VFW raises more than $6K for holiday giving
Monney raised will help Santa bring toys and gifts to the families of veterans in need

When Carol Ainsco went about to raise money on behalf of VFW Post 10127 for the families of area veterans for the holidays, she set a modest goal of $1,000.
And then a few people at the post donated a collective $1,000. It was time for Ainsco, senior vice-chair of the VFW auxiliary, to think bigger.
When it was over, she and the VFW had raised $6,250 to help children of veterans have a Merry Christmas by getting them toys and gifts they likely would not have received.
The check was presented to a stunned Lesley Mufalli, voluntary service specialist from the Lee County Veterans Administration Center in Cape Coral during a ceremony Friday at the Post on Pondella Road.
Mufalli was on the verge of breaking down in tears upon seeing the amount of the check.
“It’s amazing work that Carol did. Any donation is a blessing and it goes to our veterans in need and their families. This money is timely because we’re going to do the Christmas shopping this week and deliver the gifts to the families,” Mufalli said.
A month ago, Ainsco learned from a friend that there were 125 children in Lee County who are children of deployed or disabled veterans and in need of some help.
Ainsco said she knew the original goal was going to be fairly paltry.
“If you take $1,000 to 125 people, that’s $8 a child. That wasn’t going to be enough. So, for a whole month, between the post, its members, and auxiliary, we made sure the kids got $50 per child for Christmas,” Ainsco said. “Everybody stepped up.”
Mufalli said this means school-aged children learning from home will be able to get tablets or laptops.
“This will allow us to get those things for the kids so they can learn from home,” Mufalli said. “Shopping for young ones is a little easier. But the older the kids get, their needs change.”
For veterans who have just left the military, it takes some time for them to readjust to civilian life, find employment and get established, Mufalli said.
“Now, with this pandemic, it’s gotten even harder for these families and helping them through this time is what’s most important,” Mufalli said. “One family had to repair their van and it looked like there would be no Christmas. Now, they will have one.”
Last year, the VFW raised money and toys for kids in the Panhandle and again, people came through to help. Ainsco said this year, knowing that the pandemic was leaving a lot of families with the possibility of having no Christmas, the more than 200 post members and 200 auxiliary members were even more generous.
“If it was $5 or $10, it all added up. I had a few in the organization give me $1,000 just to attain the goal,” Ainsco said. “I’m very happy with this.”