis, along with a group of surgeons, helped organize a remote hospital and rehabilitation center for wounded civilians.

During a social event over the 2006 Christmas Holiday, he met Frank Nicholson who, upon hearing of the visit to Afghanistan, suggested putting together another project that would allow returning veterans to receive donated DVDs while in rehabilitation.

Enlisting the aid of friends with whom he served during the Korean conflict, Nicholson, in a matter of days, brought together a group of dedicated people interested in participating. Baschkin, of Rye, N.Y., who had assisted an effort resulting in more than 5,000 DVDs being sent to active duty personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan, was one of those contacted.

The effort gained momentum swiftly, and soon more than 20 individuals began pledging time and financial help to launch DVDs4Vets.

Donors help by giving new and used DVD movies to veterans, especially those with limited access, so they can view the latest Hollywood releases. More than 27,500 DVDs have been donated.

People interested in donating DVDs can go to the Web site and click on the Donate DVD area. Veterans, regardless of when they served, can go to the Locate DVDs area on the Web site if they want to receive a donated DVD.

The service is not politically associated and does not accept any financial support for this project, those involved said.

This is a unique way in which people can help boost the spirit of veterans nearby with a special remembrance this Christmas.

Everett Taylor
()