All over the city, signs have gone up showing people the way to the Thorold Legion Branch 17 on Ormond Street.
The project is the brainchild of Legion members Ken and Jeannie Smalko, who have been working hard to get homeless veterans off the streets.
“The idea was that these guys on the streets hopefully can see the signs and make their way to the branch,” explains Ken, in an interview with ThoroldToday. “Even if veterans that aren’t homeless see a Legion sign and make their way to it, then they can ask about what the Legion does for veterans.”
There are 10 signs in total that have been put up all across Thorold.
“They’re in different areas,” says Jeannie. “So there's one up here at the corner which points towards the Legion. There's one up on Beaverdams Road pointing towards this way. On the Peter Street Bridge, Claremont and Chapel — Just down our city limits where Thorold starts.”
“You think it's a lot of signs but you can't spread them out that much because you're trying to have one sign lead to the next one,” adds Ken. “We would have needed 50 signs to cover the whole city.”
The signs were paid for by the developer behind the Rolling Meadows subdivision, who heard Ken’s presentation on the proposal at Thorold City Council.
“He was actually in council when I did my presentation,” Ken says. “It worked out well because the council meeting the week before I was sick and I couldn't go.”
The couple says it was also the city’s Public Works department that really stepped up and brought the project to fruition.
The Thorold Legion has been around since 1926, but the organization still hasn’t lost its relevance to the local community.
With the signs, the Smalkos hope that more and more people will find their way to their headquarters.
“We're not just a men's club,” says Jeannie. “We are welcoming members to join our club and just promote camaraderie.”
“If you don't let non-members into your end of the branch how do you expect to get new members?” adds Ken. “If the community isn’t involved with the Legion how can you expand?”
As for Jeannie and Ken, they’re continuing their efforts to get homeless veterans off the streets.
“We've been very successful in helping these veterans,” says Jeannie. “We actually just delivered our apartment starter kits to [two veterans] because they have been housed. it's very rewarding to know that we're working towards helping the veterans.”
As far as they’re concerned, the Smalkos will never stop fighting for veterans in the Region.
“it's out of passion and out of love actually,” says Jeannie. “We’ve both had members of our family that served. It just brings tears to your eyes because you know they fought for our country, they fought for our freedom and now we're giving back to them because we are so thankful and grateful for what they've done for us.”
