UnitedHealthcare Military & Veterans Make a Difference for Minnesota’s Veterans

On Wednesday, July 30th, we partnered with volunteers from UnitedHealthcare Military & Veterans to make improvements to the Minnesota Veterans Home in Minneapolis.  The Minnesota Veterans Home is dedicated to providing Minnesota’s veterans and their families with high-quality and dignified health care in a nurturing and engaging environment.

Volunteers spent the day building a weather-protected bus shelter, installing pavers in the picnic area, creating wheelchair-accessible areas on the grounds, doing general landscaping and installing a new flagpole. When the work was complete, a group of local veterans performed a flag-raising ceremony and enjoyed an ice cream social with the UnitedHealthcare volunteers, Minnesota Veterans Home residents and local public officials, including Minnesota Veterans Home Minneapolis Administrator, Cory Glad; Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs Commissioner, Larry Shellito; Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs Legislative Director Mike McElhiney, and First Lieutenant Andrea Kostiuk, a representative of the Minnesota Army National Guard, and other members of the National Guard,  Nichole Ly from Senator Al Franken’s office and Tim Cossalter from Senator Amy Klobuchar’s office.

Thank you to UnitedHealthcare Military & Veterans for your continued partnership and support of our efforts to help veterans in need in our community!

Betty Says Thanks

Our Safe at Home volunteers recently made safety and accessibility modifications for Betty, who lives in Mendota Heights and has some trouble navigating her home safely.  Wes and Steve installed grab bars, a shower seat, a handheld shower unit, no-slip bath treads, exterior railings, an outdoor motion light, smoke detectors, a fire extinguisher and a carbon monoxide detector.

Betty wrote us a very kind thank you note that we wanted to share.  She said, “I want to thank you for all you’ve done for me. You were all so easy to talk to and so helpful…Wes and Steve did a great job and were very personable. Words just can’t tell you how much you have made my everyday life so much easier for me.  I never thought I’d get the help I got.  I feel so much safer now. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.”

Thank you to our Safe at Home volunteers and our partners who support this important program!

Welcome Fitzie!

Please join us in welcoming Fitzie Heimdahl to our team!  Fitzie will be serving a year with us as an AmeriCorps VISTA, focusing on increasing our capacity for volunteer recruitment, management, recognition and retention.  Fitzie has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Wisconsin-Stout, as well as a variety of experience working with nonprofit organizations that focus on environmental issues, urban planning, historic preservation, and community development.  We are thrilled to have Fitzie join our team!