For Fairport metal artist Mark Gaiger, Valentine’s Day is not about a box of chocolates or a fancy dinner, it is about turning sheets of copper into one-of-a-kind, handcrafted copper roses.

“The unspoken word is, I am supporting and bending and relaxing," said Gaiger. "It is easy to rip them, but a rose is a rose is a rose."

Gaiger and some volunteers have been hammering, bending and soldering 400 copper roses for a Valentine's sale with 100% of the proceeds going to the Veterans Outreach Center in Rochester.

“I just did it because I felt like I needed to do something, you know? I have the ability and I am blessed and have certain blessings, and I have the power to make a change because of these (hands). This, and everybody, everybody has their gifts, I just like to inspire people to give theirs,” said Gaiger.

“This is probably the fourth or fifth time I’ve been in in the last two weeks,” said volunteer Carl Letendre.

Letendre visited the metal art studio for an unrelated welding job and was so touched by the veteran copper rose project that he is helping out too. He's donated money and his time. His dad and brother are veterans.

“When I come in it’s like where do you want me to work and get a pair of gloves and get to work. So that’s what we’ve been doing. It’s really great to help Marc out and get all these out there to be sold for the VOC," he said.

Since Gaiger started this copper rose sale along with some other fundraisers over the years, he has donated more than $30,000 to the VOC. The Veterans Outreach Center supports more than 1,200 veterans a year with all kinds of programs and services.

You can purchase a forever copper rose at the Stars and Stripes Flag Store located at 783 South Ave. in Rochester, Craft Company No. 6 located at 785 University Ave. in Rochester and online.