Sammons® Financial Group Member Companies (SFG) recently donated $20,000 to support the South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs’ Veterans Honored Interment (VHI) project. The funds will be used to purchase much needed tools used by veterans to construct burial vessels for qualifying veterans. In addition, the donation will help coordinate efforts to partner with other states to create similar programs outside South Dakota.
VHI is a nonprofit organization supported entirely through donations. It was started in 1999 by Paul Redfield, a resident of the Michael J. Fitzmaurice South Dakota Veterans Home, as a means of providing honorable and dignified burial vessels to veterans and their spouses. The staff is comprised of veterans who hand-make caskets and urns that are donated to qualifying veterans and their spouses residing in South Dakota. Approximately 50 caskets and 50 urns are crafted each year.
“We are honored to support our veterans and the Veterans Honored Interment project,” said Tim Reuer, senior vice president and member of the Community Involvement Committee at SFG. “VHI is a remarkable organization, and this is a great way to show respect for those who have served our country and their families.”