PHOENIX - America's veterans are honored today for their service and sacrifice for the nation, but there is a program in Arizona that works year-round to do that.

Susan Howe, founder of Honor Flight Arizona, which flies about 30 vets at a time to tour the war memorials and other historic sites in Washington, described her organization's mission.

"The primary focus is the World War II memorial, but we also go to the Capitol and to the other war memorials and military memorials, and also to be honored for all that they have done for us," she said.

Since it was started four years ago, Howe said, Honor Flight Arizona has flown near 900 vets to the nation's capital. The project receives no government funding, but relies on contributions from service clubs, businesses and individuals.

Howe said the World War II vets definitely appreciate the opportunity to see their memorial, but even more, the interaction with people they meet on the trip.

"They are absolutely taken aback by the number of Americans who shake their hands, who clap, who cheer, who come up to them and hug them, and say, 'Thank you so much for what you've done.'"

Howe says there's a sense of urgency at Honor Flight Arizona. The average age of World War II vets is now 90, and there's a waiting list of 270 for the flights.

"When we make phone calls to let a veteran who has signed up know that they're going on a trip, about 25 percent of them are either too infirm at this point to go, or they've died," she said. "And that's why time is of the essence."

The Honor Flight Network, which is open to all veterans, has helped nearly 100,000 vets across the country see such sites as the Korean, Vietnam and Iwo Jima Memorials, as well as Arlington National Cemetery.

The website for Howe's group is HonorFlightAZ.org.






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Massachusetts residents are being asked to step up, just as they did five years ago, to help their fellow Americans in Puerto Rico.

The Massachusetts United for Puerto Rico Fund raised more than $4 million after Hurricane Maria devastated the island in 2017. But government dysfunction, and the immense structural damage from the storm, allowed many of the donated goods to go to waste.

Aixa Beauchamp, co-founder of the Latino Equity Fund and Mass United Fund for Puerto Rico at the Boston Foundation who helped lead fundraising efforts following Maria, said this time, relief organizations are using their knowledge and experience from the previous storm and are better equipped to help those in need.

"The best way to help the island is through the current nonprofits that we already have," Beauchamp emphasized. "Who've been institutional partners for many, many years there on the island, and really know how to get support to the island."

She pointed out the need is great. More than a week after Hurricane Fiona made landfall, hundreds of thousands of people remain without water or electricity. Roads are washed out, many schools are closed and families remain in shelters.

A list of nonprofits is on the Boston Foundation's website. Some are focusing on schools, while others are working with small businesses flooded in hard-to-reach mountainous areas.

Beauchamp noted Puerto Rican families are exhausted, and she is confident people in Massachusetts will donate what they can.

"This is a generous state," Beauchamp asserted. "It has the third-largest Puerto Rican community, so I am hoping and banking on the generosity of Massachusetts residents."

President Joe Biden has said the federal government would fully cover the cost of relief efforts in Puerto Rico for the next month, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has suggested the use of Community Block Grants to train workers on the island to repair infrastructure damage.

Meanwhile, local agencies are working tirelessly to feed and shelter families in need.

If you dial 911, it is more than likely a volunteer firefighter will respond to your emergency, but in Massachusetts, there are not enough volunteers.

More than half the 360 fire departments in the Bay State are volunteer-run, and rarely do they fight actual fires. Most calls are for medical emergencies, and they also respond to floods, car accidents and even hazardous waste spills.

As climate change brings more extreme weather, firefighters can spend days or even weeks in rescue and recovery efforts.

Joe Maruca, fire chief in West Barnstable, said it puts a great strain on volunteer crews.

"Even our department, with 40 volunteers, sounds big, but it's only just about the right size," Maruca explained. "We would struggle on day three or day four of an event to be able to rotate people into the incident and sustain ourselves."

Many fire departments still rely on word-of-mouth, open-house events and old-fashioned door knocking to recruit volunteers. They are also increasing their social media presence and working to interest high school students, who might consider a two-year certification program rather than leaving town to get a four-year college degree.

Maruca pointed out the amount of training required to become a volunteer firefighter and maintain the certification prohibits many people from signing up. But he emphasized there are other ways volunteers can support their local fire departments not involving emergencies.

"They help us with truck maintenance, and they help us with training, and they help us with human resource work," Maruca outlined. "There's all kinds of things they can do. We have people that help teach CPR classes to the community."

Some local governments offer volunteers a financial stipend for their training hours or on-call hours.

Sarah Lee, CEO of the National Volunteer Fire Council, said such incentives are needed, as the lack of volunteers is forcing many departments to pool their resources and cover larger geographic areas.

"These small, rural communities are relying on volunteers to respond, and if they don't have enough people, then the response time is going to be even longer," Lee stressed. "It's really important that they get people that want to step up and give back to their community."

A Baltimore elementary school is getting a helping hand this week from folks who haven't been elementary students in quite a while.

The community garden and outdoor classroom at James McHenry Elementary School in Baltimore is getting a major refresh tomorrow, as about 30 volunteers gather to fix it up. Volunteers from a group called Out Teach and AARP Maryland teamed up to create the project in 2018, and have helped to maintain it alongside the students and staff ever since.

Jen Holz, associate state director for outreach at AARP Maryland, said since the pandemic began, the space has been neglected.

"Folks were not in the schools, and it was subjected to vandalism and just general wear and tear," Holz observed. "We're going back, and we're going to add some new features like a flagstone pathway, some birdhouses, some cool educational features for the kids."

AARP volunteers were already helping out at McHenry Elementary, and Holz said it has become a place where inner city kids and older people can connect, which decreases isolation for the seniors while teaching the students about nature. AARP Maryland set aside $10,000 to restore the garden.

Holz noted the project is part of AARP's Livable Communities initiative, which supports efforts to promote better communities through access to health care and employment, multigenerational activity and civic engagement.

"It was really meant to create an accessible space for people of all ages," Holz explained. "AARP, on the very local level, is continuing to support livability."

She added the initial project cost about $40,000 and transformed what had been a trash-strewn, empty lot into a vibrant community space.