Tag: benefits

Your Donations Fuel Veteran Advocacy

Posted on by Jordank

This week, the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) is hosting its National Convention in New Orleans, La. Representatives from chapters across the country will join to listen, learn about the issues facing veterans and strategize the next steps for the organization.

Like conventions in other industries and nonprofits (you may have been to one yourself), VVA’s will feature committee meetings, guest speakers, opportunities to break bread and socialize, and more. The difference with VVA? Everything is done in #service to #veterans.

Formed to support #Vietnam veterans in 1979, VVA now serves as an #advocate for veterans of all eras. With members having returned to U.S. soil with something less than a hero’s welcome, its motto is, “Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another.”

One of VVA’s most important missions is to ensure that all veterans and their dependents can access the #benefits guaranteed to them by the government. Its veteran service officers (VSOs) are deployed throughout the country to assist with claims.

The organization also educates service members and the public about the issues many veterans struggle with, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and mental health, chemical dependency, homelessness, physical disability, and exposure to Agent Orange and other toxics.

It’s a precarious time for veterans’ benefits. The slash-and-burn tactics the administration is using in pursuit of government efficiency could leave many veterans and their families struggling to access critical health care, housing assistance and other resources — and soon.

That makes VVA’s advocacy — and this year’s convention — even more critical to the people who have bravely served the nation. VVA will need to defend and justify its work even more fiercely to cope with cuts to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) staffing and funding. And we can’t do this alone.

Your #generous #donations to ClothingDonations.org help fund everything we do — from the most informal morning coffee at a rural chapter to the high-level testimony VVA officials bring to the VA and Congress, your generosity and concern fuel our action. On behalf of America’s veterans, we thank you.

Vets Get Special Discounts on Veterans Day

Posted on by Jordank

Lots of restaurants, retailers and resorts will be offering discounts to #veterans and active-duty military personnel this year on and around Veterans Day, according to Military.com. If you have served, you can take advantage of a free entrée at Olive Garden, Red Lobster or Outback Steak House, or get a free cup of coffee at Biggby, Peet’s or Casey’s. Amazon, Publix and Target are offering 10% off to veterans on all purchases, or you can get a free car wash. Simply show your military ID or VA benefits photo ID card to prove your status. Don’t yet have a VA card? Visit VA.gov to get one. #VeteransDay

Coming Together to Support Veterans

Posted on by Jordank

On Aug. 8, hundreds of officials and members of the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) will convene in Orlando, Fla., for the 2023 VVA Annual Convention. At first glance, the five-day show looks like any national conference. The difference? It’s entirely staged by — and dedicated to — veterans.

Homer Hickam, the best-selling author of the memoir Rocket Boys (the source material for the movie October Sky) will keynote the show. Hickam received the VVA Excellence in the Arts Award in 2011 and will sign copies of his latest book, Don’t Blow Yourself Up!, a memoir of his tour of duty in Vietnam.

VVA will also honor several individuals for their commitment to the nation’s veterans. Harvey Pratt, creator of the Warrior’s Circle of Honor at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., will receive the Excellence in Arts Award.

Jan Scruggs, founder of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund and chief promoter of the Vietnam Memorial, will receive VVA’s Lifetime Achievement Award. And Laurel Lea Schaefer-Bozoukoff — Miss America 1972 and a cast member of the primetime soap Falcon Crest — will receive the VVA President’s Award for Supporting the Troops in Vietnam for her USO tour and enduring support.

The convention isn’t just speeches, awards and celebrations, though. This is where VVA plans the next steps to #help #veterans of every U.S. conflict. Dedicated committees will discuss proposed resolutions on a laundry list of veterans issues, including Agent Orange, POW/MIAs, PTSD and substance abuse, veterans benefits, health care, homelessness and more.

Committees will meet to discuss the special concerns of women, minority and incarcerated veterans. And the conference will feature a Veterans Mall, where dozens of vendors supporting veterans in living their lives to the fullest will show off their products and services.

As we prepare for the annual event, VVA would like to thank the readers of The Organizing Blog. Your generous #donations to ClothingDonations.org help fund local, regional and national programming for veterans of every era, and we couldn’t host a conference without them.

VVA hopes that you will continue to support our organization in making good on its promise: “Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another.”