WEST SPRINGFIELD — The fourth annual Veterans Picnic in the Park will take place on Saturday, Aug. 9 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Morgan Road Pavillion, 459 Morgan Rd.
Presented by the Veteran Outreach Into Community Engagement organization, and the Mathew J. Vieu Memorial Fund, Inc. with the support of several community sponsors, the event is free and open to the public.
The family-friendly event will feature food, live music, inflatables and dunk tanks.
The free community picnic is also a chance for the VOICE and other local veteran service officers to connect veterans and their families with community groups, veteran resources and local outreach programs.
Each year, several veterans attend the event and get help with health care, wellness programs and income assistance.
VOICE is an organization of outreach specialists who collaborate on programs and strategies to best assist veterans and their family members. The group includes area municipal government service officers employed by their respective city or town. VOICE members provide various services that help veterans and their families.
The Mathew J. Vieu Memorial Fund, Inc. supports and assists local veterans and active-duty service members.
West Springfield Veteran Services Director Marc Massey, who also serves on the VOICE planning committee for the 2025 picnic in the park, talked with Reminder Publishing about the upcoming event.
“We’re all in this together,” Massey said, “One of the most satisfying outcomes from Picnic in the Park is the number of veterans who, for the first time, apply for a benefit they previously had no idea they had earned through their service.”
Massey said this is the first time that this event will be hosted in West Springfield.
A major goal of the event is to reach as many active-duty service members, members of the National Guard and reservists, veterans and veteran family members, while attracting community citizens who support veterans in the community, according to Massey.
Massey said research shows that veterans returning home from military service have an easier transition to civilian life when there are supportive communities that encourage beneficial hobbies, education and work opportunities for military families. Peer support is also a key component.
“A Community’s Salute,” is the theme for this year’s picnic,” Massey said, “We are planning an entire day of fun and activities for the community to meet with veterans and for the public to get a better idea of military service and how to best support veterans and their families.”
Veterans Picnic in the Park is the biggest local community-based event in Western Massachusetts for veterans, according to Massey.
He said, “This event not only serves as a way for the community to honor veterans, but to also bridge the gap between younger and older veterans, and for citizens to meet veterans and to learn more about military service.”
Major community sponsors include West Springfield Stop & Shop, West Springfield Lions Club, Costco, Healthtrax, Vitra Health and Springfield Partners for Community Action.
Massey said there are more sponsorships available.
For more information about sponsorships, readers can contact Christian DiLuzio, the regional liaison with the Massachusetts Office of the Veteran Advocate, at 617-939-5762 or christian.diluzio@mass.gov.
“This is an amazing way for businesses and organizations to extend their support to the veteran community,” Massey stated.
For more information about Picnic in the Park, readers can visit facebook.com/VOICEWMASS.
