NORFOLK, Va. — Virginia's nearly 700,000 military veterans have obviously done much for their country and for the Commonwealth.
On Thursday, Sentara Healthcare came through with a $150,000 check to go to the Virginia Veterans Services Foundation.
The idea is to provide much-needed financial aid, specifically to go towards a pair of problems that have continued to challenge the veterans' community: homelessness and suicide.
The money will be directed to the Homeless Veterans Fund to provide one-time assistance for homeless veterans being housed and those in danger of becoming homeless. The program has already helped more than 1,100 veterans since 2016 by covering deposits, rent, and utility bills.
Additionally, the money will be directed to support behavioral health initiatives, including suicide prevention.
"We've been fortunate over the years to receive some large donations, and this is among one of the largest," said Kathleen Jabs, Acting Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs." And it will make quite a difference in a lot of veterans' lives."
The not-for-profit health provider Sentara, in its 133rd year of operations, believes its core mission, besides providing quality health care, is to do its part to help the people in this community - people like military veterans.
"The veterans and the active-duty military have done so much in protecting our freedoms over the years," said Howard Kern, President and CEO of Sentara Healthcare. "And we need to repay that level of commitment from our organization to support them."
Sentara also helps veterans by giving them a job, employing more than 1,700 veterans. That represents 6% of Sentara's overall 28,000-member workforce.