HAMPDEN, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) - Monday will be Memorial Day, a day we honor the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country; however, some veterans just keep on giving even after they have served.

For the fifth annual VFW Day of Service, members of VFW Post 9397 cleaned up the streets along the Town of Hampden parade route on Saturday. It was a way for vets to improve their neighborhoods through meaningful volunteer service and showcase their continued service to the community after the military. They removed debris and litter throughout the route to promote safety and cleanliness for Monday’s event.

Commander David Demers said that the Hampden community loves the event, “I get asked by the selectman every year, he goes ‘How many bottles did you get?’ ‘How much trash?’ usually it’s probably around 2 to 300 pounds of trash that we’re actually picking up. The volunteers actually love coming out. We got kids out here, we have the VFW auxiliary out here helping, it’s a whole hands-on event.”

Demers said the Day of Service has grown from 200 events in its first year to now 23,000 in 32 countries.

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