How It Began

Every Third Saturday began in 2010 after a single comment as we were finishing up a pick-up of quilts from a small church in Wisconsin. As we were preparing to head back to the Twin Cities, the subject of homeless veterans came up, seemingly in passing conversation. A woman at the church, Deb Marrier, asked if I had said “homeless veterans” as her eyes became glassy. I replied “yes”, and explained that for the past few years we had been purchasing supplies on a small scale and driving around the Twin Cities to give the supplies to homeless veterans. Deb then described that she had been discussing homeless vets with her husband, Scott, and the rest of their family for a month now. They wanted to help address the problem but just didn’t know how to begin. The Marriers wanted to take concrete steps to help out veterans who were living in cars, under bridges, in the woods, and anywhere else they can stay safe, warm, and dry. Although none of us realized it at the time, Every Third Saturday had been born.