VA2K: Walking and Rolling for a Purpose
More than 150 Veterans, VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System (TVHS) employees, and community members, walked and rolled to raise awareness and donations for unhoused Veterans during the 14th Annual VA2K event across middle Tennessee.
“It’s very important for VA to have events like this because it encourages Veterans to stay connected to your brothers and sisters in the service,” said Bryan Kane, a Veteran who served with both the Active Duty Army and National Guard.
VA2K is a national, annual event for VA employees, Veterans, and the community, said Dr. Deborah Bonitz, health behavior coordinator and lead VA2K planner at TVHS. The goal is to promote employee and Veteran health and wellness by offering a time for employees and Veterans to walk, roll, or be active in a way that works for them.
Veterans, VA employees, and the public were encouraged to donate to the Homeless Veteran Program as a part of VA2K. Cleaning supplies, clothes, food, and money were collected by VA representatives from the Center for Development and Civic Engagement (CDCE) to be ear-marked for the homeless program.
“Events like VA2K are vitally important for their role to raise awareness for Veteran homelessness. The donations received during VA2K will be inventoried by CDCE and distributed by outreach teams as appropriate,” said Dan Heim, TVHS Homeless Veteran Program Manager.
Along with representatives from CDCE, important resources were provided from different VA services on physical and mental health for both Veterans and VA employees.
“VA2K partners with several services that are represented at the event to encourage awareness and understanding of their services,” said Bonitz. “Partners we included were Healthcare for Homeless Veterans, Whole Health, Employee and Occupational Health, Women’s Health, Suicide Prevention, and Mental Health Recovery/Peer Support.”
Considering the various schedules, appointments, and other normal events that occur at TVHS, Whole Health held virtual VA2K events for individuals unable to attend one of the locations in person. Different classes like tai chi, chair yoga, mindfulness, and more, were led by whole health coaches from TVHS to support individuals who wanted to participate in VA2K virtually.
The conclusion of this year’s event is a celebration of the hard work of individuals from TVHS, and another chance to make the TVHS community better.