Hit by funding cuts, concert raises funding for Island vets 

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Updated April 29

Vineyarders gathered over the weekend for an evening of music and camaraderie to rally around the Island’s veterans. 

Martha’s Vineyard Community Services hosted a benefit concert at the Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Oak Bluffs on Saturday to raise money for its Readjustment Counseling for War Veterans program following a decision by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to not renew a four-decade old contract. 

“The music was fantastic,” said Robert Tankard, Martha’s Vineyard Community Services veterans outreach coordinator. “The people there donated close to $4,000.”

Inside the Veterans of Foreign Wars club in Oak Bluffs, it was shoulder to shoulder as local musicians like Rose Guerin played through the evening, a moment of celebration for what has been a tough time for veteran aid provided at the nonprofit.

“It means everything,” said Rick Padilla, a veteran who performed on Saturday. “This country would be nothing without veterans. So many sacrificed so much. It was so important and great to see the place totally filled up.“

Community Services had already raised over $40,000 for the veterans program prior to Saturday, largely from five anonymous donors, and Tankard said donations are still coming in. As far as Tankard knew, this was the first benefit concert for the program on the Vineyard; they are hoping to hold another one next year. 

“The community is doing great and they’re coming through, like they always do,” Tankard said. 

Support hasn’t only come from only Vineyarders. On Saturday, John A. Cianci, Rhode Island state commander of the Italian American War Veterans of the United States and retired U.S. Army master sergeant, drove to the Vineyard with his wife Wendy to deliver a $300 check donation to help the cause. The Rhode Island veterans organization also launched a GoFundMe campaign on Friday for their fellow service members on theVineyard; the Italian American War Veterans of the U.S. will be matching the first $500 of donations as well. The campaign has raised $1,250 as of Monday morning. 

“When we can provide financial and other assistance for our brothers and sisters, we do,” he said. 

Cianci, who once lived on St. Croix of the U.S. Virgin Islands, also highlighted the importance of locale services for a remote community. He said while he understood the federal cuts, noting that tele-counseling and sessions could replace in-person programming, “nothing [is] more frustrating than a simple wind impacting island to mainland communications.” 

Vineyard veterans have noted to the Times that the travel needed to reach a federally run veterans center is a burden. 

Tankard, also an U.S. Army veteran, called the funding cut “unfair” and “almost sadistic.” He said it was important to support veterans who returned from war since combat veterans don’t come back the same. Particularly, Tankard underscored having support from other veterans in the community can help veterans who may be suicidal — which occurs at a higher rate among veterans — or struggling after returning from war. 

“Some people are able to handle that, some people aren’t, and we have to be there for the people who can’t,” Tankard said.

Pete Kasperowicz, VA press secretary, reached the Times and reiterated a statement given to the Times earlier this month saying not renewing the contract will save the department money and saying most of the veterans are served virtually through this program and that the counseling can be done by the department staff. 

Martha’s Vineyard Community Services Readjustment Counseling for War Veterans program offers a weekly support group on Tuesdays. Tankard said another session will be added for Wednesday afternoons. For more information about the counseling program, contact Tom Bennett at 508-693-7900, ext. 216. Information about the nonprofit’s other veteran services can be found here.

Updated with comments from Rick Padilla and Pete Kasperowicz.