Published on March 17, 2025
Recently, volunteers gathered to cut out the stars from some of Tennessee’s retired flags that were donated by local Boy Scout Troop #1108. The stars are included in the special welcome package that military veterans receive when entering Alive.
When volunteer coordinator Julie Davis joined Alive, she found a bag of stars in her office and began the tradition of adding them to the veteran welcome package. Their origins were an endearing mystery until one afternoon when nurse Jeanmarie Hill was checking on a patient and noticed the star peeking out from his belongings. “Julie, did you know my mom made those?”
Jeanmarie’s mother, Betty Kaczenski (1935-2022), was the most patriotic person Jeanmarie had ever met. She was the volunteer of the year for the USO of Central Florida, and truly dedicated herself to giving back to military veterans. She started the star project in Central Florida and continued it across multiple states. Even as a hospice patient herself, she would oversee volunteers cutting out the stars for the project.
When Ms. Kaczenski passed, Jeanmarie donated the stars and supplies to Alive where they waited through staffing changes until being found by Julie. As the number of Betty’s stars dwindled, Julie and Jeanmarie decided to continue the legacy and cut out over 300 stars for future Alive patients. They hope to make it an annual volunteer event!
Written by Stasha Robles, Alive Volunteer
