Members of the W.G. (Bill) Hefner VA Medical Center’s Non-Supervisory Leadership Development (NLD) program for 2013 are honoring veterans living in the long-term care and hospice units during an event July 26.
Every year, the NLD program has an end-of-program project, and this year the veterans will be given shadowboxes donated by Products for Good, as well as an ice cream social.
The event will be held at the Hefner VA Medical Center’s Main Street, located in Building 42, July 26 from 1-3 p.m. The ice cream social is scheduled from 2-3 p.m., during which time the NLD group will present the shadowboxes. For veterans who are unable to attend the ceremony, the shadowboxes will be delivered to their units.
Melissa Vega, project manager for the NLD program, said the event is just one way the NLD staff can give back to the veterans they work with every day.
“We decided to have the ice cream social as a way to get to know some of our long-term and hospice veterans that we don’t get to see on an everyday basis, and distribute the shadowboxes as a way of showing appreciation for their service,” she said. “We are hoping that the veterans know we truly do appreciate the service and sacrifice they have given to protect us. Sometimes words may not be enough, but these gifts are our way of saying ‘thank you’ and can serve as a daily reminder to have with them always.”