Santa Clarita has a veteran population 14,000 strong.

For the fourth year, local nonprofit Help the Children has teamed up with local businesses and organizations to give back to these men and women who served in the U.S. military by providing them with home improvement goods to “make things a little bit nicer in their lives.”

“We try to reach out to them,’ said R.J. Kelly, the program chairman for veterans outreach at Help the Children and a veteran.  “Veterans don’t ask for a lot, but we want to give back, so that’s the purpose of this.”

The Veterans Appreciation Day event took place in the College of the Canyons parking lot Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Approximately $100,000 in home improvement goods ranging from microwaves to patio sets were donated by Home Depot for the event, and veterans could choose what they wanted in order to make repairs on their homes.

“We bring in semi (trucks) full of home improvement resources and home maintenance products that they can take home,” said Help the Children Director Michael Santomauro. “They’re being gifted (to the veterans) to try and make things a little bit nicer in their life or do a repair that they may have had that nobody knew about.”

The variety of goods allowed veterans and their families to find everything they needed to complete a project.

“It goes from small to large,” said Kelly. “It doesn’t matter if they’re renting an apartment or have a home. There is something for them.”

Several of the organizers of the event have also served, and are now giving back in another way to the community.

“Many of our military gave their lives for our community and our veterans gave their heart and soul. Some of them came back injured and some of them came back with PTSD and some of them came back just raring to give back,” said Kelly. “So a lot of our volunteers here today are veterans.”

As well as the home improvement resources, several organizations and businesses within the community gathered at the event to offer support to the veterans.

“College of the Canyons, of course jobs are available there, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department recruiters were here, UPS is here recruiting for employment,” said Santomauro. “A man (from Sports Clips) is here giving free haircuts to the veterans.”

College of the Canyons is a vital partner that was brought on this year, Santomauro said.

“We are so excited about what potential lies with partnering with college of the canyons,” he said.  “We’re hoping it’s a mutual win-win because we can reach a thousand veterans more who are students here.”

Officials said the event was a community effort to say “thank you” to those in the armed forces.

“A number of different agencies, companies and organizations came (together) to make this a reality,” said Santomauro. “ It’s really all about celebrating (veterans). It’s trying to make it Christmas in June for them.”

Events like this, he said, are a way to show the veterans who might not otherwise be aware how much the community cares for them.

“We as civilians don’t say ‘thank you’ enough,” Santomauro said. “And it’s really easy to fall into the lull of taking them for granted. ‘Eh, I’m an American. America is the home of the free.’ Well, only if somebody is there to ensure that it is.”