Order of the Purple Heart donates money to several charitable organizations

The Lawton chapter of the Order of the Purple Heart donated checks to six different charities on Thursday morning.(KSWO)
Published: Mar. 30, 2023 at 3:39 PM CDT

LAWTON, Okla. (KSWO) - The Lawton chapter of the Order of the Purple Heart donated checks to six different charities on Thursday morning.

The ceremony took place at the Veterans Center off of Flower Mound Road in Lawton.

Representatives from the Lawton Food Bank, Ft Sill USO, DAV Chapter 56, Airport Military Welcome Center, the Reboot Program, and the ODVA Veterans Home were in attendance to receive the presented checks.

An official with the organization said raising the money for these donations has been a struggle the past few years due to COVID and not having enough staff to host their usual golf tournament.

But that didn’t stop them!

To ensure they had the funds to donate to those organizations they sent out around 700 different letters to various businesses and organizations.

“This feels wonderful after weeks and months of hard work and begging people for money,” Bruce Dwyer of the Lawton Military Order of the Purple Heart said. “It makes us feel like Santa Claus and we’re very heartened. This is why we do it; to help others and it’s always better to give than to receive.”

Dwyer said he’d like to see everybody take a moment and think of those less fortunate than themselves and strive to give back to their community.