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December 2023 Michigan Veteran Homes Newsletter
Serving Michigan Veterans with Skilled Nursing Care
Michigan Veteran Homes
A Place of Honor & Compassion
December 2023
Holiday Season at MVH
The Holiday Season brings much to be thankful for at MVH. Our veterans are blessed through the generosity of many individuals, organizations, and community partners who selflessly give their time, talents, and treasures to our mission. That generosity is often amplified during this giving season, and the beneficiaries remain those members we serve.
On behalf of Michigan Veteran Homes, we share our gratitude with all of you: the many people and organizations who believe our work is worth supporting, and that our veterans deserve the best care and quality of life Michigan can provide. We thank you, and hope each of you has a tremendous holiday season.
Retiring the Colors at MVH at Grand Rapids
In November, Michigan Veteran Homes at Grand Rapids had the privilege (again) of partnering with Home supporters to retire the colors for another year.
If you haven't driven by the iconic MVHGR campus in the summer, make the drive. A massive Old Glory - about 30' x 60' - furls in the west Michigan winds throughout the summer, tied between two large trees on the Home's front lawn: a keen reminder of, and tribute to, the sacrifices of the men and women who've worn the uniform of our nation.
Every spring the flag is hoisted, and every fall the flag is retired, and put away warmly for another winter. Thanks is due to the many volunteers and support organizations that make this possible, including Eric Nelson, the Kent County Veterans Honor Guard, and others. You can follow the Kent County Veterans Honor Guard on Facebook.
At Michigan Veteran Homes, we provide skilled nursing care and quality of life to veterans and their loved ones. But our campuses and our mission are much more than skilled care. We're community partners, and our work in serving those men and women who've served us symbolizes the American commitment to men and women who've sacrificed on our behalf.
Wreaths Across America at MVHGR
If you, your family, or your organization is seeking a humbling opportunity to honor the lives and legacies of Michigan Veterans this holiday season, consider joining Wreaths Across America, volunteers, and community members on December 16, 2023 at 12 p.m. at the MVHGR Cemetery. Those interested can sponsor a wreath, volunteer, or invite friends to join in the laying of thousands of wreaths on the final resting place of our veterans. Learn more by visiting the link above.
Celebrating Service with MVH
At Michigan Veteran Homes, we're fortunate to celebrate those who've served every day. Nonetheless, Veterans Day annually brings an extra-special opportunity at MVH to celebrate our members, their lives, and their service - and this year was no different in that regard. In Grand Rapids, the Home continued the annual tradition of the "Veterans Day 5," hosting a .5-mile Remembrance Walk, a 5k, and 5-mile run, followed by a pancake breakfast: a great success. In Marquette, MVH D.J. Jacobetti held their annual Veterans Day ceremony in their chapel on 11/11 at 11 a.m. (an always well-attended event), while MVH at Chesterfield Township held their annual ceremony on Veterans Day as well. MVH at Chesterfield Township was also visited the day before with the gift of music, when three 1st grade classrooms from Naldrett Elementary sang songs for the members and wished them a Happy Veterans Day.
Overall, November 11th and the week leading up to Veterans Day was - again - special for MVH members. Blessed by the generosity of many, Michigan Veteran Homes are communities that honor service, sacrifice, and those men and women who've nobly served our nation. They stood for us, and now we stand for them. We hope all veterans had a meaningful Veterans Day.
Accountable to Our Stakeholders: Our Veterans, their Families and the People of Michigan
At Michigan Veteran Homes, we're proud of the care and quality of life we're providing to those we serve. We're partners in our communities, and our work is made possible and our mission fulfilled through both public and private funding sources. As such, MVH believes it imperative to ensure transparency and accountability to our many diverse stakeholders. That's why we've put together a brief Executive Summary, sharing some of our highlights of FY2023. The summary will complement the more comprehensive MI Dept. of Military & Veterans Affairs Annual Report, which will be released after the holidays.
MVH's FY2023 Executive Summary.
A Busy Season of Enriching Lives at MVH
The holidays are a busy season at MVH. See below for a glimpse of what's been happening around MVH:
- Dr. Dave Rutledge was reappointed to the Michigan Veterans' Facility Authority Board of Directors.
- The Army Band Woodwind Ensemble recently played for members of MVHGR.
- MVHDJJ employee Zach Heikkila was the Home's "Beyond the Call of Duty" Award winner for November.
- MVHCT put up their "Veterans Giving Tree" in early November.
- U.S. Representative Elissa Slotkin stopped by MVHGR on Veterans Day to thank veterans for their service.
- MVHGR hosted the West Michigan Veterans Coalition (WMVC) for the WMVC's Quarterly Partners Meeting.
- Follow MVH on Social Media to stay up to date.
Donations to MVH are tax-deductible under section 170(c) of the IRC.Michigan Veteran Homes are making a difference in the lives of MI veterans and their loved ones.
Deer Camp at MVH D.J. Jacobetti
In the northwoods, tradition brings the mass disappearance of many spouses every November, as hunters head to camp for a few weeks to bring down the ever-elusive big buck. MVH D.J. Jacobetti keeps that tradition alive for its members, as it hosts its own deer camp every fall.
This year at camp, Jacobetti members enjoyed "Big Buck$ Bingo," a hunting movie, deer camp stories, some nerf-style marksmanship, venison stew, and more.
Unfortunately, there are sometimes misinformed perceptions on what life is like in a nursing home. At Michigan Veteran Homes, we pride ourselves on delivering the care and quality of life worthy of those who've worn the uniform. Deer camp at Jacobetti is just one of many examples of how MVH ensures the member experience in our homes is second-to-none. At MVH, care and quality of life are part of the same experience.
If you're an individual or an organization that wants to join the mission of serving veterans in late-in-life and end-of-life care, consider supporting the work of Michigan Veteran Homes with your time, talents, and/or treasures. It's meaningful work, and we're always welcoming new partners to serve those men and women who've served us.
Pomp and Circumstance with Members of MVH at Chesterfield Twp
The Michigan Military & Veterans Gala, hosted by the MI Dept. of Military & Veterans Affairs (DMVA), was held in Novi on Nov. 5, 2023. Members from MVH at Chesterfield Township were fortunate to attend - with more than 500 others - for an evening filled with great food and drink, and even better camaraderie: an evening they won't soon forget.
The gala is a formal event held annually, with a program, award presentations, music, dancing, social opportunities, and more, to celebrate service - those who've served, and those still serving - and to honor Michigan's men and women of uniform as "members for life." When a Michigander swears an oath and dons the uniform, they become a member of our Michigan family of service. And when those men and women of service need skilled nursing care, MVH is here to serve them with the care and quality of life they earned, and deserve.
Photos of the amazing evening at the 2023 Gala can be viewed here.
This email was sent to mcclellanjoseph43@yahoo.com using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: Michigan Department of Military & Veterans Affairs · 3411 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. · Lansing, MI 48906
Monday, November 20, 2023
WWII Memorial Latest Updates and News
November 2023 Newsletter
November is a Month for Giving Thanks
Honoring Our Veterans
On November 11th board members John and Judy Maten and Debi Hollis gathered at Centennial Commons for the City of Royal Oak's Veterans Day ceremony. The Michigan WWII Legacy Memorial hosted a continental breakfast for those in attendance.
We would like to thank Arts, Beats, & Eats for their donation of coffee and bagels, provided and served by Mike Keith of The Office Coffee Shop in Royal Oak. We would also like to thank Give Thanks Bakery of Royal Oak for their donation of pastries.
Fundraising Continues in Full Force
The board has been working to raise $2 million to complete the Memorial as designed. To help us reach this goal, Joan Clarke has joined the team as our chief campaign strategist.
Joan is the founder and CEO of 2Hearts Consulting. She has orchestrated campaigns across the country for over 280 clients in the past forty years, raising over $4 billion.
Within the next few weeks we will be launching a state-wide fundraising campaign. Michigan's Greatest Generation worked together to help win WWII. It will take all of us working together (again) to complete The Michigan WWII Legacy Memorial in their honor. If you would like to meet with Joan to hear more about our campaign, please contact her at Joan.Clarke@michiganww2memorial.org.
Make your donation today.
Campaign Updates:
- We want to thank the Family of Aarol W. "Bud" & Elaine M. Corbat Irish for their gift of $10,000. We are truly grateful for their generous donation. Many members of the Irish family attended the Phase 1 dedication in August. They were thrilled to see one of their father's quotes from the book A Thousand Letters Home featured on the Mail Call plaque. This book was written by his daughter Teresa K. Irish, based on Bud's wartime correspondence.
- We were pleased to receive a $25,000 grant from the Royal Oak Community Opportunity Fund. The grant was announced at the City of Royal Oak Commission meeting on November 13th.
Top photo: Army WWII veteran Aaron "Bud" Irish. Bottom photo: The family of Bud and Elaine Irish at the Phase 1 dedication
BOOK OF THE MONTH
As the Allies raced to defeat Hitler, four men, all in the same unit, earned medal after medal for battlefield heroism. Maurice "Footsie" Britt, a former professional football player, became the very first American to receive every award for valor in a single war. Michael Daly was a West Point dropout who risked his neck over and over to keep his men alive. Keith Ware would one day become the first and only draftee in history to attain the rank of general before serving in Vietnam. In WWII, Ware owed his life to the finest soldier he ever commanded, a baby-faced Texan named Audie Murphy. In the campaign to liberate Europe, each would gain the ultimate accolade, the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Tapping into personal interviews and a wealth of primary source material, Alex Kershaw has delivered his most gripping account yet of American courage, spanning more than six hundred days of increasingly merciless combat, from the deserts of North Africa to the dark heart of Nazi Germany. Once the guns fell silent, these four exceptional warriors would discover just how heavy the Medal of Honor could be—and how great the expectations associated with it. Having survived against all odds, who among them would finally find peace? (Taken from the Amazon review)
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