National Center for Healthcare Advancement and Partnerships
OCE Partnerships and COVID-19
VA partners make season bright for Veterans—even during a pandemic
While the coronavirus pandemic has restricted the ability to host many events, Veterans served by the VA Central California Health System take comfort in seeing traditions continue even if they cannot attend in person, according to Voluntary Service Officer Mary Golden.
That’s why a Veterans Day 2020 wreath-laying ceremony, much like one on Memorial Day, was broadcast on social media. Another VA Central California tradition will continue as planned with one adjustment. Organizers of VA Voluntary Service’s annual Duffle Stuff Donation Drive requested that holiday season donations be made earlier than usual to allow time for items to be quarantined for three to five days before they are distributed. The project benefits 500 Veterans every year.
Other VA systems across the country are also keeping up their holiday traditions with slight modifications. In New York, Canandaigua VA Medical Center’s Voluntary Service Office, for instance, requested donations of Wal-Mart gift cards instead of holiday stockings. Operation Making Spirits Bright, for which volunteers purchase gifts for Veterans and their families, continued this year, as did the VAMC’s year-round request for items such as gift cards, clothing, toiletries, bedding, baby items, and cleaning supplies. Deliveries of these gifts to the VAMC, however, had to be scheduled in advance, due to COVID-19.
The 2020 holiday season looks a little different this year at the Syracuse VA Medical Center, also, because volunteers cannot distribute items to Veterans in-person. Those interactions will be left to the VAMC’s recreation therapy staff who “dress up for these events and spread cheer, enthusiasm, fun, and friendly competition to create a lively environment,” said Robert McLean, a public affairs officer and Marine Corps Veteran.
The inability of volunteers to visit VAMCs in person has not stopped partners and community groups from asking what they can do to support Veterans in other ways. For Veterans Day, Syracuse VAMC received cards and a banner thanking Veterans for their service, and several music groups live-streamed performances for Veterans.
Organizations are also digging deeper and creating new traditions to help those in need this year. A shopping spree that benefits children of Veterans in VA Central California’s Homeless Program is in its second year. Last year the Kiwanis/Burlington Holiday Project provided 68 children with a pair of shoes, a coat and a sweater, or a sweatshirt. This year, the Fresno Kiwanis pledged to raise enough funds to provide an even larger budget for 100 children, which will allow them to purchase additional clothing, such as underwear, socks, and pants.
“Our community partners have always supported Veterans, their families, and caregivers. These examples are a few of the ways, during COVID-19, that VA facility staff and their community partners demonstrate how dedicated and creative they can be,” said Dr. Tracy L. Weistreich, OCE nurse executive.
OCE hosts the annual National VHA Community Partnership Challenge, which has a fitting theme for 2021 given the difficulties presented by the pandemic: “Adaptability in a Changing World.” For details on the contest, please bookmark our website.
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Posted November 30, 2020
