BUTTE – Some local veterans want to build a foundation to make a new retirement home for veterans that’s to be built in Butte to feel like a home.
“To meet the amenity needs to make this an actual home for our veterans,” said foundation organizer Tom Goyette.
Once the Southwest Montana Veterans Home is up and running in the next two years, the group hopes to have a foundation set up to raise money for the needs of the residents that aren’t covered by the state.
“Cable TV, newspapers, books for a library, internet services provider, televisions, recliners,” said Goyette.
Goyette and his supporters are going to the six counties in the region that will be served by the 60-bed facility to recruit people to join the foundation.
“Try to help them organize a local committee and elect a representative to the committee of all six counties and that committee will be the start of the foundation,” he said.
Once this veterans home is completed, the foundation has a goal to raise about $5 million in the first two years to get a good nest egg going for the new residents.
“After that, we should be getting that down into the maintenance maintaining $20,000 to $30,000 a year, but these first few years the needs going to be great and we’re going to be doing a lot of fundraising,” said Goyette.
The group will hold a meeting on Thursday at 2 p.m. in Dillon at the American Legion.
-John Emeigh reporting for MTN News
