Tag: charitable donation

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.”

Giving Can Be Its Own Reward

Posted on by Jordank

Evolutionary theory dictates that gratitude and generosity are linked, Greater Good says, and those who give generously receive in kind and are more likely to survive. So as you begin to shop the #BlackFriday deals online and in person, remember to share some of your good fortune in the spirit of #Thanksgiving. Take some shelf-stable goods or wrapped toys to a holiday drop-off location, #donate a few dollars to your favorite #charity, or schedule a free #donation #pickup of lightly used clothing and household goods to ClothingDonations.org. “Emphasize the giving, and the thanks will follow.”

How to Express Gratitude on Thanksgiving

Posted on by Jordank

There are plenty of options for giving #thanks and showing #gratitude as the #holiday season, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says. Volunteer with a local charitable organization, invite a holiday “orphan” to your dinner table or make an extra meal to give a family in need. At the feast, suggest that everyone share a memory that expresses gratitude (or have them write it down and add it to a Thanksgiving tree to avoid performance anxiety). If you have more money and #stuff than time, consider giving a donation of cash or used goods to ClothingDonations.org, where the proceeds will help fund essential #veterans programs. #Thanksgiving

PTSD Is Common Among U.S. Military Veterans

Posted on by Jordank

PTSD is endemic among U.S. military veterans, since their missions often include exposure to horrific, desperate and life-threatening experiences. The VA estimates that 11%–20% of Operations Iraqi Freedom veterans have PTSD in a given year, and about 12% of Gulf War veterans. An estimated 30% of Vietnam veterans have experienced PTSD in their lifetimes. The Vietnam Veterans of America advocates for all veterans with PTSD, regardless of conflict, with help from #donations to ClothingDonations.org.

Celebrate Earth Day This Week and Every Week

Posted on by Jordank

Earth Day 2021 is not just a day — it’s a three-day event. Arranged around the theme “Restore Our Earth,” the observance will offer thousands of affiliated events worldwide to increase awareness of climate change and other environmental issues.

Scheduled this week are a global youth and education summits, a virtual “We Shall Breathe” summit from the Hip Hop Caucus, and a live event with workshops, panel discussions and performances on official Earth Day itself, Thursday, April 22.

Global summits will be held virtually, making it easy to join even if pandemic restrictions are in place. Fans of the planet are invited to participate in cleanups, tree plantings, teach-ins and other activities nearby; locate one near you on this map.

You can make every day Earth Day by volunteering with, donating to and advocating on behalf of environmentally friendly organizations. But perhaps the best way to help the earth is to modify your behavior in order to shrink your impact on the environment.

If you can’t go totally vegan to reduce factory farming, for example, you could at least observe Meatless Mondays. You can pick up litter when you’re out for a walk. You can calculate your own carbon footprint and take steps to reduce and offset it.

Reusable shopping bags and bottles can cut your use of single-use plastics. Plastic waste has infiltrated every part of the earth’s ecosphere, and humans and animals are suffering ill effects from ingesting the chemicals they release.

The more that can be reused without going into landfills, streams and oceans, the better. That’s another good reason to #donate your used clothing (a major source of plastics in the water supply, by the way) and household items to ClothingDonations.org.

#Donated items can have a second life with new owners, not only saving on waste, but also eliminating an equivalent amount of new goods needing to be manufactured. Plus, the proceeds from resale go toward helping veterans nationwide.

The Organizing Blog encourages you to get involved in efforts to clean up and protect the environment in ways large and small this Earth Day and every other day of the year. The saying may be hackneyed, but it’s true: We only have one earth — let’s protect it.