Patriots and Paws

Amazing staff and even better service. Great training!

Penny and the gang have been nothing but awesome to all is vets that have came by to get help or volunteer or time. Thanks so much for all yall do

I woild like to let everyone know about a wonderful place Patroit and Paws is. This is a place where our Veterans can go to get items they need for their homes for free. This place & it’s voluteers work tirelessly getting items for our Veterans only just so they can make a nice home. My mom is 97yrs old & is a WWII veteran we came to Penny @ Patroits and Paws there was a. Immediate connection she has shown my mom such love & respect words can not express my appreciation for Penny & Patroits and Paws. We also have been volunteering there for many months & have seen first hand just how many of our Veterans they have helped. Many have expressed to me & my mom their joy & gratitude for all Patroits & Paws has done for them. I have seen them fill up entire trucks with items. We support this place & what they do we need more people like this.

I went to Patriots and Paws because I wanted to help fellow veterans. I ended up quickly being a part of Patriots and Paws. I spent numerous hours weekly helping in many aspects of the organization. I would schedule veterans to come in when they provided what we called a «Wish List.» One thing, I am 100% sure about is that Patriots and Paws are not there for themselves.
Patriots and Paws helped more veterans in the first few months of 2014 then the organization assisted in the last year because of the hours Penny and myself donated. I know 99% of veterans are thrilled. I cannot tell you how many hugs and tears were shared because Patriots and Paws, allowed veterans to come in and have items, they desperately needed to furnish their first home after spending months to 30 years being homeless.
Some items are in high demand and not donated often because usually donors only replace refrigerators, washers and dryers and most other appliances when they are broken. Patriots and Paws do get these items usually when someone is closing an estate and recently from an amazing hotel.
Penny lost her biggest donor because she refused to create a thrift store to support her organization. PENNY DOES NOT SELL ITEMS DONATED. Penny gets contacted by organizations such as Salvation Army and Goodwill to help veterans because their organizations have such red tape, she is asked to help and she does.
The veteran commented about the PDF file. It was created because veterans would come in and think they are owed something. The file is sent out because the items are FREE but in high demand. Patriots and Paws ask for the veteran to be ready to select and take the items. The volunteers aren’t guaranteed to be there plus when you are volunteering that doesn’t mean they want to interact with people.
Many times, Patriots and Paws get a veteran that comes in with wrong information. They believe it and demand what another organization promises Patriots and Paws to do. Other organization cannot promise what Patriots and Paws can do for a veteran or would that be acceptable at their moving company.
I am a veteran. I have been homeless. It can be real easy to have blinders on. I have experience especially with veterans they will believe what they want to and don’t hear what they don’t want too. Some veterans think they are owed something. You aren’t owed anything more than the next veteran
Veterans get themselves in a bad situation by their own doing and all of a sudden believe the world needs to stop and take care of them. Be grateful that organizations like Patriots and Paws are doing just that. They truly are trying to help just because you served. They don’t judge how you got in a bad place; they simply want to help because you served.
As I mention many veterans, if you were called to come get a refrigerator and then it was given away to the next person that walked in the door, you would be quite upset. Any reasonable person would agree and know they were being treated fairly. The fact that Patriots and Paws had that many appliances on hand is because they JUST received them. I know veterans that were waiting patiently for a refrigerator had been called ASAP.
Many times veterans come in to pick up items on their wish list and shop with their eyes. Patriots and Paws is there to give you a start not to furnish your brothers place or «it would be nice to have.» Patriots and Paws is to help as many veterans possible to get a start.
I personally have worked with veterans that have moving companies coming to pick up their selected items. There has not been one moving company show when promised or even showed at all in some cases. I had one veteran sit there for hours waiting for the moving company.
There has been many times, Patriots and Paws allowed the veteran to stage their pick up then a NO SHOW from the movers. That is why Penny will no longer allow the veteran to enter early into the warehouse unless they have a way to select and pick it up at the same time. There is enough work as there is but putting items back because the movers didn’t come is very discouraging.
It is natural for anyone to raise their voice especially in the warehouse because it isn’t the easiest place to hear each other because of all the noises going on. It is real easy to get in a habit of raising your voice so the other person can hear. Her yelling at the driver was more like yelling to the driver so he could hear. Penny is not much over 5′ foot and a window of a moving truck is quite high. If the veteran believes he was being talked down to is because he came in looking for a fight. I have seen it to many times.
My personal experience is when a veteran goes out empty handed is because they aren’t grateful. They come in with an attitude to demand. I no longer volunteer the hours; I did in the past for this very reason. I refuse to be told how Patriots and Paws was to be run.