Veterans Service Organizations Serve as Valuable Partners
Minnesota has a proud tradition of military service. Since the Civil War, Minnesotans have heeded the call to serve our country. And the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs (MDVA) has an obligation to serve the more than 278,000 Veterans and their families living in Minnesota today.
I am grateful every day that MDVA has the support and partnership of a multitude of Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) to ensure our Veterans are indeed recognized and supported once their service is completed.
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The State of Minnesota is giving a shoutout to The Minnesota Veterans Homes - Minneapolis for figuring out a way to make a good program even better. Instead of composting discarded food, the Minneapolis Veterans Home joined a food-to-animals program and now sends it directly to a livestock farm just outside the Twin Cities.
The state’s Office of Enterprise Sustainability encourages other state entities to find ways to reduce waste and increase sustainability. They were impressed with the program and awarded the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs (MDVA) with a Sustainability Achievement Award.
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What happens when the people who served to protect us become targets themselves?
The AARP Fraud Watch Network reports that Veterans, active-duty service members and their families are nearly 40% more likely than civilians to lose money to frauds and scams.
Kindahl Larson, Chief Compliance Officer with the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs (MDVA), is responsible for the prevention and detection of fraud, waste and abuse of state funds, assets and inventories. After attending the annual Fraud Summit of the Twin Cities Chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), she teamed up with Operation Shamrock and the AARP Fraud Fighters to help protect Minnesota’s Veterans.
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Minnesota loses around 100 Veterans a year to suicide. To address this tragedy, the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs (MDVA) recognizes September as Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. Although mental health and suicide prevention are important to address year-round, Suicide Prevention Awareness Month provides a dedicated time to share that there is hope, help is available and healing is possible.
To make change happen, we will need to shift our culture from silence and stigma to encouragement, understanding and support. Taking action to prevent suicide can create hope and save lives. Research has shown that people are less likely to attempt suicide or to die by suicide in communities that support, care for and affirm their members.
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Military service was a tradition in the family of Jim Kavajecz. After 20 years of active duty and another 20 years working for the Idaho State Park system, Jim feels fortunate to now live at the Preston Veterans Home.
James (Jim) Kavajecz, Air Force Veteran, was born in rural Iron River, Wisconsin, known for its excellent trout fishing and summertime Big Blueberry Festival. He and his mother, father, grandmother and five siblings lived on a small dairy farm. Everyone worked hard every day—milking 20-25 head of cows by hand (no machinery) and maintaining the physical property. When there was rare down time, Jim would grab a fly rod and go fishing. Before they sold the farm, he and his brother raced to see who could catch 100 fish first. Jim caught a total of 89 with a very specially crafted fly made from skunk tail and cat hair; it’s an achievement he’s proud of to this day.
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Minnesota Veterans Homes - Minneapolis expresses its gratitude to Jean Osborne and June Hyman for their generous $10,000 donation designed to help enhance the daily activities of its Residents. Jean and June were lifelong friends who were passionate about supporting charities they believed in. The donation was organized by Jean’s niece, Sarah Flint.
Interestingly, this legacy gift came about based on an ordinary, everyday discussion between Sarah and a Minneapolis Veterans Home volunteer, Sue Gunaca.
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Interested in serving Veterans? Looking to make a difference in your community? Consider a career with the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs! Roles in healthcare, nursing, facilities management and program management are featured below. Sign-up to receive our monthly jobs bulletin.
We proudly offer competitive pay, generous benefits as a State of MN employee, welcoming and supportive teams, and most importantly, meaningful careers.
To learn more and to apply, visit MinnesotaVeteran.org/Careers and click Current Jobs.
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