{"id":7761,"date":"2025-09-29T14:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7761"},"modified":"2025-09-29T14:30:00","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T14:30:00","slug":"santa-salutes-brings-cheer-year-round-to-veterans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7761","title":{"rendered":"Santa Salutes brings cheer year-round to Veterans"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally published:<\/strong> 2025-09-29T14:30:00+00:00. Historical source article: benefits, rules, amounts and deadlines may have changed. Check the official source for current information.<\/p>\n

The halls of the West Palm Beach VA Healthcare System <\/a>(WPBVAHCS) Community Living Center (CLC) filled with cheer as Santa Claus made his rounds, not just for the holiday, but as part of a new year-round initiative designed to brighten the days of Veterans in the CLC and Hospice units.<\/p>\n

The program, Santa Salutes, is the first of its kind in VA and was launched by the WPBVAHCS earlier this year. The monthly visits feature Santa, his elves and bags of gifts delivered to Veterans, many of whom are long-term residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis program is all about hope, joy and gratitude for our Veterans,\u201d said Shawn Montgomery, chief of the Center for Development and Civic Engagement (CDCE).\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s not just about one day a year. It\u2019s about showing our Veterans that they are remembered and appreciated every month.\u201d<\/p>\n

Santa, portrayed by Air Force Veteran and volunteer Tim Fernan, said the goal is to expand the program nationwide.<\/p>\n

Bringing joy to Veterans<\/h2>\n

\u201cMy hope is that Santa Salutes spreads across the country to every VA facility,\u201d Fernan said.\u00a0\u201cThese Veterans have given so much, and if we can bring them a little happiness, even just for a day, it is worth it. I\u2019m thankful to Shawn Montgomery and the entire West Palm Beach VA team for supporting this idea.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the Air Force Veteran and CLC resident Edward Cony, the visit from Santa was a welcome surprise.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis means a lot,\u201d Cony said.\u00a0\u201cIt makes me feel remembered and appreciated.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Another resident, Army Veteran Juan Sanchez, also shared his joy at the visit: \u201cIt felt good to see Santa today. It brought back some old holiday memories, and it reminded me that you are never too old to feel that kind of happiness.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The program not only supports Veterans, but also their families. William Fornaro Jr., who has been the caregiver for his father, retired Army Veteran William Fornaro Sr., said the visit made a meaningful impact. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis was a wonderful surprise, especially on this scale,\u201d Fornaro Jr. said.\u00a0\u201cTo see so many Veterans, families, and staff come together for something like this, it is uplifting. My father does not always express his feelings, but I know he appreciates it. He has made friends here, and this kind of event makes him feel part of a community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fornaro Jr. also expressed that the program brings him peace of mind knowing his father is cared for in a supportive environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was not easy to place him in the CLC, but I appreciate that VA is doing a good job taking care of him,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u201cThese programs, whether it is the birthday celebrations or Santa Salutes, show that the staff are really making an effort to treat Veterans with dignity and joy.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Montgomery, that\u2019s the mission<\/h2>\n

\u201cSanta Salutes is about honoring the service and sacrifices of our Veterans in a very human, heartfelt way,\u201d Montgomery said. \u201cWe want them to feel celebrated, not forgotten.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Santa packed up his sleigh of gifts at the end of the day, Fernan looked around the room filled with smiles and laughter.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is what it\u2019s all about,\u201d Fernan said. \u201cBringing cheer to the men and women who gave us so much. And we\u2019re just getting started.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

This article was originally published on the West Palm Beach Health Care site<\/a>\u00a0and has been edited for style and clarity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs<\/a>. Its Veterans is an independent publication and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Santa Salutes brings joy to Veterans with monthly visits from Santa, spreading cheer and gratitude all year long.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":136,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7761","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-veterans-news"],"yoast_head":"\nSanta Salutes brings cheer year-round to Veterans - Its Veterans<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Santa Salutes brings joy to Veterans with monthly visits from Santa, spreading cheer and gratitude all year long.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7761\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Santa Salutes brings cheer year-round to Veterans - Its Veterans\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Santa Salutes brings joy to Veterans with monthly visits from Santa, spreading cheer and gratitude all year long.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7761\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Its Veterans\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-29T14:30:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7761#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7761\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4bf835f8c5375ef33978f3169f311668\"},\"headline\":\"Santa Salutes brings cheer year-round to Veterans\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-29T14:30:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7761\"},\"wordCount\":624,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7761#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/vet-456-119.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"News & VA Updates\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7761\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7761\",\"name\":\"Santa Salutes brings cheer year-round to Veterans - Its Veterans\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7761#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7761#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/vet-456-119.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-29T14:30:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"Santa Salutes brings joy to Veterans with monthly visits from Santa, spreading cheer and gratitude all year long.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7761#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7761\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7761#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/vet-456-119.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/vet-456-119.png\",\"width\":875,\"height\":653},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7761#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Santa Salutes brings cheer year-round to Veterans\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Its Veterans\",\"description\":\"Veterans news, benefits, health and community resources\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Its Veterans\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/its-veterans-six-service-branches-flag-header-v2-2026-09-18.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/its-veterans-six-service-branches-flag-header-v2-2026-09-18.jpg\",\"width\":2172,\"height\":724,\"caption\":\"Its Veterans\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4bf835f8c5375ef33978f3169f311668\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/10da73410d092638799e3fa777bd59a474d7c9d9c61105a38c73dd46c050c34f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/10da73410d092638799e3fa777bd59a474d7c9d9c61105a38c73dd46c050c34f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/10da73410d092638799e3fa777bd59a474d7c9d9c61105a38c73dd46c050c34f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Santa Salutes brings cheer year-round to Veterans - Its Veterans","description":"Santa Salutes brings joy to Veterans with monthly visits from Santa, spreading cheer and gratitude all year long.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7761","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Santa Salutes brings cheer year-round to Veterans - Its Veterans","og_description":"Santa Salutes brings joy to Veterans with monthly visits from Santa, spreading cheer and gratitude all year long.","og_url":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7761","og_site_name":"Its Veterans","article_published_time":"2025-09-29T14:30:00+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7761#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7761"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4bf835f8c5375ef33978f3169f311668"},"headline":"Santa Salutes brings cheer year-round to Veterans","datePublished":"2025-09-29T14:30:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7761"},"wordCount":624,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7761#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/vet-456-119.png","articleSection":["News & VA Updates"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7761","url":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7761","name":"Santa Salutes brings cheer year-round to Veterans - Its Veterans","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7761#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7761#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/vet-456-119.png","datePublished":"2025-09-29T14:30:00+00:00","description":"Santa Salutes brings joy to Veterans with monthly visits from Santa, spreading cheer and gratitude all year long.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7761#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7761"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7761#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/vet-456-119.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/vet-456-119.png","width":875,"height":653},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7761#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Santa Salutes brings cheer year-round to Veterans"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/","name":"Its Veterans","description":"Veterans news, benefits, health and community resources","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#organization","name":"Its Veterans","url":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/its-veterans-six-service-branches-flag-header-v2-2026-09-18.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/its-veterans-six-service-branches-flag-header-v2-2026-09-18.jpg","width":2172,"height":724,"caption":"Its Veterans"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4bf835f8c5375ef33978f3169f311668","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/10da73410d092638799e3fa777bd59a474d7c9d9c61105a38c73dd46c050c34f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/10da73410d092638799e3fa777bd59a474d7c9d9c61105a38c73dd46c050c34f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/10da73410d092638799e3fa777bd59a474d7c9d9c61105a38c73dd46c050c34f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/itsveterans.com"],"url":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7761","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7761"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7761\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}