Jr. Vice Commanders and Presidents leave National Home awed, excited and ready to get to work

A variety of speakers gave attendees an in-depth look at the National Home’s operations.

The VFW National Home for Children wowed another group of VFW and Ladies Auxiliary leaders from across the nation during its 9th Annual Jr. Vice Orientation, May 16-18. Participants included VFW Jr. Vice Commander in Chief John Stroud and Ladies Auxiliary National Jr. Vice President Ann Panteleakos, as well as Jr. Vice Commanders and Presidents from across the United States and the Department of Europe.

“Junior Vice Orientation is one of our favorite events at the National Home,” said VFW National Home for Children Executive Director Patrice Green. “It is a pleasure and a privilege to show off our beautiful campus and outstanding programs to such a fine group of VFW and Ladies Auxiliary leaders each year.”

A favorite stop for any National Home visitor is our Ladies Auxiliary Nursery.

The group toured campus facilities and homes, met staff, residents and alumni and got a behind-the-scenes look at the National Home’s operations. While many were amazed at the scope of the National Home’s services, others said the visit further reaffirmed for them what an impact their contributions were making on the lives of struggling military and veteran families.

VFW Jr. Vice Commander in Chief John Stroud tasked the Jr. Vice Commanders and Presidents in attendance to take all that they had learned and experienced back to their Departments and to encourage next year’s class of Jr. Vices to attend this important orientation.

Attendees got to share in the successes of our clients.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for every Jr. Vice Commander and President,” he said. “There are so many great things going on here [at the National Home] every day of every year. If you miss it, you’re going to regret it.”

A highlight for many attendees was the opportunity to meet and hear from National Home residents and alumni, who shared the positive impact the National Home has had on their lives.

“What a wonderful time we’ve had,” added National Jr. Vice President Ann Panteleakos. “If you haven’t been here before, you need to come.”

Spoiler Alert: There was even a Final Exam!

This year’s Junior Vice Orientation was held from May 16 – 18, and R. M. Corporation was a sponsor of the event. More photos from the event can be seen on Facebook or Flickr.

Sowing the seeds of connection

Photo by Tobyotter, Flickr

Last week, when Education Supervisor Laura Lonsbury was checking on the Ed Department’s garden, she noticed some maple trees growing in the vegetable bed. After getting a good look at their seed leaves, she transplanted them out of the garden.

As she walked back to her office, she noticed tiny maple trees “all over the lawn”, so she did what any good teacher would do — she turned it into a lesson for her students. “I rounded up some kids, and they helped me ‘rescue’ some of the seedlings before the lawn got mowed,” she says. “I think we dug up about 40 seedlings in 15 minutes (filling the holes back in, of course).”

Students with their “rescued” seedlings.

After a bit of research, Laura learned that the seedlings could go back outdoors after they got their second set of leaves. So she and her students may transplant them at that point, or they may do an experiment and see how big the seedlings can get in the greenhouse before transplanting them.

Prepping the garden beds for planting.

“It was really neat because we started a discussion about how these are tiny maple trees,” Laura said.  “One student found one that still had the seed husk attached and said, ‘HEY!  It’s one of those thingies.. a whirligig!’”

Thank you, LyondellBasell volunteers!

The LyondellBasell volunteers get ready to work.

A team of volunteers from LyondellBasell converged on the National Home campus earlier this month as part of the company’s Global Care Day. Volunteers clipped and prepared more than 26,000 UPCs for the National Home’s Labels for Education program, completed a variety of landscaping projects and assembled new donor packets, among other jobs.

The first 500 — of more than 26,000 — Campbell’s labels volunteers trimmed and counted.

The team joined more than 3,500 volunteers on five continents in demonstrating their commitment to community service on Saturday, April 13. The global day of community service involved volunteer service activities in 20 countries, from collecting litter along the Great Wall of China to assisting at emergency shelters in Texas and Germany. In all, employees contributed a combined 14,000 hours of volunteer service on that day.

We’re grateful the Lansing team picked the VFW National Home for Children as the site for their volunteer project. Thank you, LyondellBasell!

#6

Children from the Ladies Auxiliary Nursery (decked out in purple in honor of Month of the Military Child) welcome our 6th Campbell’s van to campus.

It’s here!

This week, our sixth — yes, sixth! — Campbell’s Labels for Education minivan made its triumphant debut on our campus, thanks to the countless individuals and groups who have clipped labels and UPCs for the National Home. In all, National Home friends and supporters collected more than 1.6 million labels to earn the new van.

The van, a sharp Maximum Steel Metallic 2013 Dodge Grand Caravan, was delivered Wednesday, April 10. It sports a custom license plate that reads “ARDATH” in honor of Department of Illinois Ladies Auxiliary member Ardath Paris, who earned the affectionate nickname “the soup labels lady” for her tireless work trimming and counting labels for us, prior to her passing in 2012.

We’re not done collecting labels, so keep clipping those UPCs! You can view the most up-to-date list of eligible products and send your UPCs to: VFW National Home for Children, 3573 S. Waverly Rd., Eaton Rapids, MI 48827 . Thank you for your continued support of the families and children of the VFW National Home for Children.

For National Home families, care + connections = success

National Social Worker Month just wrapped up, and in honor of that, we asked one of the social workers here at the National Home to tell us a little about herself and the role social workers play in helping our clients succeed.

Jessica (left) and Cindy DeBow await the busloads of VFW and Ladies Auxiliary members who visited the National Home during the 2010 VFW National Convention.

Many hats, one purpose

Jessica Fortier-Lick has worn a few hats since she started at the National Home in 2005, including helping to launch the National Home’s free Helpline in 2008. As a social worker, she says she has never found another agency that offers the same resources and services offered by the National Home.

“We truly have the ability to help families change their lives, one goal at a time, and provide them with the safe space and time to start anew,” she says. “The National Home is more than an organization. We are a community – one that is strong within our immediate acreage and even stronger through the national support of the VFW and its Ladies Auxiliary.”

One of the aspects of the National Home’s programs that makes Jessica proudest is the care and attention given to each client. Whether families come to live at the National Home or they get the help they need via the Helpline, Jessica says, “The common ground for all of our clients is that they feel listened to, cared for, and respected, which they are.  We want all of our clients to strengthen themselves and create better situations for their families, and we try to help them along that path.”

Jessica speaks to a group of VFW and Ladies Auxiliary members at the National Home.

‘Hooked’ on the first visit

She still remembers her first visit to the campus like it was yesterday.

“After leaving the campus from my first interview, I was hooked,” she says. “The campus is truly beautiful and serene, and the staff I met were very warm and professional; I knew I needed to be a member of this team!”

A mom of two young boys, Jessica says her family is her heart and she loves spending as much time as she can with them.

“We love to play games and explore outside with our yellow lab (my third child!), share bedtime stories and movie nights,” she says. “And we are BIG Spartan fans, often attending games together as a family.”

Social workers like Jessica are the threads connecting struggling families with the help they need to succeed. They function as advocates and coaches, walking alongside clients as they strive to meet their goals.

Jessica gets in the holiday spirit for the annual Nursery trick or treating outing around campus.

Never give up!

“I think it is a beautiful opportunity for clients to have a relationship with someone who is truly there for one purpose: to help them meet their goals,” Jessica says. “We help clients to identify and overcome barriers to their end goals, and find them resources to help them in their journey.”

But the job isn’t without its challenges, Jessica notes.

“I think the thing that is most challenging is that despite the outpouring of support for military and veteran families in this country, many of those families still struggle to find the right kind of help when they need it,” she says. “Most of the people who reach out to us on the Helpline are in a state of crisis, usually financial in nature, and while there are lots of great resources out there, there are also lots of people in need, and the demand is still greater than the supply.”

Even in the face of these challenges, Jessica says, Helpline staff never give up.

“Our team does an excellent job of thoroughly researching any and all available resources for folks in need, and are always willing to advocate on their behalf, but it can be disheartening to see how great the need is relative to what support is available.”

Just call. We’ll help you from there.

So, what would Jessica tell someone who needs help? What would you expect?

“Two words:  CALL US.  800-313-4200.  Even if you aren’t sure if you qualify, or if you’re eligible, or if you’re even interested, call us,” she says. “Our Helpline staff are some of the kindest, hardest working people I know, and we are always willing to listen and to help out in any way we can.”

She urges people not to underestimate the power of a phone call.

” Many people are surprised by the services they receive with a simple phone call and wish they had reached out earlier,” she says. “Whether you are interested in our on-campus programs, or you want to stay where you are but need help accessing resources, or you know of someone who might benefit from our services, just give us a call.  We’ll take care of you from there.”

Posts and Auxiliaries answer our call!

Photo by NStjerna on Flickr

After more than 20 years of faithful service to National Home families, our campus-wide phone system is reaching the end of its useful life and in need of replacement. Not only will this major upgrade allow us to continue to provide our families with the security of reliable phone service in their homes, it also will serve as the backbone for our entire campus communications network.

This major upgrade comes with a major price tag — $280,000. An expense like this is outside our existing budget, which is why we are relying on friends like you to help us with this important project. Thanks to the support of VFW Posts and Auxiliaries from across the country, we have already raised nearly $180,000 towards our goal!

Today’s phone systems are more than just phones. They are complex computer networks, using a phone as the interface instead of a PC. Our system will manage over 130 phone lines as well as Internet access for the homes and offices on our campus.

Our phone network requires switches, fiber optic connections, servers, the core phone system,  handsets, analog converters, a variety of software and licenses (which can be just as much or more than the hardware) and more.

The vendor chosen through our multiple bidding process is a trusted partner with whom we’ve had a long relationship. This company works hard to find reduced costs and donations, while also discounting their labor costs. So we are confident we are getting the quality and security we need, at the best possible price.

We also carefully selected the equipment we will use because of its reputation for reliability and support. This system even allows a support tech to remotely connect to the system for repairs or modifications, which is far less expensive than on-site support.

Our landline phones are absolutely essential to life here, as cell phone coverage is highly unreliable in our rural area. We cannot and will not allow our system to fail, leaving families unable to reach 9-1-1 in an emergency. And many of the critical components of our existing system are irreplaceable — meaning replacement parts are not even produced anymore, further solidifying the need for a new system.

And we want to assure our friends: The old system lasted as long as it has because it was state-of-the-art in its time — so this new system will be, too. With today’s advanced technology, we have every reason to believe the new system you are helping us build will provide safe and reliable communications capability for many years to come.

You can answer our call for help, too. Donate online today!

From Buddy Poppy to the Bar Exam

Danielle with longtime National Home staff members Patti and Todd Marriott at her law school graduation ceremony in January.

Danielle Lightner can barely remember life before the VFW National Home for Children. She was just three years old when she moved to campus with eleven of her siblings in 1986. But don’t think for a second she takes her childhood here for granted.

“I am so grateful for the National Home,” she says. “I know I would not be where I am today without it.”

Danielle as the National Home’s Buddy Poppy Child.

Danielle was an active National Home resident, performing in the Patriot’s Chorus, participating in 4-H and even serving as Buddy Poppy Child. A straight-A student, she went on to earn her B.A. from Western Michigan University before going on to law school. She has fond memories of camping, traveling and meeting VFW and Ladies Auxiliary members from across the country, and just getting the chance to grow up surrounded by her brothers and sisters in the loving, nurturing environment of the National Home.

Danielle (front row) in Cincinnati for the 2004 VFW National Convention.

Today, Danielle is celebrating her graduation from Thomas M. Cooley Law School, where she earned her Juris Doctorate in January. Becoming a lawyer has been Danielle’s goal since she was a little girl.

“I’ve always wanted to be an attorney,” Danielle says. “And I owe that to the National Home, too. I wouldn’t have been on the right path to even consider college or law school had it not been for this place.”

For now, Danielle says she plans to continue working for the McDonalds Corporation, working in human resources or corporate law. But her ultimate goal is to someday be able to work with veterans, helping them deal with situations like foreclosure, divorce or custody issues.

With law school behind her, Danielle can fill her new-found free time baking and decorating cakes, spending time with friends and catching up on sleep — at least until she starts prepping for the Bar Exam in July. We wish her the best of luck on the exam, though we’re pretty confident she won’t need it.

 

Talking transportation at our February Board of Trustees meeting

National Home Executive Director Patrice Green and Board of Trustees President Jack McDermott with some of the first labels that will go to our lucky #7 van from Campbell’s.

Transportation was a hot topic at this week’s meeting of the VFW National Home for Children’s Board of Trustees… specifically, transportation in our new minivan, earned through the efforts of many tireless volunteers from all corners of the U.S. clipping and sending their Campbell’s Labels for Education points to us. Yes, we — or, more specifically, YOU did it!

Thanks to you, we have confirmation from the Labels for Education program that we have collected the 1.6 million labels required for a new 2013 minivan. This is great news! The van has been requested, and we are now waiting for ordering instructions. Of course, we will update you when the new van arrives. In the meantime, we are sending out a big THANK YOU to all our label-clipping friends!

It’s great to be 88!

Today, January 7, we celebrate the 88th anniversary of the founding of the VFW National Home for Children. You can read about the National Home’s founding on our website.

Since its founding in 1925, the VFW National Home for Children has grown from an old frame farm house to a sprawling community of 42 single-family homes, plus playgrounds, park areas, a community center and gymnasium, child care facility, guest lodge, library, science lab, chapel and offices.

But for many Life Members, alumni and supporters, the National Home is so much more than that. We often hear from alumni and their families, who say things like, “The VFW home kept our family together!” or “I don’t know where I would be today if not for the VFW National Home.”

If she’s still watching over us, we think Amy Ross would be very proud of the “little city” that arose from the ground near Eaton Rapids, Michigan, so many years ago and has continued to serve struggling military and veteran families for nearly nine decades.

And it’s all possible because of the tireless support of our donors and friends from all corners of the United States. Thank YOU for all YOU do, every single day.

Cooties share Christmas cheer with National Home families

Members of the VFW’s Military Order of the Cootie (MOC) and Military Order of the Cootie Auxiliary (MOCA) came to town the week after Thanksgiving to spread Christmas cheer to the residents and staff of the VFW National Home for Children. They traveled from as far away as Florida, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Virginia to share in the spirit of the season with National Home residents and their fellow Cooties.

When asked what brings her back year after year, one attendee said, “This is my Christmas present to myself.” Others echoed those words, saying they loved meeting the children and families, reuniting with old friends and getting the chance to be part of this special celebration.

The fun started on Wednesday, when the Florida Cooties invited residents to join them at the Guest Lodge for a spaghetti dinner and cookie decorating. It was an evening of good food and good fun for all. In fact, it was hard to tell who was having a better time – the families or the Cooties!

Friday evening brought the much-anticipated Santa fire truck delivery. The National Home’s fire trucks transported Santa, Mrs. Claus and his helpers from VFW District 8 of Michigan throughout the campus to deliver gifts and warm holiday wishes to residents young and old.

The fun continued Saturday as National Home residents and guests flocked to the Community Center for the 84^th annual Cootie Christmas celebration, followed by the Florida Cooties’ “Picnic in the Snow”. Families and guests enjoyed entertainment provided by juggler Tim Salisbury, a craft sale and the much-anticipated arrival of Santa himself.

MOC Supreme Commander Jerry Constable and MOCA Supreme President Lorna Piper joined leaders from the MOC Grand of Michigan and MOC Grand of Florida and Cooties from across the nation to bring an early Christmas to the residents of the National Home.