The California Department of Veterans Affairs has received a $10,000 donation from the Joey Graves Memorial Foundation for Project Gold Star. These funds were raised in honor of Joey Graves during a golf tournament held last September in Discovery Bay.

“This wonderful donation from Kevin Graves, father of Joey Graves, brings our total to date to $28,455,” said Roger Brautigan, acting secretary for the California Department of Veterans Affairs. “But lots more still need to be done to reach the $300,000 needed to allow the state to produce these much-desired license plates. I hope Californians continue to open their hearts and wallets to give the families who have lost loved ones to military conflict the ability to honor their memory by proudly displaying these plates.”

“It was our privilege and honor to help Project Gold Star gain momentum,” wrote Kevin Graves in an e-mail. “ As the single largest donor to date, we hope this will be a catalyst for more donations. VFW posts from around the state, as well as the PGR and other service organizations, have contacted me and want to take an active role in making Project Gold Star a reality.

U.S. Army Spc. Joey Graves was a son, grandson, husband, friend, and hero killed in Iraq in 2006. Project Gold Star was set up by the California Department of Veterans Affairs to help raise funds needed to produce Gold Star Family license plates, which will be made available to families whose loved ones are killed while serving on active duty in the military.

Donations to Project Gold Star may be made online at www.cdva.ca.gov/vetfund/goldstar.aspx.