Author: M3Admin

2020 is our 95th year of providing a safe, nurturing environment for our nation’s military and veteran families! Please join us as we stroll through the history of the National Home. There will be links to other blogs, articles, and videos throughout this blog post. In the 1920s, there were no social programs or services available for the widows and orphans of WWI veterans. With no source of income, these mothers were left unable to provide for their children. Realizing this, and feeling a profound responsibility to care for these veteran families, the Veterans of Foreign Wars established...

The freshness of a new start, the dedication of the resolutions, and the clean slate of the calendar all remind us that the glow and excitement of the New Year are upon us. My glow is flickering, as it seemingly often does as we get deeper into the cold, dark days of January. Is your glow still there? Just as the birth of the new calendar brings optimism and energy, we here at the VFWNHC get to share those spirits with each and every veteran and family member that we get the opportunity to encounter. Our opportunity can be with the caller who reaches out to us on our Helpline, a candidate for...

Hi, my name is Sarah. I live in the Wisconsin house with my husband and four daughters. We qualify to live here because of my grandfather’s service overseas. He was a Corporal in the Army, and he served in the Korean War. His name was Neil Edward Crandall, and he was a great man. I didn’t know that he had served as a soldier until the last week of his life. He was rushed to the VA hospital in Ann Arbor, MI, because of heart problems. I went with my family to the hospital to see him, thinking he may die before we even arrived. Now, my Grandfather had eight children, including two sets of twins,...

Honoring Veterans is of the utmost importance to us at the National Home. We are veteran founded, veteran supported, and run a veteran family-focused program. Though we celebrate veterans throughout the year, our Veterans Day dinner is a special event that allows us to come together as an organization to recognize the sacrifices of these brave men and women. This year we welcomed a guest speaker, 1SG, Jon Livingston with the Michigan National Guard, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery 1st Battalion 119th Field Artillery to speak with residents and staff. 1SG Livingston, who has served deployments...

Every year in October, National Home Life Members are invited to attend the Annual Life Member Meeting. During this meeting, the newest members to the Board of Trustees are installed, and we celebrate the Trustees whose terms are ending. We also install the new Board President and Vice President and thank the outgoing President. This year we welcomed new Trustees for District 1, Keith Jackson, and District 2 Trustee, Art Scheuneman. Keith is a member of VFW Post #6538 in Townsend, MA, where he maintains his Gold Legacy Life Membership. He has served as the Department of MA Commander and two...

The VFW National Home for Children would like to thank long-time National Home Chairman, Bill D’Appollonio, Veteran and Family Support Chairman Cheryl Costello-Pelkey, Buddy Poppy/National Home Chairman Claudette Sirois and the entire VFW Department of Connecticut and its’ Auxiliary for providing the funds for a much needed 15 passenger shuttle. Thanks to Connecticut’s support, the National Home was able to purchase an electric shuttle that will be used for tours of the National Home’s campus in Eaton Rapids, Michigan. The National Home hosts many visitors every year, individuals and groups...

We would like to thank the 2018-2019 California Auxiliary President, Ellie Mello, for choosing the National Home Safety and Security Fund as her 2018-2019 Department President’s Special Project! She accomplished this with the help of Marla Smith, her Program Chair, and her generous Department members. President Mello was able to raise an impressive $24,748.32 throughout the year! Thanks to the VFW Department of California Auxiliary’s support, the National Home can continue to provide military and veteran families with a safe haven and nurturing community to rebuild their lives. In fact, the...

Recently the sponsorship of the Alaska House changed from Post #1685 and its Auxiliary in Anchorage, Alaska, to the VFW Department of Alaska Auxiliary. The Alaska House was built in 2007 and was sponsored by the Department of Alaska 2017; then sponsorship was switched to Post #1685 until now. The Alaska House is one of the newest houses at the National Home. It is part of a duplex with Hawaii and is 1,442 square feet with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. It is one of six homes here that are wheelchair accessible. We are so glad that the VFW Members from Alaska can continue supporting the...

The National Home is proud to announce Ranch Life Plastics’ sponsorship of this year’s .1K Fun Run at the National Home! Since 1987, Ranch Life Plastics has manufactured and fabricated vinyl fence and garden products for ranch, residential and commercial applications right in the heart of mid-Michigan in Eaton Rapids, “the island city.” Quality of life is important to founders Wayne and Carol Peek. As horse-owners, they know how important it is to have top-quality, reliable, low-maintenance fencing products to protect valuable livestock. The low-maintenance features of their vinyl mean customers...