Veteran Vincent Serrano is proud to pack fruit and other groceries into bags to be handed out free of cost at the Newburgh Armory Unity Center.
What You Need To Know
- The Newburgh Armory Unity Center, located on S William St., hand delivers bags of groceries to hundreds every Wednesday from 2:00 - 5:00 p.m.
- The center, staffed by volunteers each week, receives donations of fresh fruits, milk, eggs and dried goods from local businesses and nonprofits
- They accept both walkups and families in their cars
The plums are ripe to perfection. It may seem like a simple gesture, but one he enjoys.
He volunteers weekly, a sacrifice paling in comparison to one years ago.
"I served 17 years. Marine Corps, Vietnam vet...did 26 months in Vietnam," said Serrano.
His time abroad prepared him to withstand the elements, where he stood in sweltering sun for hours.
"I have to give back to the community," he said. "Everything is based on the community. It's not I, me or you, it's us."
As a veteran, he’s realized that the work never stops. He says once a marine, always a marine.
"We do the same thing at home," he said. "It doesn’t stop when we’re overseas. We do it at home also. Once we leave full active duty, we come to the Marine Corps leagues, we continue with the mission. Same mission different uniform. That’s all it is."
Each week, he drives 20 minutes to Newburgh from his home in Cornwall. Thanks to him and dozens of volunteers at the Armory, some 700 families don’t have to worry about where their next meal will come from, easing a burden many are now facing due to the pandemic.
He takes a cool break inside every now and then, but it doesn’t him take much time, before he remembers why he came in the first place.