Senior Maeve Farrell has turned her personal goal of honoring and supporting the local military community into a reality.
Farrell feels a strong connection and has the utmost appreciation for all past and present soldiers, as her family is composed of a long line of military men.
This lineage of service members started with her great grandfather who served for many years, and his two brothers. Then, following in his father’s footsteps his sons, Farrell’s grandfather, joined the force, as he was drafted in 1965.
This legacy of soldiers was maintained through decades as Farrell’s uncle previously served as a well decorated marine in the marine corps, and her cousin who is currently an active cadet at West Point.
Therefore, with multiple family members being veterans or active servants, she is devoted to ensuring that the level of respect for the military is upheld.
“I strive to have the younger generation recognize the dedication active military personnel and veterans have shown as well as the sacrifices they have made,” said Farrell.
Which is why Farrell found herself yearning to find a new, unique way to actively demonstrate her eagerness to help.
In 2023, Farrell achieved her dream as she established a non-profit organization called Help For All Heroes. Because of this, she is able to provide a wide variety of people with a chance to get involved in aiding those who have protected and fought for the freedom of our country.
Specifically, through Help For All Heroes, Farrell holds an annual school supply drive. Leading up to the drive, she connects with numerous willing community members and invites them to donate any old or new materials.
With lots of success in years past, 2024 marks the third annual school supply drive, and Farrell’s second year facilitating the process.
To make all of this possible, Farrell has worked alongside the director of Midwest Veterans Closet and the Fort Sheridan Starbucks’ Head of Community Service.
While working as a unified team, they share the same goal of promoting a widespread, communal display of support.
Together, they are able to find a time and place for Farrell to give back the materials that she has gathered for a long period of time.
This year, with the help of the generous community members, Farrell was able to collect around 700 items.
She then packs these materials into separate backpacks in order to hand them out, and this year she was able to completely fill 29 backpacks.
Farrell continues to be stunned with how receptive the community is to the idea of donating to the nation’s heroes.
“Every year I am overwhelmed with the amount of support the community shows and how much everyone contributes,” Farrell said.
These generous contributions allowed Farrell to have, yet again, another successful supply of materials to donate to the military community.
On Sept. 27, Farrell took the supplies that she had gathered from the community and visited the Midwest Veteran Closet’s food truck handout. Here, she was able to distribute her donations to a multitude of people.
Each year, she not only gets the chance to benefit the livelihood of these people, but she gets the opportunity to interact, and learn about them.
“I was able to talk with veterans, active duty military personnel, and other people who strive to help the veteran community…it was so special,” said Farrell.
Farrell loves what she is able to accomplish for many reasons, as it goes further beyond aiding the military community.
“It is not only a great way to help the military families but it also connects those in my community with the same opportunity,” Farrell said.
As she continues to receive such a high level of participation from the community, each year, she remains hopeful for her organization’s future.
“It is such an amazing experience and I hope the tradition lives on for many years,” said Farrell.
