ATHOL – Inspired by his friend, John Dodge has helped build a new center with the hopes of bringing veterans organizations together.

North Quabbin Veterans Center, is opening in Athol in the hopes of remedying declining membership in local veterans groups, including Disabled American Veterans (DAV), by centralizing the organizations in one accessible space, Dodge explained. The building where it is located was vacant and located next to the Athol Senior Center on Freedom Street.

When Dodge joined the Athol DAV chapter in 1982, the World War II veterans who constructed the building where the organization resided joked that they wouldn’t be able to stay in there forever, as it lacked access for the disabled. Now, as many of the veterans involved with the organization age, they are finding this to be true.

Dodge said he decided to create the center after one of his friends, the previous national commander of the Disabled American Veterans, began to use a wheelchair, making him unable to access monthly meetings in the Pine Street building where they were being held.

“It’s not a very easily accessible building,” Dodge said of the former space. “I just was trying to come up with something else we could do as an alternative so we could meet and he would be able to attend our meetings.”

The new building, managed by the Disabled Veterans Home of Athol Corporation, will enable DAV to host its monthly meetings in an ADA-accessible space. Additionally, the center will be open to other veterans organizations, including Marine Corps League, Vietnam Veterans of America, Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion and AMVETS.

Veterans and their families will be able to visit the center to receive help connecting with services such as education, transportation and health, Dodge explained. The center will be open three days a week for people who “need some help, or some guidance about how to get some help or information,” he added.

Garlock Industries donated two computers and office furniture, which will be used in an office where veterans can privately seek support services, Dodge added.

Additionally, the center plans to connect with local high school students interested in supporting the needs of veterans. Dodge said that they have already heard from one student who volunteered to run the center’s Facebook page.

“It’s been kind of amazing,” Dodge said, explaining that he has already heard from many veterans interested in volunteering to help renovate the space, as well as those seeking support. “It’s just growing.”

Veterans or family members of veterans looking to get involved, as well as businesses looking to partner, can call Dodge at 413-336-6951, or write to the center at P.O. Box 746 in Athol.