Operation Rising Spirit to spread holiday cheer to Illinois veterans homes

(The Center Square) – Spread some holiday cheer this season by sending a card, note or letter to an Illinois veteran in one of the state’s five veteran homes.

The Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs has put together Operation Rising Spirit to encourage people to remember vets with cards and notes of appreciation during the holidays.

IDVA Director Terry Prince is himself a veteran with 31 years of service and said getting a piece of mail on the ship when he was deployed was something that made his day.

“A lot of our veterans grew up in that world, where getting a letter was a big deal,” Prince told The Center Square. “Vets enjoy having real mail to open up every day. They put the cards up in their rooms and in their common rooms. Operation Rising Spirit really brightens things up for the vets in Illinois state veterans’ homes.”

Life in a veterans’ home can be difficult, Prince said.

“None of these men and women asked to live in the veterans’ home. So it’s on us to make it as home-like as possible, especially around the holidays,” he said. “Whether they were combat veterans or not, every single one of them raised their hand and said, ‘I swear an oath to the Constitution.’ As a nation, we owe it to them to lift their spirits in any way that we can.”

Prince hopes schools and groups will set aside an hour for a card- or letter-writing group event.

There are five state veterans homes in Illinois: Anna, Chicago, LaSalle, Manteno, and Quincy. People can designate which home they want their card to go to, Prince said. The department makes sure that all the homes get mail.

“We need to be checking on our veterans just to see how they are doing,” he said. “Holidays can be difficult for vets. This is one way to kind of get that going.”

People can send cards, notes and letters to the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs Central Office at P.O. Box 19432, Springfield, IL 62794-9432. People can also go to a website and fill out an electronic note. The department staff will print out the emails and get them to the veterans.