November 2025
"It's the final countdown" ...(insert Europe's classic rock tune in your head, here).
But it is the final countdown, as there's only a week left until MVH at Grand Rapids annual 'Veterans Day 5'on Saturday morning, November 8th. You can register for the .5-Mile Remembrance Walk/Roll, and/or the 5k or 5-miler, all of which start and finish at the Veterans Home. Start your morning with some exercise and celebrating service with our veterans and community members, and conclude it with a pancake breakfast before enjoying the rest of your Saturday. Hesitant? Check out some photos from last year. All proceeds are deposited in the Home's Charitable Support Fund, supporting life enriching experiences and quality of life impactors for our members.
Please join MVH in welcoming Mandy Shelast to the Michigan Veterans' Facility Authority (MVFA) Board of Directors! Ms. Shelast serves as the network president of the Michigan and South regions for Sanford Marshfield Health System and is the former president of the National Assoc. of Rural Health Clinics. Ms. Shelast was appointed to the Board on October 14, 2025, succeeding Mr. Ken Robbins, whose term expired.
In 2016, Michigan law was modified to have Michigan's Veteran Homes report to the Michigan Veterans' Facility Authority. The MVFA is administered under the supervision of the MI Dept. of Military & Veterans Affairs (DMVA) but exercises its powers, duties, and functions independently of the department as an autonomous entity. The MVFA Board of Directors is made up of nine voting members with professional knowledge, skill, or experience in longterm care, health care licensure or finance, or medicine, and the DMVA director as a tenth non-voting member of the board.
"I look forward to working with the MVH team and fellow Board members with the common goal of taking care of those who have taken care of us," said Ms. Shelast. "It is an absolute honor and privilege to serve."
At MVH, we're fortunate to receive support from so many individuals and organizations. Indeed, we're able to do more for veterans - thanks to the generosity of others. Sometimes, that generosity comes from those we directly serve.
In October, MVH at Chesterfield Twp. (MVHCT) was honored to accept a $15,000 gift from Vietnam veteran, Purple Heart recipient, and MVHCT member George Kenney. George wanted to see this gift be put to work in his lifetime, and has been thoroughly impressed with his experience at the Veterans Home. His brother Mark joined for the presentation of the check, and said, "If George didn't live here, he wouldn't be alive. The Veterans Home saved his life, and he has purpose now." Jennifer Manning, the MVHCT Administrator commented as well: “This gift is remarkably humbling and a testament to the Home, staff, volunteers and veterans we serve. This act of generosity by one of our own veterans essentially says, 'the care and quality of life I'm experiencing here, it's the experience veterans deserve and it's worth investing in.' We are so grateful for the work we're able to do and the impact we're able to have on veterans' lives.”
We're doing more for veterans - thanks to our many supporters. We're proud of the care and quality of life we're delivering, and grateful to serve those who've served us. To make a gift or leave your legacy with MVH, visit our website at www.michigan.gov/MVH or contact us at DMVA-MVHgiving@michigan.gov.
We serve those who serve us, and strive to make an impact on the lives of our veterans. And we're partners in our communities, too, recognizing there are many organizations doing incredible work: work that also supports our veterans. The work of the Alzheimer's Association has a special place in the hearts of our staff, veterans, contracted partners, families, and supporters, as the disease effects many of our current and past members - as well as many of our loved ones.
MVH staff, members, and friends came together in Grand Rapids and Marquette this fall to walk and roll to end Alzheimer's, and to support the work of the Alzheimer's Association. The U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs projects that by 2033, nearly 500,000 veterans will have Alzheimer's dementia. We're proud that our team is one small part of many working diligently to change that projection. Together, we're changing the world.
If you didn't know, the first Friday of October was - and is - Plaidurday: the worldwide celebration of plaid. "The day pays homage to one of the Upper Peninsula's most iconic color schemes," and of course the Yooper-filled Jacobetti (some pictured above) has a splendid time celebrating this special day.
Plaidurday's origins are north of the bridge, and there are so many things that make our Upper Peninsula special, including the Jacobetti. We're grateful for the wonderful people in the broader Marquette community and across the U.P. that make such a positive impact in the lives of Jacobetti veterans. Thank you for all you do!
Work continues north of the bridge on the new Jacobetti, and we wanted to share a few photos of that ongoing work on the site, pictured above.
Bottom left: Installing aggregate base in the roundabout location.
Top left: New Venture Drive.
Top right: Drone photo from SW, with US Fish & Wildlife building in the background.
Bottom right: Overhead with roundabout off to the east, showing new Venture drive routed to the south.
In 2016, the Veteran Homes in Michigan transitioned their governance structure to the Michigan Veterans' Facility Authority Board of Directors. Since then, MVH has been fortunate to replace the Home in Grand Rapids, acquire property and build anew in southeast MI (Chesterfield Twp), and are eager as work continues on the Jacobetti replacement in Marquette Twp. These construction projects alone represent more than $200M invested in state-of-the-art facilities and infrastructure for those who've worn the uniform - all while achieving certification by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and achieving and maintaining 5-star quality ratings - providing the care and quality of life veterans earned, and deserve.
Things are continuing to move along on the Jacobetti replacement, and we remain excited about this historic investment in veterans of the Upper Peninsula. Stay connected to the project by visiting The NEW Michigan Veteran Homes D.J. Jacobetti.
November is upon us, and of course includes Veterans Day - a day we anticipate and look forward to every year. At MVH, we're able to do more for those veterans we're privileged to serve because of the generosity of our supporters. The ways to give our mission and the mission of so many other veteran-serving organizations are plentiful - we often refer to them as the '5 Ts' of Philanthropy:
Time: Volunteer- give your time in whatever capacity is needed.
Talent: Share your skills at entertaining, gardening, music, or otherwise with our vets.
Treasure: Donate to our Charitable Support Fund, or check out our wish lists.
Ties: Bring your circle of relationships into our special mission, maximizing impact.
Testimony: Be a voice for MVH and veterans in your circles and community.
We're grateful for those that support our mission, and our veterans. This November, we encourage you to give generously to an organization that serves veterans. Maybe that's MVH, or a veteran service organization, nonprofit, or otherwise. However and to whomever you choose to give, we encourage you to do something good for a veteran this November. Afterall, they certainly did something for you. Have a great November.
Donations to Michigan Veteran Homes are tax-deductible under 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Michigan Veteran Homes are making a difference in the lives of Michigan veterans and their loved ones. Join us.
Want to learn more about participating in the representative democracy our veterans stood to protect? Visit the Michigan Voter Information Center.
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