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Mitzvah Opportunity for National Salute to Veteran Patients

ByPhyllis Zimbler Miller

Here is an email from Gina Elise, founder of Pin-Ups For Vets, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that benefits hospitalized veterans:

Thank you so very much for asking your readers to do a mitzvah during the upcoming week in February that has been set aside to honor our hospitalized veterans. I am once again excited to visit and express appreciation to our veterans, both young and old.

I will again be bringing smiles to our hospitalized vets, just as I do all year long, and I would love to be able to bring a donated calendar or a “Kiss A Vet T-shirt” from your readers, along with a personal message from them if they would like.

Here is the information about the upcoming week:

National Salute to Veteran Patients

The purpose of the National Salute to Veteran Patients program is to:

  • pay tribute and express appreciation to veterans;
  • increase community awareness of the role of the VA medical center;
  • encourage citizens to visit hospitalized veterans and to become involved as volunteers

The week of February 14 each year is your opportunity to say thank you to a special group of men and women, more than 98,000 veterans of the U.S. armed services who are cared for every day in Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers, outpatient clinics, domiciliaries, and nursing homes.

The 2012 National Salute program is scheduled for February 12-18.

You should see the smiles on our vets’ faces — those who are 18 years old to those who are over 100 years old — when they receive a visit from the 1940’s calendar girl visiting them and bearing gifts. You can go to the appreciation page on our website to read letters from some of the hospitals expressing what these visits mean to their veterans.

Also, if you have specific names of Jewish deployed service members and have their APO or FPO addresses — if you go to the “order now” page on the website, you can order whatever gift you want sent, insert the service member’s address, and the order will be immediately sent to our brave Jewish heroes serving our country. I always send them a personal note of thanks along with the gifts.

These donations are tax deductible and the proceeds support healthcare programs in VA hospitals.

Thank you so very much for helping me to bring some thanks and smiles to our vets and troops. I do this project to also honor the WWII army service of my own Grandpa Lou.

Photo of Pin ups for vets