Dear Editor,
We at the Vermont Veterans’ Home want to thank our fellow citizens from Bennington and all of Vermont for their steadfast support of our veterans and our home during the past year, and your incredible kindness during the holiday season!
In front of the home is a banner exclaiming, “Where Heroes Live,” this banner speaks the truth, not hyperbole. Veterans live here from all branches of service and major conflicts back to WWII. From WWII alone, we have an Iwo Jima Marine, a soldier who liberated concentration camps in Germany, and a member of Patton’s third army!
The number of people, families, groups, and organizations who visited in November and December to donate, entertain, or simply celebrate with our Veterans was astonishing.
Once again, our residents participated in a sponsored gift program where they receive a Christmas gift, and selected gifts to send to their families. Handwritten cards arrived by the box-load and adorn the doors and rooms of our Veterans. Christmas parties were sponsored, and musicians arrived to provide holiday cheer to both residents and staff. Some just came to volunteer and share a story.
Wreaths Across America had almost 400 in attendance to remember, honor, and teach about those who have gone before us. Participants at the event ranged in age from 6 to 96, some traveled from as far as St Albans.
At the Vermont Veteran’s Home, we have an amazing staff. We are of course a 24-hour facility, seven days a week to include the most valued of holidays. If you visited us, you assuredly observed an upbeat, motivated, and caring staff; the emphasis here is on caring. Because of them, the Veterans’ Home truly feels like a community. To our staff at the home, we appreciate all you do!
We begin a new year with a heartfelt thank you to everyone who helps fulfill the promise to our Veterans.
Melissa Jackson,
CEO & Col Al Faxon Deputy
