Milwaukee VA Medical Center

Lemons of Love founder Jill Swanson recently donated 20 Lemons of Love boxes containing creature comforts for Veterans undergoing chemotherapy at the Milwaukee VA Medical Center.

They Milwaukee VA is eternally grateful for our wonderful donors who go out of their way to provide for our Veterans.

Recently, we received donations related to Veterans Day as well as special gift boxes for Veterans in our oncology unit going through chemotherapy. Read on to learn more:

While traditional Veterans Day activities were canceled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Milwaukee VA Medical Center was still able to honor Veterans, thanks to generous community donations.

During the week of Veterans Day, all inpatients Veterans received drawstring bags containing a T-shirt, a commemorative pin recognizing their branch of service, a Veterans Day card and assorted cozy gear, such as socks, hats, scarves or blankets.

“We tried to make it as special as we could,” said Torrie Hutchison, Voluntary Services specialist.

The gifts were donated by Soldiers’ Angels, Perspecta, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Bristol Myers Squibb.

In addition, Harley-Davidson kicked in cards and pins in lieu of the traditional Veterans Day breakfast it typically sponsors.

Voluntary Services also coordinated with Daughters of the American Revolution chapter in West Allis, which donated gift cards for female Veterans who had an appointment in Women’s Health on Nov. 10 and 12. They also received a knitted hat from Voluntary Services.

Meanwhile, Veterans fighting cancer have goodies coming their way, thanks to a cancer survivor.

Lemons of Love has donated 20 gift boxes containing comfort items for Veterans going through chemotherapy.

The boxes include a bottle of water, a can of lemonade, hand lotion, superhero socks, candy, tea and a water bottle.

“The founder of Lemons of Love is Jill Swanson and is a cancer survivor herself, so she started these care packages to help make cancer patients a little more comfortable,” said Bradlee Gietzel, a specialist with Voluntary Services at the Milwaukee VA.

The boxes will be distributed once they pass the quarantine period.

To learn more about how you can donate to the Milwaukee VA Medical Center, check out the Wish List, found on the Milwaukee VA Medical Center web page – www.milwaukee.va.gov – under the “Volunteer or Donate” tab.