Veterans Base Camp

10/13/2026

What an amazing weekend! To those who made it to the first Elktober Fest hosted and held at the Willimantic Elks Lodge #1311 on Saturday, that was held to benefit Veterans Base Camp, "Thank you all!" Thank you to all the Elk Lodges that supported and attended this event: Danielson, Putnam, Rockville, Groton, Manchester, Westbrook and New London ❤️

We also want to thank Westbrook's Bongo Ron's Cigar and Lounge who held a special dinner event to raise funds to support Veterans Base Camp and presented VBC's Cindy, Russ and Dwayne with a very generous donation.
To the Westbrook Elks Lodge #1784, we thank them also for their very generous donation to support our mission. These donations were presented at the Elktober Fest, and the proceeds from the event itself will be presented at a later date. We are overwhelmed by the effort made and the generosity of all who attended.

VBC can not thank all of the members of the Elks Lodges for their support of VBC's mission. Their outreach to our veterans, the provision of much needed items (including a professional Vulcan cast iron 6 burner, double oven and grill stove, dishwasher, supplying our buddy bags and backpacks for life, blankets and shwet sets and towels for our new veterans!) as well as volunteers to help build our dog park, our greenhouse... Thanks too to the Antlers who helped build a retaining wall. You all have been a much appreciated, wonderful supporter to our veterans, their families and those who are at risk in our community. We ❤️🇺🇲❤️ you all.

09/20/2026

A great turnout at the Veterans Stand Down at Rocky Hill. VBC veterans Dwayne Gardner and Forrest Bellomy, Maddie-VBC's St. Joseph's College LPC intern got to talk with veterans, explore the resources offered for veterans and share Veterans Base Camp's mission, programs and supports that are offered. A great day and event!

09/19/2026

Some new renovations happening at Veterans Base Camp! Thanks to an anonymous donor who saw this item on our Wish List, VBC's "antique" doors and windows are being replaced with new energy efficient doors and windows to help curb our very high energy bills. Sterling Renovations is doing beautiful work and have been wonderful to work with!

08/24/2026

Check this out! An amazing opportunity for veterans to learn about Muay Thai, or add to what they already know. Project Chaos MMA blends MMA with camaraderie, veteran peer support and so much more to help facilitate healing. Check this opportunity to learn more about it.

08/23/2026

08/21/2026

Elktober Fest

Save the date for a fabulous time! Eight of the Northeastern Elks
Lodges have joined together to hold "Elktober Fest," a benefit event to support the programs and the mission of Veterans Base Camp which is to: advocate for and partner with veterans, first responders, service members, their families, and those at risk in our
community to identify access, and secure resources necessary to achieve their goals.
Thank you Willimantic, Putnam, Danielson, Groton, Rockville,
Manchester, Westbrook, New London Elk Lodges and the Manchester Emblem Club #251 for all your support, past and present! You have done so much to support the veterans who come through VBC's program, as well as helped with our outreach programs to veterans that are: homebound, homeless and those in nursing homes. You live out the Elks pledge to veterans and their families. We thank you all.❤️

08/19/2026

Come join us for a delicious Spaghetti Dinner! (We do have some awesome cooks here! Just sayin 🙂) This dinner and basket raffles are to support the programs here at Veterans Base Camp:
R.E.S.E.T 4 Vets
Backpacks 4 Life
Battle Buddy Bags for Veterans in Nursing Homes
Equine Assisted Therapy
Vittle 4 Vets Food Pantry
and
Sowing Seeds, Harvesting Hope Greenhouse

We hope to see you here! Please share!

08/15/2026

Success! A HUGE shout out and gratitude to several wonderful volunteers who
showed up at 7 p.m last night, met one another for the first time and were able to figure out a way to move that huge, much needed and appreciated, freezer VBC was gifted, into the pantry and set it up! It was really awesome to see this 600+ lb herculean effort completed pretty quickly by people who just met one another, work together and pulled the challenge off! The freezer just fit, in some instances by an inch or less from hitting the ceiling. It had to be taken in on its side because of its wide width....These guys were awesome and patient with all the manuevering! Thank you to our neighbor Mike LaPlume and his son-in-law Anthony, to Elks Brian Tefft (who had put up our flags a few weeks ago) and his wife Robin(who checks in with what we need for our incoming veterans), to Randy Peterson, JJ Hanson, and Brandon Merced who all jumped in to help when they heard we still needed some more muscle to pull this off.
This freezer will allow us to accept and store more food for those who come to our Vittles 4 Vets food pantry. Again, thank you all!

08/14/2026

📅 SAVE THE DATE — OCTOBER 3, 2026 🇺🇸

Some dates deserve more than a spot on the calendar.

On Saturday, October 3rd, veterans, families, and community members will gather in Danbury, Connecticut for the 1st Annual Afghanistan & Iraq Veterans Ceremony; a day dedicated to honoring a generation that answered the call, remembering those we lost, and ensuring their service and sacrifice are never forgotten.

🇺🇸 Honor. Remember. Never Forget.

📅 Saturday, October 3, 2026
⏰ 10:00 AM
📍 Connecticut Afghanistan Iraq Veterans War Memorial
1 Memorial Drive • Danbury, CT

All are welcome.

Veterans. Families. Friends. Community.

Save the date. Share it with someone who served. Bring your family. Stand beside this generation of veterans and help ensure their stories and sacrifices continue to be remembered.

Afghanistan. Iraq. Our mission. Our legacy.

We will never forget. 🇺🇸

Danbury VFW Post 149 Jason D. Lewis Brookfield Memorial VFW Post 10201 The Bunker at Danbury DAV Lee Hartell Chapter 25

08/14/2026