The tradition continues this Fourth of July as the Veterans Independence Day Celebration (VIDC), now in its fifth year, will have volunteers serve barbecue meals to veterans and their loved ones in the company of live entertainment at Patriot Park near the Long Beach VA Medical Center.
“Everything we have in this nation is due to veterans,” said Val Lerch, a former 9th District city councilmember who handles finances for the VIDC. “So, anytime we can give the chance to say ‘thank you,’ shake their hands and give them a pat on their back, it’s important.”
In 2012, the VIDC was established with the intent to raise awareness and community involvement in caring for military veterans.
Lerch, who has been involved with the VIDC for the past three years, said the celebration started with a few men who wanted to cook up some food for veterans at the Long Beach VA Medical Center for the Fourth of July.
The men promptly loaded up their barbecues in the back of their trunk, took them to Patriot Park and served hot dogs and hamburgers to veterans who would come by.
“That’s what started all of this,” Lerch said. “These are veterans who are stuck in the hospital for one reason or another… And this gives them a chance to celebrate the Fourth of July.”
The event has since garnered volunteers who help prepare and serve meals and provide donations.
[aesop_image imgwidth=”500px” img=”http://www.signaltribunenewspaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Screen-Shot-2016-05-19-at-3.15.48-PM.png” align=”right” lightbox=”on” caption=”The VIDC event garners volunteers to help prepare and serve food and provide donations. The celebration this year on the Fourth of July will be free for the public and will include live entertainment. ” captionposition=”right”] Planning for the VIDC began about three months ago, Lerch said. The team made sure every arrangement was set for the day of the celebration. It was a cohesive effort that involved phone calls and lots of organizing in order to make sure every resource would be in order.
Lerch is in charge of pricing the goods, as well. Once the food menu is settled, he provides a list to the employees at grocery retailer Jetro, where pickup trucks retrieve the food and drop it off at the Long Beach VA Medical Center, which houses 20-foot storage containers for the items.
The entertainment also requires just as much effort as the food. Onstage performances by bands have been featured in the past— such as the Long Beach Symphony— and other forms of enjoyment that include a military-vehicle display and a children’s play area.
There will be two stages this year for performances in addition to the usual mainstage. John Brown, who works with logistics for the VIDC, said there is not a confirmed lineup for this year’s event at this time.
The event cost totals about $15,000, according to Lerch, and it’s all paid for by donation. The Long Beach VA Medical Center provides all the resources and its facility, but everything else, such as the food, is donated.
“I have a pie company that donates 340 pies,” Lerch said of donations. “I have a guy that drives an ice cream truck, and he drives his truck onto the site and gives out all the ice cream until there is no more left… it’s all by donations in one kind or another.”
Sponsorships are another source of the event’s income. The VIDC is currently offering sponsorship packages for organizations that wish to donate and be recognized as a supporter of the event.
Those in charge of the VIDC are anticipating 2,400 people on the Fourth of July. Lerch said a large majority of those individuals— about “60 or 70 percent” — are veterans and their families.
There’s also a shuttle bus on-site at the event that travels to the veteran homes at the Village of Cabrillo three or four times during the day to transport them to the celebration.
“We’ve got buses that hold about 40 people, and it’s usually filled each time they run over there,” Lerch said.
The celebration is free to the public, but Lerch primarily encourages veterans to participate. He insists that they are the ones who will appreciate the festivities the most.
“I’ll tell you over and over how appreciative they are to have somebody care about them enough to bring them food, to pipe the music into the hospital so they can enjoy the Fourth of July— even though they are in bed and can’t get out of bed for whatever reason,” Lerch said. “They are in the hospital at the VA because they are veterans who are suffering. That’s the importance of it. It gives these veterans the chance to celebrate the Fourth of July.”
For more information about the VIDC, visit annualvidc.com/about-us/ . To learn more about becoming a sponsor, the different sponsorship packages and how to fill out the application, visit annualvidc.com/sponsors/ .
