Goldsboro native joins pin-up effort for vets
By Kirsten Ballard
Published in News on January 5, 2015 1:46 PM
Full Size
Submitted photo
Calendar girls from the Pin-Ups for Vets program meet with a veteran in his hospital room. The program has raised thousands of dollars for veterans causes.
Full Size
Jovane M. Henry, right, visits with a veteran at a VA hospital. Ms. Henry is part of Pin-Ups For Vets, an organization that creates World War II-style pinup calendars to cheer patients in VA facilities and raise money for rehabilitation equipment.
Full Size
Pin-Ups For Vets creates World War II-style pinup calendars, like this one, to cheer patients in VA facilities and raise money for rehabilitation equipment.
Goldsboro native Jovane M. Henry is many things.
She is a former Marine, a journalist, and a 1940s pin-up girl.
Jovane comes from a family of service. Her father, Johnny Holland, is a disabled veteran, and she served in the Marines for four years. She now works for a veterans magazine in California.
When she met Gina Elise, dressed in full pin-up attire, at a film festival in California, she was intrigued.
But when she learned it was for a non-profit that supports hospitalized veterans, she was hooked.
Ms. Elise started Pin-Ups For Vets, an organization that creates World War II-style pinup calendars. The ninth annual, 2015 calendar features 12 veterans-- nine women and three men. Jovane is featured as Miss July this year.
Through the sale of the annual calendars, Pin-Ups for Vets has raised more than $50,000 for rehabilitation equipment at Veterans Affairs hospitals and military hospitals across the U.S. Some of the calendars are shipped overseas to deployed service members. Calendars can be purchased, or donated to troops, on the website www.pinupsforvets.com.
To date, the Pin-Ups For Vets group has visited 48 military facilities in 27 states. In addition to helping service members, the group works with spouses through clothing donations and makeovers.
The July photo features the former Marine on an airfield with a motorcycle. Jovane modeled in her youth, so she said she felt at ease in front of the camera.
"The shoot was amazing," she said. Even though it took her all of ten minutes, Jovane describes the experience as stunning.
She has always been interested in pin-up culture. Slowly, Jovane has found petticoats and fishnets finding their way into her wardrobe.
Her parents have already bought their copy of the calendar for the new year. "They thought it was really great," she said.
As one of the pin-up girls, Jovane visits VA hospitals and military bases in costume to boost morale.
"Everybody in the service knows the pin-up culture," she said. She says the older veterans remember, while the younger ones say "Oh, these girls look good."
Either way, it brings a smile to their face.
For Jovane, it goes beyond dressing up.
"It's letting the veterans know they're not alone," she said. As a veteran herself, she enjoys the camaraderie with the patients.
Her favorite part is "just walking in and having that instant connection."
While the costumes and photos are part of the fun, a large part of her volunteering is just sitting down and talking with the service members.
"It's letting them know people are thinking of them," she said.