The Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs (MDVA) extends its gratitude to the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) of Hopkins - George R. Wolff Post 425 for its generous donation in October of $30,000 to our three soon-to-open Veterans Homes in Bemidji, Montevideo and Preston. Each location will receive $10,000 to help purchase bingo equipment and support other onsite recreational activities.

Martin Adams, Commander, Post 425, says his VFW members were very pleased to vote on this donation to benefit future Preston, Bemidji and Montevideo Home Residents. “Our post does everything it can to support Veterans, wherever they live in the community, and Veterans Homes are one important example of that commitment. In fact, we have a tradition of hosting bingo at the Minneapolis Veterans Home. It’s an activity that promotes camaraderie and even a bit of fun competition, and always delivers a great experience.”

Bingo has proven to be an extremely popular activity in the five existing State Veterans Homes. Scientific research shows that seniors who play bingo can reap a variety of health benefits such as:

• Increasing overall social engagement.
• Improving eye-hand coordination.
• Focusing on a task at hand for longer periods of time, opening up neural pathways for learning.
• Reducing isolation, which in turn, can lessen depression, anxiety and cognitive impairment.
• Offering family-friendly fun, making it easier for generations to connect.

“It was a true pleasure to partner with Commander Adams and Post 425 on this donation,” said Simone Hogan, Senior Director – Veterans Healthcare, MDVA. “Recreational programs like bingo are essential to providing an engaging, positive environment each and every day for our Veterans. We’re also grateful that this funding will support other community-building activities on our new Homes’ campuses throughout the state.”

Once again, MDVA shares its appreciation to VFW Post 425 in Hopkins for its donation, which helps us provide a welcoming Veterans Home atmosphere for those who have served.