It’s springtime in the community!
Whether you’ve been here a while, are new to the area, or arrive soon, it’s a great time to get out. Our Chapter is always working to help you grow, no matter where you go.
In January, the Dayton and Southwestern Ohio Chapter held the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Service Project. This year we dedicated our efforts to the Blue Star Families Nourish the Service initiative. We collected food and other items to resupply a small food bank located within the Dayton VA Medical Center and also the Greene County FISH Pantry. Thank you to everyone that donated in support of this important initiative.
In February, the Chapter celebrated our third birthday! We hosted our first chili cook-off! Special thank you to the Hope Hotel & Richard C. Holbrooke Conference Center for allowing us to use their space and for the beautiful decorations. Thank you to all those that donated raffle items, the vendors that joined us to help us celebrate, and to the Blue Star Families members who spent the day celebrating with us. Congratulations to Woody Tegtmeier with First Command on being crowned the first chili champ and to Gail Matson, Greene County FISH Pantry, and Tonie Fuhr with Genesis Hyperbarics for being crowned second and third. We look forward to next year's birthday celebration and chili cook-off!
On March 6th, the Chapter, along with the Cincinnati VA Medical Center, launched a new program "Book to the Veteran Libraries.” These libraries provide Veterans and their loved ones the opportunity to enjoy a book during treatment, in between appointments, and more, while at the medical facility. We want to take a moment and thank the Voluntary Services team for their support with this. In addition, thank you to the VFW Post 3809 and American Legion Post 218 in Middletown for their ongoing support to help us supply books to these libraries and our friend Craig McKee with WCPO Channel 9's Homefront for helping us capture this special day.
If you are a female Veteran or spouse, caregiver, or widow of a Veteran, we invite you to join us for “Flourish.” This event is free and space is limited, so please register early. We look forward to serving you in April.
Spring is a great time to grow with us. Register for an upcoming event or get to know some new folks in the Blue Star Neighborhood, a safe community where our families can thrive! See you soon.