National Home

VFW National Home - 5/17/2023

 
National Home News for Our Friends at
VFW Post #1791
 
VFW National Home Kids Honored For Their Sacrifice During Month of The Military Child
VFW National Home Program Director Angie Harkins knows firsthand how children who have a parent in the military are impacted.

"My husband missed crucial years of our children’s lives due to being deployed,” she recalled.

"He missed our son’s baseball games all through his teenage years and our daughter’s first birthday party and so many other events,” she added explaining that he was often deployed in harm’s way which added to the stress on the family.
The month of April stands as the month of the military child as designated in 1986 by then Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger.

Each year the presiding President of the United States presents the proclamation at the beginning of April and then extends that to each state governor to do the same with the intent to express appreciation for military children from coast to coast who have sacrificed alongside their military parent.

Purple is the designated color for the month which is a combination of all the colors of the military branches.
 
Buddy Poppy Pins the Governor
 
Each year, since 1930, a child from the VFW National Home is selected to be the Buddy Poppy Child, making appearances throughout the year to promote the VFW’s Buddy Poppy program and share with others their experience of living at the National Home.

Historically, the Buddy Poppy Child would pin the first Buddy Poppy of the year on the President of the United States.

This year, as we work to reconnect with this rich tradition, the Buddy Poppy child met with Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer to pin her with the Buddy Poppy.
 
 
"He gets it" VFW National Home Vets Receive Lifegiving Peer Support
"We speak the same language and civilians just don’t understand it,” says a veteran resident currently living at the VFW National Home.

"The gamut of emotions is hard to express unless it’s to a fellow veteran,” says the former Navy BM2.

She’s talking about her interaction with Kyle Tiffany, the VFW National Home’s Certified Peer Support Specialist who works with veteran residents to help them receive the services and benefits they’re entitled to as well as any needed counseling.

"I’m the buffer between the veteran and the clinicians,” says Kyle who just joined the VFW National Home Veteran and Family Resource Center staff in November, but has been working as a Michigan certified peer support specialist for the past five years.
 
Spring Time At The National Home Early Education Center!
 
The Infant/Young Toddler kids were busy making friends with each other and enjoying each other’s company. Lots of tummy time, learning to sit up, crawling and walking. They also enjoyed some outside time during the warmer weather and the young toddlers visited the pigs at the Montana Farmstead with the rest of the EEC!

The Preschoolers and Toddlers enjoyed outside time during the warm spring week! They met the 4-H bunnies, visited the pigs at their barn and watched caterpillars grow from tiny to fat and then into butterflies. They were happy, engaged and learning!
 
2023 Election
 
Elections will take place for open Trustee positions representing District 9 (Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota) and District 12 (California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Washington) for six-year terms, both ending October 2029.

Ballots will be sent electronically in August through text and email.
 
If you have members that are not receiving news about the National Home or National Home Life Members that would like to vote, please encourage them to sign up for our newsletter at vfwnationalhome.org.
The National Home has been conducting monthly Zoom meetings with VFW and Auxiliary leadership. These meetings have been recorded so that this information is available to everyone!

You can check out all of the recordings, which are conveniently organized into a playlist called "National Home Zoom Meetings" on our YouTube channel.
The National Home's neighborhood is open to the families of actively serving military personnel, veterans, and relatives of VFW and VFW Auxiliary members. The family can be one or both parents with one or more children.

As of May 3rd, 2023 we have homes available in our community so if you know a family that could use our services, please encourage them to call 800-313-4200 or contact us through our website.