A Family Reunion | Wesley’s Story
August 13, 2025Engaging with Andrea: A (State) Fair to Remember!
Veteran Engagement Committee- Our Day at the State Fair, Magic and Wonder and some Lemon Shake-ups!
Experiencing life as a child is different than as an adult. There is magic and wonder, innocence and pure joy! One such special experience for me was going to the State Fair with my grandparents. I loved the animals, the wonderful food with crazy things like elephant ears and fried Oreos, and of course, the rides! The fair was vast and full of smells, sounds, and lights that ignited the senses! It was like nothing I had ever seen before. As a child, I didn’t feel the heat and I wasn’t bothered by the crowds. It was a new adventure!
At our Veteran Engagement event, our Carnival in the park, the children wanted a Ferris Wheel. Their request brought me back to those memories of the fair, the magic and wonder. My eyes glistened with excitement as I realized we couldn’t bring a Ferris Wheel to them, but we could take them to a Ferris Wheel!
Thanks to Carrington Mortgage and other wonderful donors, we raised over $6,000 to take every family in our permanent housing programs to the State Fair, with Carrington donating $3,000! However, we didn’t want to just take them, we wanted them to have a day of a lifetime! So, we provided every child with a wristband for unlimited rides, every family member $20 towards food, and transportation for all who needed it. Every family in our program signed up! For our special day, 85 individuals came, waiting at 8 am at the HVAF parking lot in the rain, and then honking as the caravan of vans, cars, and trucks headed to the fair!
The day was perfect as the rain stopped, and the adventure awaited. What was the reward for taking these families? In the children’s eyes was magic and wonder, innocence and joy. The same experience I had the first time I was at the fair many years ago with my grandparents. The families had created lasting memories as a unit, a day to forget the troubles of life. The children were giddy as they talked about their favorite rides and food on the way home. Even those children who were shy and withdrawn were brimming with excitement.
The Veteran Engagement Committee believes in bringing opportunities and adventure to our veteran families that they would otherwise never experience. We want to create family memories, camaraderie, and a chance to escape the struggles these veterans and their children have lived through. We are only children once and we can only see life through that precious lens during that time. There is no getting that time back once it has passed.
Most, if not all, of these families had never been to a fair, let alone the State Fair. Someday, when these kids are adults, the smell of the fair will take them back to this day, to this memory. They will think of their family and that an organization cared for them when they had nothing. They will remember that HVAF gave them a home, food, and a chance to still be a kid.
If you would like to donate to HVAF and the programs we provide for veterans and their families, please click below. To learn more about the Veteran Engagement Committee, please contact Andrea Carlile at 765-425-3366 or acarlile@hvaf.org.