Veterans Village gets $10,000 check from Movement Mortgage

May 25—Veterans Village project chairman Kyle McClain was presented with a check for $10,000 Thursday afternoon by Beth Harris and Becky Vitaniemi, branch leaders for Movement Mortgage.

Harris and Vitaniemi have been longtime mortgage lenders in the area who recently opened a local branch of Movement Mortgage. Movement had $1 million in grant money that it was distributing nationwide.

"When Movement opened up the nominations for grants that they're giving out, it was very important for us to get this name in there," Harris said. "Our operations are mainly on the East Coast of the United States, so to be in Terre Haute and get $10,000 for our veterans was really exciting."

Harris added that Veterans Village "is a project very near and dear to our hearts.

"In downtown Terre Haute, we see the homeless population a lot, especially veterans," she added. "It's important for us for them to have a place to live."

McClain said the gift "means a lot."

He added, "It's just more affirmation of how the community is behind us on this project. Every time we turn around, somebody else is stepping up to the plate, and we just love the fact that everybody is out here to support the veterans."

Creating Veterans Village — which will be six tiny houses of 360 square feet each as well as a front porch, surrounding a pavilion at 2227 Maple Ave. — is a labor of love, McClain said.

"This whole thing, whether it's donations of money or it's the materials and all of the labor, have been from volunteers here in the Wabash Valley," he said. "We've got a ton of volunteers. It's really cool to see."

The land for Veterans Village was donated by Carl Cooper; the pavilion was named in his honor.

Progress is underway, as evidenced by the tall piles of earth sitting around the grounds. Footings for each tiny house has been dug, and three have been filled with concrete. The pavilion still needs a few finishing touches — it will be surrounded by bricks purchased by people who want to commemorate a loved one.

The soft goal is for Veterans Village to be completed and ready for people to move into by Veterans Day this year.

"We're making some good headway," McClain said. "Look at all this support — people coming out in the middle of the day. I think it's awesome that we're doing something like this and setting the bar pretty high for the community."

For more information about purchasing commemorative bricks, contact the Terre Haute Area Association of Realtors at 812-234-8732.

David Kronke can be reached at 812-231-4232 or at david.kronke@tribstar.com.