ORANGE PARK – The stated goal for Operation Barnabas is to raise $25,000 at this Saturday’s “For the Vet We Haven’t Met Yet” festival at the Orange Park Mall. But for organization founder Sfc. Raylan Heck, there is an equally greater mission.

“The goal of the day is I want people to be a Barnabas in their community to be an encourager in their community,” the former U.S. Army sniper said. “So really being an encourager, being a Barnabas is so huge.

“We’re a charity that identifies with the victor, not victims. Being able to know and not let them be in their misery or and those but encourage them to bring them out of that example.”

Operation Barnabas was born to help awareness and money to help solve the pestilence of veteran and first responder suicide and homelessness. Heck doesn’t focus on the emotional and financial challenges facing so many who’ve served. Instead, he welcomes the opportunity to make them whole with supportive programs and spiritual guidance.

“I don’t see obstacles; I see opportunities,” he said.

Saturday’s event will introduce the organization to thousands of local residents. It will include a massive car show, hours of live concerts, food trucks, children’s games, and, most importantly, a window into what it means to be a Barnabas.

The festival gets underway with car show and vendor registration from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. The car show will start at 9:30 a.m. and the live music will start at 11 a.m.

Headlining the event is Green Cove Springs’ The Curt Towne Band, but the Tiffany Sweet Band from Putnam County, Framing the Red and 3HRE also are scheduled to play. Curt Towne’s concert will start at 3 p.m.

To make room for it, a large portion of the mall’s parking lot near JC Penney will be blocked off.

VIP concert tickets are $50 and it includes a T-shirt. Proceeds will go to help veterans.

“I don’t know how big it’s gonna be, but that experience to the lead up of it, just watching the community slowly start to embrace this grace,” Heck said. “I think it’s like 17 teams, organizations, churches, government officials – just everything start to build, and to watch it over six months, embracing the grace, embracing relationship, embracing and watching a community come together. Like it’s literally watching a network of people that are actively engaged in supporting the veterans.”

Celebrate Clay, an annual event sponsored by the Paul E. and Klare N. Reinhold that awards $100,000 to local nonprofit organizations, recognized the work being done at Operation Barnabas by giving it $7,000 on Tuesday as a winner of the Judges’ Choice Program.

“To be again in this amazing community of Clay County, and to be a healer … in the military, we lead we learn to lead, but now being able to serve as well, there’s no separating any of those,” Heck said. “There’s like this whole duality in it, but being able to like it all comes together. So, it’s just, it’s amazing. I love where we live.”

For details on Operation Barnabas, call (904) 788-5926, email info@operationbarnabasfl.com or visit https://www.operationbarnabas.com/events-operation-barnabas.