Members of the American Legion Post 102 in Brookville presented a check to the Jefferson County Veterans Affairs office Thursday.

The $8,000 donation will go toward purchasing a new transport van, which will replace the old vehicle Jefferson County adopted from Blair County in 2017.

“This vehicle’s coming up on it’s lifespan and it just got to the point where we just needed to kick into full gear and seek out donations for a van,” Jefferson County VA director Krupa Steele said.

“Instead of having a van that’s old and wore out, we’re going to get a brand new one,” Commander of the American Legion Post 102 Bill Littlefield said. “There’s a lot of veterans in this county that need transportation.”

The van is used to transport veterans in the county to VA medical appointments.

“This gives us a chance to take people to Altoona, Pittsburgh, DuBois, Butler, wherever a VA facility is, so they can access the doctors and the types of treatment that they have there,” legion member Herb McConnell said.

The Legion’s donation put the county above their $20,000 goal. The extra money will be saved for future transportation expenses.

They did it as a way to give back for all the services the county offers to veterans, and to make sure that the transportation is there for when they need it.

“It’s good to know this van service will be here for me,” Legion member Ira Minor said. “I don’t really need it today, but I know I’ll need it tomorrow.”