Here in Michigan, there is nothing like the onset of spring. The snow is gone, and the trees and plants are preparing for their coming out party, showing a bloom for the new season. Springtime is indeed the Earth rebranding itself. Spring, the time of year Major League baseball teams are filled with optimism that this will be the year they will make the World Series. The daylight grows longer with each passing day, and the warmth the sun brings leaves you exchanging your winter coat for a light sweater. Once you realize you don’t need to wear a coat, well, talk about a boost to your spirit! Spring at the VFW National Home for Children means many things, many more things to us than the burst that spring brings to the calendar. Spring brings children and their parents out of their homes to enjoy the near 80 acres of property that encompass our residential landscape. Bike riding, leisurely walks, joggers, and a game of catch, among many other outdoor activities, are experienced throughout the campus. Neighbors finally outside enjoying the weather, talking, building friendships while their children play in the yard. Now on the surface, we look and feel just like every other neighborhood where you might live. Indeed we are, on the surface. Now let’s get below the surface. Let’s get inside why we have the likeness and the feel of any other neighborhood where you might live. It is only through you and your generosity we can offer and sustain the look and feel of a “typical” neighborhood. Your support gives us the opportunity to repay those veterans and their families for the sacrifices they have made for our country. Our services are designed to assist families toward achieving their goals and to build a better life for their families. The VFW National Home for Children is not our families’ final destination. It is but a connecting flight to their ultimate destination, a better life. Our veteran families, and those families we are yet to serve, have had a tough year. Their family sacrifices of service, which define their life circumstances, coupled with a worldwide pandemic, can certainly bring about a darkness of despair to any family’s hopes and dreams. We, only through your support, are here to offer the opportunity of a new beginning, to re-energize a spirit long tired, and to open a window of opportunity to allow a warm sun to shine on family dreams that were once shadowed in lost hope. Your support provides the opportunity for our families to experience a new springtime in their lifetime. Together you and I have been blessed to offer our veterans and their families the possibility of unlimited optimism that can change generations. Thank you, Frederick Puffenberger
Executive Director/CEO
VFW National Home for Children