Alaska VA Celebrates America’s 250th Anniversary with Community Partners

The event brought together many organizations that help support Veterans, including:

• AKNG Warrior & Family Services
• Alaska Dinner Factory
• Alaska Public Lands Information Center
• Alaska Veterans Museum
• Alaska Department of Labor
• Alaska Department of Military & Veterans Affairs
• American Red Cross
• Catholic Social Services
• Disabled American Veterans
• Internal Revenue Service
• Last Frontier Honor Flight
• National Parks Conservation Association
• Paws for Purple Heart
• People Mover
• Quilts of Valor
• Salvation Army
• Vietnam Veterans of America
• Wounded Warriors

Peggy Bateman, Volunteer Service Specialist with the Center for Development and Civic Engagement (CDCE) office of the Alaska VA Healthcare System, organized the event and said this was the biggest one so far.

“This was the fourth year we’ve had it, and this year we’ve had the most participation. We had 27 Community Partners and Veteran Service Organizations participating. It was an amazing turnout with a lot of variety of services available to support our Veterans. So, we had a really good day!” said Bateman.

One of the stations had a service dog at it that attracted quite a lot of attention. The doggy was there to help spread the awareness about the “Paws for Purple Hearts” program. Anthony Vrolyk is the Senior Program Instructor at the Alaska “Paws for Purple Hearts,” and he explained their mission.

“We are an organization that trains and places service dogs with veterans at no cost. I know the name of our organization is ‘Paws for Purple Hearts,’ but that is a bit of a misnomer, because the only true requirement is that you have a DD-214 and a need for a service dog. So, you don’t necessarily have to have a Purple Heart to get a dog from us. 

 

“We train for TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) and PTSD challenges as well as mobility support. We train them for about two or two-and-a-half years. The dog’s strengths and the Veteran’s needs are how we determine which dog goes to which person. Once the dog is placed with the Veteran, that is his/her dog. We are hoping they get about eight years of service. Once the dog lets you know that it’s ready to retire and not do the job anymore, the family has the opportunity to keep the dog as a pet. But they can also apply for a successor dog from us to continue to support the Veteran,” said Vrolyk.

“Paws for Purple Hearts” also appreciates volunteers who help take care of the dogs after hours.

“We welcome volunteers who want to be ‘puppy parents.’ We have eight dogs at the facility that we are training right now. None of them spend the night at the facility. So, ‘puppy parents’ take them home at night then return them the next day for more training. All they have to do is apply on our website. It’s pawsforpurplehearts.org,” said Vrolyk.

 

Gregory Billings, a four-year Veteran of the Air Force, who served as an F-22 mechanic while stationed at Elmendorf AFB, said that he found the IRS table to be very helpful.

“I think the biggest help for me was the IRS table. I knew about the IRS.GOV website, but I didn’t realize they had person-to-person help available as well. They can help if you haven’t filed taxes in a few years or are having issues. Or if there is some kind of discrepancy. It’s nice to talk with someone face-to-face. The agent here, her name is Grace, and she will also be at the VFW later today. So, it’s really awesome that she is getting around the town and reaching Veterans,” said Billings.

Francis Davis, Preparedness Program Director of Alaska, American Red Cross, described how his organization helps Veterans with fire safety and other emergencies.

“We do CPR training, and the big push right now is our fire-prevention campaign. We give out smoke alarms – up to four per household – and help families develop fire-escape plans. We will also check already installed smoke alarms to see if they are still up-to-date. We issue out First-Aid kits and Emergency kits that are vital during the first 72 hours. Also, we have an app that helps folks prepare for natural disasters,” said Davis.

 

Alan Johnson, who retired from the Air Force after 21 years of service, was stationed at Elmendorf Air Force Base from 1988-91. He now volunteers at the Alaska VA and said the VSO Day was a chance to reconnect and also gather some new information. 

“The Alaska VA is like my extended family here. I volunteer on Wednesday, and it is the pinnacle of my week. I like to help Veterans. Since I spent 26 years with Hospitality and Services at North Dakota State Parks, this is just easy and fun. I hadn’t talked to the Vietnam Veterans of America for a while, so I got some more information and updates from them. And learned about the Alaska Dinner Factory. So, there are lots of great organizations here that are advocates for Veterans and the State of Alaska,” said Johnson.

 

Ranger John Stanford, Park Guide with the National Park Service, was issuing out passes to public lands.

“We’re here to promote public lands, be it federal or state, and to keep Veterans aware about bear safety. We provide Veterans and any Active-Duty military with access cards. They can get into Parks, Wildlife Refuges, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, and Army Corps of Engineers public lands. It covers your entrance fees. You can receive an ‘America the Beautiful’ or a ‘Gold Star’ pass, depending on your status. These provide entry into any federal public lands. If you go up to Denali, it’s the cardholder and three others. At Yellowstone, it’s whoever is in the car,” Stanford explained.

Grace Green, Social Service Administrator Assistant for Anchorage with the Salvation Army, described some of the unique services that the Salvation Army provides and how to contact them.

“We have a family shelter. We are the only one in the State of Alaska that actually takes in single fathers with children. We also have Meals on Wheels where we deliver about 300 meals a day to homebound seniors. We have a food pantry that is open to the public. We have both in-patient and out-patient drug rehabilitation centers. And Serendipity, which is adult day care. We also sometimes help with rent and utilities.

“If you just give a call to any Salvation Army, someone there will know how to direct you to the correct person. So, it’s as simple as a phone call, and we will help you out,” said Green.

Pheng Scott is the Group Leader for Eagle River-Chugiak “Quilts of Valor” program which provides quilts to all Veterans who served honorably.

Scott explained, “Our mission is to cover our Veterans and Service Members with our quilts. We have over 10,000 volunteers across all 50 states. We have eight chapters here in the State of Alaska. What we do is award them their quilts for their service. If they’ve served honorably in the military, then they qualify for a Quilt of Valor. Just contact us at qovf.org or call me at . Thank you to all the Veterans for your service!”

“People Mover” is the public transportation service in Anchorage, and Jesse Ferman is the Marketing Assistant there. He explained how Veterans can ride the bus for half-price.

“Veterans can ride the bus for half fare, and with that we have bus schedule information. And an app they can download for free that helps with trip planning and bus tracking. We also have reflective gear. Slap bracelets and light-up lanyards, so if they’re waiting at a bus stop it’s easier to be seen. Veterans can use their Government-issued IDs, or their VA healthcare card. Or they can go downtown and apply for a half-fare ID card and use that to board the bus. Also, seniors 60 and older ride free Wednesdays and Fridays,” said Ferman.

Bateman said this 250th anniversary was especially fun because even though none of the Veterans were expecting food, the Alaska VA staff fired up the grill and provided an excellent lunch.

“The hamburgers and hotdogs were a nice surprise. Everybody really enjoyed them. So today was a great success, and we hope to see everyone back again next year,” said Bateman.

Thomas Shrader, Public Affairs Specialist

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Christian Harris, Communication Specialist

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