Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

EDWARDSBURG — The Edwardsburg Presbyterian Church is asking the community to support southwest Michigan veterans.

The church is currently hosting a Hero Haul to benefit area veterans. For the event, the church is collecting monetary donations to be donated to the Battle Creek VA Medical Center. The center will then use donations to purchase personal care items veterans need.

The Battle Creek VA Medical Center serves 22 southwest Michigan counties and currently serves more than 42,000 veterans with both in-patient and out-patient care. That care includes mental health care and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder treatment, which the center reports affects 15 to 20 percent of veterans.

Jerry Tavernier, Edwardsburg Presbyterian Church Hero Haul coordinator, said the church has been donating to the center for several years. This year, he hopes to increase the community’s impact on the Hero Haul.

Donations will be accepted through May 28. Residents can make checks out to the Presbyterian Church and write in the memo line “Hero Haul” and mail to P.O. Box 4, Edwardsburg MI 49112. “Thank you for your consideration of our request as we honor the brave men and women that have selflessly protected our freedoms,” Tavernier said.

For more information, contact Tavernier at (269) 663-6232 or jetav@frontier.com.