Veteran Creates Idea To Make Hygiene Kits For Colorado Homeless Veterans

By Jamie Leary

DENVER (CBS4) - There is no project too small when it comes to Xcel Energy's Day of Service. It's the 8th year the utility company has given its all for day of service and it keeps getting bigger.

This year, of the 77 projects, four are large-scale.

At Century Middle School in Thornton, Kids Against Hunger will have 700 volunteers packing 150,000 meals that will go to food banks and pantries in the Colorado community.

Denver Health will have 220 volunteers making no sew fleece blankets for its newborns in need program.

The Veterans Service Center will have 220 volunteers putting together 5,000 hygiene kits for veterans experiencing homelessness.

"This year, we really decided to look at something that could really help our veterans," said Kynnie Martin, the Senior Foundation Representative for Xcel Energy.

Martin came up with the plan to distribute the hygiene packs. Previously she had worked with volunteers making blankets. She says Colorado's homeless veteran population is growing and she wanted to do something different this year.

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"This year we really decided to look at something that could really help our veterans, and having those hygiene kits can really make a tangible difference in a veterans life who might need it."

Martin speaks from experience. She is a former military intelligence officer in the U.S. Army, assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division in Fort Stuart, Georgia.

"When I got out of the Army, I really struggled as a post 9/11 veteran to find my place back kind of in the community where I lived, where I grew up."

She knows it's how many of her fellow servicemen and women struggle to transition and find themselves without a home. Martin is determined to make a difference.

Join CBS4 and Xcel Energy on Saturday, September 8 from 8 – 11 a.m. for the 8th Annual Day of Service and create a positive impact in our communities.

LINK: Xcel Energy Day of Service 2018

Jamie Leary joined the CBS4 team in 2015 and currently works as a reporter for CBS4 News at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. She couldn't imagine a better place to live and work and will stop at nothing to find the next great story. Jamie loves learning about and hearing from her fellow community members, so connect with her on Facebook or Twitter @JamieALeary.