Food truck rally held to raise funds for Honor Flight of the Appalachian Highlands
KINGSPORT, Tenn. (WJHL) — The Honor Flight of the Appalachian Highlands held a food truck rally on Tuesday to support its mission of paying veterans back for their service with a trip to the nation’s capital.
The organization provides a no-cost trip to Washington D.C. for local veterans who served before or up to the Vietnam Era and terminally ill veterans of any era as a way to say thank you for their service.
Honor Flight board member Sarah Rabb told News Channel 11 that they’ve held food truck fundraising events in the past and that the events help provide money needed to fly vets to DC. She said it’s all in an effort to pay veterans back for the service they gave to the country.
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“That was a very hard time for them, and this is our way to help them begin the healing process with some of their fellow comrades and other branches of the service,” Rabb said. “And we start out on the trip as strangers. We come back as a family.”
The food truck event was hosted at Crossroads Global Methodist Church on Netherland Inn Road in Kingsport. A release from the organization said the TN/VA Food Truck Association helped to coordinate ten trucks to provide dinner to visitors.
“An Honor Flight trip is more than a trip; it is an opportunity for veterans to receive the honor they deserve for their military service, sacrifice and valor,” HFAH President Michelle Shelton-Stewart said in the release.
“The weekend is about honoring them and showing them that a grateful nation appreciates and honors their service to our country. In addition to being honored, this trip gives the Veterans an opportunity to build friendships, have comradery with other Veterans and know that their community is proud of their service. Many veterans say an Honor Flight trip is a highlight of their life and they are so grateful for the opportunity and the support of their community.”
Veterans can apply to be a part of the Honor Flight trips by visiting HonorFlightAH.org. More food truck rallies to support the organization are planned for the same location and specific dates can be found in a photo below:
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