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This summer, Friends of the Soldiers Home is having several events to “bring the garden to the residents” so that more folks can enjoy the beautiful flowers produced on campus. We kicked things off with a flower bouquet making event on a Saturday earlier this month. We brought large buckets of gorgeous flowers to work with, all grown at the garden or at gardeners’ homes. One resident lit up with joy when seeing the gladiolus – he told us about his wife who was a passionate gardener during her life and grew many of that type of flower.
A few residents stopped in for the event, but we reached many more when we placed the bouquets on tables in the dining hall during lunch and in the coffee area. The fresh flowers were met with smiles and words of thanks. Volunteers Linda Cotton and Sarah Clinehens put on the event, and the flowers were contributed by Carol and George Herwig, Susan Minnemeyer, Linda Cotton, Sarah Clinehens and Scot Bohl. Next up will be a tomato tasting and a repeat of the fresh flower bouquet give-away scheduled for Saturday, August 19th.
Friends of the Soldiers Home operates the volunteer garden program so that residents of Armed Forces Retirement Home-Washington have an opportunity to grow things on campus without doing too much of the heavy lifting.
Story and photos by Sarah Clinehens.
Geography was the theme when Friends of the Soldiers Home volunteered for its monthly Jingo game this month. 
More than 3,000 people came to the Armed Forces Retirement Home on July 4 for a gala event that connected the community with veterans in celebrating America’s independence.
Great opportunity for young people to rack up some of those needed volunteer service hours!
About a dozen Friends of the Soldiers Home volunteers came to the bowling lanes at the Armed Forces Retirement Home-DC on June 20 to help elderly veterans have a great time. Volunteers helped residents use racks to line up the perfect shot or they helped steady the the veterans as they prepared to roll a ball. 
We had a great Happy Hour in late May, with residents, Friends of the Soldiers Home volunteers and Nam Nights. Several of us have been coming so long we’ve started sharing photos with the friends we’ve made at the Home. And who would have dreamed cutting a watermelon could be so much fun! We also had a wonderful time at Happy Hour in April, with family members visiting, young college students ready to dance and too much focus on the bad jokes and general hilarity going on. I
Friends of the Soldiers Home had a great time assisting Armed Forces Retirement Home-DC residents at their campus bowling alley on May 16. In the first photo, volunteer John helps to steady a resident as he takes his best roll. Having John in tow kind of cramps his style, but it enables him to continue bowling his own way – standing up, and rolling the ball himself. After his turn, he coaches the Friends volunteers! In the other photos, volunteer Brenda brings resident Herbie his ball as he maps out his strategy. Herbie’s system seems to work. That’s a good roll! Join us for FOSH bowling night, always the third Tuesday evening of the month.
MEMBERS WANTED AT THE OLD SOLDIERS HOME GOLF COURSE LOCATED AT THE ARMED FORCES RETIREMENT HOME IN PETWORTH. For many of you who may be unaware, the Old Soldier’s Home Golf Course, located on the same property as President Lincoln’s Cottage, is open for membership and current members are interested in recruiting new members to help keep the golf course running optimally. This nine-hole golf course and driving range is currently one of the best kept secrets in Washington, D.C. and current members are looking to change that. In the past, the approximately 200 active members of the course may have been inclined to keep the course a secret because it had enough money to operate, so this may be one of the reasons why so few people even know the course exists and that joining is very easy!
