On Friday, the Southern Ohio Buckeye Bikers donated a check to a local veteran who was struggling to get by after battling cancer.
Kevin Mossbarger was the recipient of a $2,000 donation from the Southern Ohio Buckeye Bikers after the group raised money from their successful rally held earlier this year.
Recently Mossbarger, of Fayette County, heard some very hard news. In June he was diagnosed for the second time with throat and mouth cancer. In June of this year, he had radical neck dissection and a tongue glossectomy. Around the end of July, Mossbarger started his radiation and chemo treatments and they continued for around seven weeks.
What makes this an even more difficult time in his life was that after just recently getting a job, he was only able to return to the workforce for seven months before the cancer returned. With minimal help from any organization, Mossbarger would struggle, whether that meant he needed to find a ride to work with a co-worker until he recently acquired a vehicle, or he was struggling to eat and drink due to the damage to his throat, mouth and esophagus.
After hearing his story, the members of the Southern Ohio Buckeye Bikers realized they needed to help this hero. They set up an appointment with the veterans’ office and met there with Mossbarger to give him the check. With a big smile he thanked the members and accepted the check on Friday afternoon.
“It feels really good to be able to give back to the local veterans,” Southern Ohio Buckeye Bikers Treasurer D.J. Jenkins said. “We could tell from his story that he was struggling. When we first started this group, we told ourselves that we are going to raise this money so we can get it into the hands of people who could truly use it and need it. It felt really good to hand him that check.”
Jenkins said the group is going to continue donations of these types to veterans in a tri-county area. With no specifics just yet, the group is expecting to donate at least an additional $4,000 between two more veterans in surrounding counties. Any money left over from the various donations will be used to fund next year’s rally.
He also said the group is expecting to try and establish other fundraisers to continue supporting local veterans. For more information or questions about the organization, email [email protected].
