If you didn’t get the chance to celebrate Veterans Day before the weekend, now is a great time to visit a nearby veterans cemetery to put flowers, a wreath or a miniature flag on a grave — or help volunteer to tend to some of the graves before winter sets in. You can also adopt a veteran family for the holidays or make a donation to the Vietnam Veterans of America and ClothingDonations.org to help veterans in need during the holidays. They will appreciate your thoughts any time of year.
Author: Jordank
Editorial Coordinator
Celebrate Veterans Any Day of the Year
Veterans Day was yesterday, but you can still celebrate and thank those who have served today. Drop off a dozen donuts at the local veterans organization, volunteer to help out, or write a letter to the troops. You can also clean out a closet and donate some of your extra stuff to ClothingDonations.org any day of the year to help veterans in need. Your donations will be resold, and the proceeds will help fund programs that help supply veterans with health care housing, and other needs.
Ask a Veteran About Their Service
Happy Veterans Day! While in-person visits to the VA hospital may be restricted this year, you can still thank a veteran with a phone call, letter, or email. And if you know a veteran personally, today is a great day to ask them about their service, Military.com says. Ask what they did while in the service, how long they served, and what their favorite memories were from that time. If the veteran you know saw combat, however, be aware that some questions may bring back bad memories — be supportive, not intrusive.
Celebrate Veterans Day at the Proper Distance
There are a lot of ways to celebrate Veterans Day, but with COVID-19 being a risk to so many elders, you should probably do so at a comfortable distance. Some cities will still hold Veterans Day parades on Nov. 11 if you wish to don a mask and attend in person, according to Military.com; or you can live-stream the New York Veterans Parade and other virtual events from your laptop or smartphone. Either way, you can celebrate the men and women who sacrificed to keep the country free and safe. #ThankAVeteran
Vote to Clean House – And Help Veterans
Greetings, readers! The Organizing Blog is back from its six-month pandemic hiatus — and just in time for a presidential election that’s sure to be contentious. Today, get out and exercise your right to vote if you haven’t already.
You may be in the mood to “clean house” with your vote, given the disruptions COVID-19 has brought to everyday life. Are you better off than you were four years ago? Hard to say — but life pre-COVID was almost certainly less stressful.
House is also where you’ve probably been spending a lot of time since March — and you and your family members may be confined there again if the current spikes in coronavirus infections don’t abate before winter.
After you’ve voted, binge-watched your Netflix shows and baked a loaf of sourdough, you may look around your home and find that spending lots of time there has led to added dirt and clutter. And that means it may be a good time to literally clean house.
Maybe you bought a lot of extra stuff online that you later found out you didn’t need in lockdown. Maybe working from home or switching the children to remote learning has created new, voluminous piles of papers. Or maybe the boredom and added wear have you wanting to overhaul the space altogether.
Whatever the reason you want to clean house, remember the nation’s veterans as you declutter, organize and sanitize your space. Donate the stuff you no longer want or need to ClothingDonations.org; we’re again scheduling pickups in many areas.
Veterans are vulnerable during the COVID-19 crisis. Most Vietnam vets, for example, are now over 65, and many have preexisting conditions that could make a coronavirus infection life-threatening. And they, too, feel isolated and uncertain in their homes.
The stuff you donate gets resold at secondhand stores to fund programs that provide veterans with health care, housing and other resources. Box it up as you clean house and then arrange for a #donation pickup online at ClothingDonations.org or by calling 888-518-VETS.
You’ll not only be able to enjoy a cleaner, clutter-free home, but also help veterans feel more secure in theirs.