VETERANS SERVICE HELPING ALL IN NEED

The Veterans Services office and the Veterans Club at Mt. Hood Community College have partnered with Friends Involved in Dog Outreach (FIDO) to bring food and resources to any pet owner in the Gresham area.

FIDO is a nonprofit, all-volunteer pet food bank founded in 2004. In 2018, it provided over 400,000 meals and supplies to pet owners, and is always accepting donations and volunteers. Locations of donation barrels and new volunteering opportunities are listed at: fidoanimeals.org. 

Paola Gomez, president of the student Veterans Club, attended a veterans’ “Stand Down” event where homeless people are invited to benefit from various resources provided by many businesses and community members. She noticed that many of the homeless veterans who attended were accompanied by their dogs, also in need of food and shelter.

“I’m a dog mom. I treat my dogs like my kids, and I couldn’t imagine a dog going hungry,” Gomez said. After noticing the assistance those pets needed, she contacted FIDO to look at ways that FIDO and Mt. Hood’s Veterans Club could partner and provide help to Multnomah County’s homeless. 

FIDO offers aid to anyone in need on the third Saturday of every month at its Oregon City facility. But since the majority of homeless people can’t find a source of transportation to get all the way to Oregon City, help is now provided right here on Mt. Hood campus. 

Meantime, Gomez and the Veterans Club members carpool to FIDO in Oregon City the first Friday of every month to volunteer, helping to package dog and cat food, load and unload packages, and assisting in any other way. After a couple of hours, they are given bags of dog and cat food to store in the MHCC Veterans Services office, ready for anyone with the need.

“You’re not only helping the community, but you’re also helping our veterans and their pets. It’s going to go well in more than just one direction,” Gomez said of the food-gathering effort.

Anyone can ask for resources – just stop by the Veterans Services in Room 1152, contact Paola Gomez at [email protected], or call Veterans Services at 503-491-7346.

A small form must be filled out before one can receive a bag of food for record-keeping purposes, and to ask for specific foods if the pet has food allergies. 

Gomez would like to one day start her own facility through FIDO in the Gresham area, but she needs the help of the community. “I want people to volunteer so that maybe we can start something here in Gresham because many people don’t have the means to go all the way to Oregon City to receive the help needed,” she says.

Volunteers are greatly appreciated and anyone interested in helping at Oregon City may contact Gomez for more information or visit fidoanimeals.org.