Introduction
The Veterans Coffee Social program began with Librarian Katie Arnold and Veteran Joseph Coffey partnering together to create an event that could bring veterans together to share stories, mingle with people and local veterans organizations, and to benefit from library's resources.
Our first meeting highlighted the traveling Veterans Memorial Wall exhibit that that was coming to Rocky Point Park in September of 2023, with the help of Operation Stand Down RI (OSDRI).
The traveling wall replicates the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington D.C.
Team members of OSDRI came to the meeting to describe the event and what their organization does to help Veterans in Rhode Island.
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Grant Funded
Our first event was a success, so we expanded it into a recurring program. Many veteran's organizations were loyal representatives to our program, and they helped advertise our events.
Librarians Katie Arnold and Ellen O'Brien wrote and won a LORI Mini Grant for the WPL to fund the expansion of the program in 2024. This helped the program to include speakers and activities that were focused on improving mental health and socialization.
The LORI Mini Grant helped broaden our goals of focusing on supporting veteran's mental health through socialization and creative outlets.
We found that many speakers insisted on donating their time to make presentations, like Chef and Veteran Frank Terranova, Helen Smith of the RI Genealogical Society, and musician and veteran Edgar Edwards, among others, to give back to their local veteran community. The grant helped purchase supplies needed for each event.
The Lori grant helped us bring these events to Warwick veterans in 2024:
- February 2024 - Army Special Forces Veteran Joseph Coffey, a National Trainer with the Counsel for Mental Health Well-Being, gave a presentation on mental health awareness and self care.
- March 2024 - Celebrity Chef and Veteran, Frank Terranova, gave a soup demonstration and tasting class.
- April 2024 - Helen Smith from the RI Genealogical Society gave genealogy workshop.
- May 2024 - Musician and Veteran, Edgar Edwards (famed TFG airport musician) gave a violin concert with a piano accompaniment.
- June 2024 - Joseph Kearns & team gave fly fishing ties demonstration.
- July 2024 - Heather Paris gave a meditation workshop.
- August 2024 - Imperial Ceramics instructed pottery painting workshop.
We continued the Coffee Social program after the grant was concluded. The events we have had since then have been:
- September 2024: Karen Dalton of Dare to Dream Ranch. This organization provides animal therapy to veterans at their ranch in Foster RI. Karen brought Puppies and rabbits for veterans to pet and hold.
- October 2024: Historian, Professor, Author, and President of the Westerly Armory Restoration Inc, Roberta Humble gave a presentation of on Rhode Island armories.
- November 2024: Pegee Malcomb: Rhode Island Historic Cemetery Commission Chairperson and Secretary of the Warwick Historical Society , Pegee spoke about some historical figures buried in the Warwick cemeteries. Civil War reenactor Paul Borget gave a fantastic portrayal of Warwick native General.
- December 2024 - Author Talk, with authors of Afterthoughts: An Anthology of Rhode Island Veterans.
Video showcasing WPL's Veteran Coffee Social created by Nadia Engenheiro of Half Street Group:
Testimonials
"Any positive acknowledgement of our veterans interests me"
"Getting veterans together to chat and learn new things benefits the community"
"Providing a new skill helps me interact better with other people"
"Building connections with others and learn about new resources are the most valuable parts"
"My son is in active military. This helps in so many ways"
"This is an excellent opportunity to learn something new and to interact with others"
"I have been introduced to topics I would not have learned otherwise"
"The comradery with other veterans benefits me"