Over $906,000 raised for Home for the Holidays 2024 campaign
MINNEAPOLIS — We want to give a big thanks to everyone who supported WCCO's Home for the Holidays campaign this year.
This is our seventh year partnering with the Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans in the fight to end veterans homelessness.
The campaign raised more than $906,000.
Around 12,000 people donated, with 337 donating to the campaign for the first time.
"The money that comes from this campaign is special because it goes directly to the veterans, " said Shaun Riffe, development for the Minnesota MACV.
"Help do a move from an unsafe apartment to some place they can stay permanently — it helps them get into the right insurance, it helps them get gas for a job so they can continue paying for rent, all of those little things, " Riffe said.
WCCO shared stories about how MACV helps veterans, no matter how long their served, find a path to a permanent place to call home.
Federal and state agencies do most of the heavy lifting to provide housing vouchers for those who qualify.
MACV fills the gaps for those who don't qualify and are in desperate need to get into housing.
"It really goes to the quality of the stories and the success that people are seeing when we talk about our mission and how we do our work I think people really can connect with the changing of people's lives," Riffe said.
MACV started this year with Hennepin County announcing it met the federal benchmarks to declare functional zero.
"We have the systems in place to move people quickly into housing move veterans into housing they can stay in long term where they are more stable, " said Lindsey Huffer.
Eighty-six of Minnesota's 87 counties have reached that benchmark — but there's still work to do.
Now, Ramsey County is the only county left before the entire state of Minnesota can become the fourth in the nation to declare functional zero.
WCCO viewers can help by making sure veterans know MACV is there and willing to lend a helping hand.
"The more you can encourage folks we learned through outreach that, maybe the first 79 times you meet with someone won't work, but the 80th time will, " Huffer said.
MACV plans to build a community of townhouses, a veteran's village in Eagan.
Since partnering with MACV in 2017, WCCO has helped raise more than $4.9 million to help veterans who need housing, services and other support.
