My parents invited us down for an event at their retirement park - some people at the park setup events a few times a year to provide some fun for the residents. The groups/entertainers tend to vary year to year but in this case it was a group that had been there before that was very enjoyable. I suspect this group wouldn't normally go to a retirement park but there is a special tie to this one - the person that started the organization/group lives at this retirement park.
I really wasn't sure what to expect - I had not heard of them before and didn't know anything about them at the time. I've very glad we went though - the entire family enjoyed them and we saw an aspect of "whats right" with our country - this group demonstrated that.
The group of entertainers are a bunch of pretty young kids - usually age 18 to mid-20's that go around to VA medical centers and some other places to put on a choreographed singing show that is very uplifting and has the goal to remind the veterans that they are appreciated and not forgotten. The group of kids can change year to year. The kids all travel together in a van (by themselves) and tow a trailer containing all their equipment and such. They all take turns in the driving and they put on around 140-150 shows a year (about 30,000 travel miles a year). It takes around 2 years to visit all the medical centers and such. They do make stops at churches and such to do fund raisers ans such - the manager follows them everywhere and takes care of all those details. These "kids" have way more responsibilities than many others their age and definitely have a higher maturity level from it.
They were excellent performers and all are volunteers - they don't get paid. They donate their time, talent and perform all the tasks needed including setup and tear downs. I wasn't expecting such a polished performance but was blown away at how professional they are. This organization has been doing this for over 40 years now. I hope they get more recognition for what they do.
If you have an interest in supporting veterans, I would recommend looking into donating to this group. As the manager/CEO of the org/group pointed out - it isn't cheap insuring a bunch of young adults driving themselves around the USA.
For more information, take a look at their website.
http://re-creationusa.org/
If you get a chance to see them in person, I hope you are as blessed by it as we were.
Scott
