Hanover
Roughly $240,000 remaining in the defunct charity’s accounts will be distributed between the New Hampshire branch of Easterseals, a nonprofit with veterans services among its offerings; the White River Junction chapter of Disabled American Veterans; and fees for its court-appointed receiver.
Easterseals, which already serves veterans throughout the state, plans to open a branch in the Upper Valley, focusing its services more closely on the region, said Joe Emmons, senior vice president of development.
“We look forward to increasing the work that we do with veterans, service members and their families,” Emmons said in a telephone interview on Monday.
Among numerous other services, Easterseals provides rides to appointments, gas cards, grocery cards, help with rent payments and mental health and substance abuse treatment, Emmons said.
“We like to call it a ‘hand up’ instead of a handout: What they need to get up on their feet and what we feel like they deserve as people who have defended our country,” Emmons said.
According to a copy of its proposal included in court filings, Easterseals has served nearly 5,300 veterans and service members in the Twin States over the past decade.
The organization plans to place a care coordinator in its new Upper Valley office, which would serve parts of Vermont as well. The new operation may get started early in the new year, Emmons said.
State officials announced in August that they would dissolve Project VetCare because some of its leaders had been using its money for personal expenses, including home heating payments and cruise trips.
Police arrested the former executive director, Danielle Goodwin, at her home later that month and charged her with unauthorized theft by taking, a felony.
State regulators chose two charities to receive VetCare’s assets after soliciting proposals from veterans organizations serving the Upper Valley.
A court filing from the Charitable Trusts division of the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office recommends that the presiding judge in VetCare’s case award the remainder of the group’s assets to Easterseals after first paying about $16,000 to the receiver, John Gilbert of Synchrony Advisors in Exeter, N.H., and $20,000 for a van that Disabled American Veterans would use to transport clients to the VA Medical Center in White River Junction.
Charitable Trust officials and Gilbert, the receiver, asked the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation to help them evaluate the proposals, according to the court filing.
The foundation in a Nov. 13 letter recommended that Easterseals receive the money based on several considerations, including its ability to replace VetCare’s services, “evidence of financial health,” and “the ability to magnify impact to the broadest possible reach into the veterans community.”
State officials amended that recommendation slightly to add the van, “given that transportation to medical appointments is an important need for veterans in the Upper Valley,” they said in their recommendation to the judge.
Officials at the area Disabled American Veterans chapter that would operate the vehicle could not be reached for comment on Monday.
Katherine Tang, a spokeswoman for the VA hospital, said the new van would be a welcome addition.
“Having an organization such as (Disabled American Veterans) helps to empower our veterans to remain active in their health care and keep that sense of independence because they are able to attend appointments that they otherwise would not be able to,” she said in an email on Monday. “A donation of a vehicle to this organization benefits not only the veterans that it serves but their family and friends as it provides comfort for them knowing a safe ride is on the way. We always welcome community support to help provide our veterans with the best possible experience.”
Rob Wolfe can be reached rwolfe@vnews.com or 603-727-3242.