Rocky Boy Veterans Center gets another grant to continue services

The veterans center at Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation has successfully sought some major funding, with the latest award presented during its annual powwow.

During the Rocky Boy’s 54th Annual Celebration Saturday, Wells Fargo Bank awarded the Rocky Boy Veterans Center with a grant of $15,000.

The center had applied for the grant last month.

The center has also received a grant for $2,500 from the Disabled Veterans National Foundation; a $10,000 grant from the Craig Newmark Philanthropies, and a $120,000 grant from the Kendeda Fund, said U.S. Army veteran Chauncey Parker, president of the Rocky Boy Veterans Center.

“Our mission is to assure veterans are being taken care of,” Parker said.

The Rocky Boy Veterans Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit which opened in June 2015, and since then has worked to build a foundation for a good quality of life for veterans, Parker said. He added that the center touches lives and works with veterans to provide transportation, job training, financial training and direct assistance to veterans for housing, as well as aiding them in applying for the VA.

Parker said that even though the veterans have served their country, it is not mandated that they will receive VA benefits, adding that many people, when they come out of the service, do not know how to get started.

According to the Rocky Boy Veterans Center website, the center operates with two staff members and three volunteers out of a tribally owned building. The center serves more than 175 tribal-enrolled veterans on the reservation, 121 throughout the communities across the state and 32 tribal-enrolled members who are serving in the military.

Parker said that in addition to serving veterans on Rocky Boy the center also serves non tribal veterans out of Great Falls and Havre.

“The Rocky Boy Veterans Center is a one-stop-shop for veterans seeking assistance ranging from VA enrollment and benefits, to housing, to business and employment assistance,” the center’s website states.

Parker said the grants will help ensure veterans are being taken care of and the continuation of the services that they provide such as transportation, VA assistance, housing and job training.