Category Veterans Homes
WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH: TWO WHO MADE HUGE IMPACTS ON YOUNTVILLE VETERANS HOME AND BEYOND
CalVet closes Women’s History Month by remembering Mary Dunaway and Virginia Mae Days. These two women made tremendously positive impacts on the Veterans Home of California-Yountville, impacts that are felt throughout all of CalVet’s eight veterans homes today. In October 1945, Dunaway toured the Yountville Home campus and came away with two ideas: to build […]
GIVING THANKS AT THANKSGIVING TO VETERANS AT CALVET HOMES
On Veterans Day a couple of weeks ago, many folks thanked our military veterans for their service in defending our constitution. COVID-19 restrictions prevented the firm handshakes and warm hugs that once carried the day, and gave way to drive-by parades, salutes from afar, and virtual greetings. Still, the sentiments were genuine, heartfelt, and very […]
‘MAKE YOUR BED,’ OTHER LIFE LESSONS FROM ADMIRAL HIT HOME WITH VETERANS IN VENTURA
Consider it a Father’s Day gift that became a most special delivery. Lee Mills is an 86-year-old Korean War-era Navy veteran who lives at the Veterans Home of California-Ventura. As is the case with all eight homes in CalVet’s system, COVID-19 pandemic protocol prohibits visits from family and friends to the Ventura Home. Consequently, Mills’ […]
CALVET HOME LOANS PROGRAM GETS KUDOS FROM VETERAN CLIENT AND CONTRACTOR, TOO
U.S. Navy veteran Jonna Padgett knew CalVet’s Home Loans Program existed, but had never taken advantage of the program. Contractor Greg Garbolinsky of Aristotle Custom Homes was aware of the program, though he was relatively new to the state and had not yet built a home for a veteran in California. Even so, he encouraged […]
ANSWERS TO VETERANS’ BENEFITS QUESTIONS JUST A CLICK AWAY WITH CALVET’S UPDATED RESOURCE BOOK
Are you a service member or among the nearly 1.6 million veterans living in California? Do you want to buy a home? Do you want to return to school or find a new career in the civilian world? Do you need help navigating the VA’s medical system, or need information about any of your other […]
CALVET PRAISED FOR PROTECTING RESIDENTS, STAFF AT VETERANS HOMES DURING COVID-19 OUTBREAK
Politico featured the California Department of Veterans Affairs in a story that posted Tuesday, explaining CalVet’s success thus far in protecting veterans, their spouses, and employees at its eight Veterans Homes of California during the COVID-19 outbreak. Reporter Maggie Severns describes in great detail the proactive steps CalVet and Secretary Vito Imbasciani took when the […]
230th BIRTHDAY JUST “DUCKY” FOR VENTURA HOME’S ONLY COAST GUARD VETERAN RESIDENT
Pardon Richard “Ducky” Brace when he says there was no middle ground when it came to his service in the U.S. Coast Guard in the mid- to late-1960s: He was either hot or cold with it. Indeed, Brace stayed toasty warm down in the engine rooms where he served as an engineman for two years […]
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO NAVY VETERAN MARY TRYBA! THANKS FOR SHARING YOURS WITH THE REST OF THE COUNTRY!
Each year, and for as long as she can remember, Mary Tryba has celebrated her birthday in style. “We sat on the front porch and had cake and ice cream and watched the fireworks,” said Tryba, a Navy veteran and resident of the Veterans Homes of California-Chula Vista. She turns 77 today. Cake, ice cream, […]
MEMORIAL DAY TOOK SOME INNOVATION, TECHNOLOGY TO COMMEMORATE HOLIDAY IN VETERANS HOMES DURING COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS
If necessity is, indeed, the mother of all invention, and desperate times require desperate measures, then add this new adage to the mix: COVID-19 demands innovation and imagination to maintain our traditions. Indeed, Zoom feeds replace crowded graduation ceremonies. Well-wishers now drive by to offer socially distanced birthday greetings to the recipient out on his […]
SHIELDING VETERANS AND STAFF AT VETERANS HOMES OF CALIFORNIA GETS A BOOST FROM PPE-MAKING MODESTO JUNIOR COLLEGE GROUP
Staff members at the eight Veterans Homes of California have spent the past three months trying to keep the coronavirus COVID-19 out of the Homes. Most personal protective equipment (PPE) has been available when it comes to gloves, gowns, and masks, including masks made by big-hearted co-workers and volunteers at the various Homes. But, two […]
