Presidio Trust Hosts Day of Service on Veterans Day

Presidio of San Francisco (November 10, 2011) — Volunteers and veteran service organizations are joining forces to support local veterans at the Presidio on Veterans Day, Friday, November 11 beginning at 9:30 am. Hosted by the Presidio Trust, Swords to Plowshares, Mission Serve, and Civic Assets, the event is part of a nationwide effort to establish Veterans Day as a day of service and celebration. Congresswoman Jackie Speier will also participate in the morning’s activities.

“The Trust is proud to host this event and recognize the many men and women who have served our country,” says Craig Middleton, the Presidio Trust’s executive director. “Serving in honor of veterans and military families is a wonderful way for the community to pay tribute and show its gratitude, while at the same time building upon the Presidio’s 200 year legacy of service to the nation.”

The event is one of eleven occurring simultaneously in cities around the nation with the goal of bringing together veteran and civilian volunteers to work side-by-side on community projects. In the Presidio, volunteers and a team of AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps members will be joined by U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier (D-San Francisco/San Mateo) to assemble boxed lunches, craft thank you cards, and distribute care packages to veterans in need at the Swords to Plowshares Veterans Academy.

“I am pleased to volunteer on this Veterans Day at the Presidio of San Francisco,” said Speier. “It is an honor to give something back to these Veterans, who have contributed so much to this country.”

Events begin Veterans Day€”Friday, November 11€”at 9:30 am at Rob Hill Campground in the Presidio. To register or for more information call (415) 561-4280.

In addition, the Trust and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music will present a special Veterans Day observance at the National Cemetery Overlook at 9 am. The program will feature violin music and a reading of the poem The Young Dead Soldiers by Archibald MacLeish, which is inscribed on the walls of the overlook.

More than 30,000 Americans have been laid to rest at the cemetery including Civil War generals, Medal of Honor recipients, Buffalo Soldiers, a Union spy and Congressman Philip Burton, who championed the creation of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

The National Cemetery Overlook is located just off the Bay Area Ridge Trail, near Washington Boulevard. There is no parking at the overlook, but free parking is available at the Main Post and a special PresidiGo shuttle will run from the Transit Center to the overlook. The event will be canceled in the event of rain.

The Presidio Trust was established by the United States Congress in 1996 to administer the Presidio of San Francisco, an urban national park site that is located at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge. The areas overseen by the Trust include expansive open space and spectacular views, a 300-acre historic forest, and rare and endangered plants and wildlife. The park comprises nearly 6 million square feet of buildings, including 469 historic structures that contribute to the Presidio’s status as a National Historic Landmark District.

Mission Serve is the civilian-military initiative of the Service Nation campaign. It brings together civilian and military organizations through a broad array of service and volunteer partnerships designed to address the challenges of our nation and our military communities.

Civic Assets is year-old veterans organization focused on rehabilitation and reintegration through community service. Civic Assets aids veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury putting them to work in community service programs and getting them the care they need.

Founded in 1974, Swords to Plowshares is a community-based non-profit organization that provides counseling, case management, employment, training, housing and legal assistance to more than 2,000 homeless and low-income veterans in the Bay Area each year. Housed in the Presidio’s former nurses’ quarters, Swords to Plowshares’ Veterans Academy offers previously homeless veterans a supportive residential community where they can participate in group and individual counseling and expand their skills with academic instruction and vocational training.