VA & R
Purpose: The purpose of the Veterans Affairs & Rehabilitation Committee is to promote programs and services that assist and enhance the lives of veterans and their families, ensuring restoration and/or transition to normally functioning lives.
Key Program Statements:
- Support rehabilitation and healing of veterans through arts, crafts, and hobbies.
- Support veteran caregivers, family members and survivors.
- Enroll Auxiliary members as VA Voluntary Service (VAVS) volunteers at VA health care facilities.
- Help The American Legion, State Department of Veterans Affairs and Chamber of Commerce promote job fairs for veterans and their families.
- There isn’t a VA hospital close to your community? Find opportunities for Auxiliary members to serve veterans in your area such as serving the homeless.
The Auxiliary’s Veteran’s Affairs and Rehabilitation program provides service and financial assistance to veterans and their families. Auxiliary members are interested in restoring the veteran and his family to normal function – physically, mentally, socially and vocationally. Members provide emotional support and cheerful companionship while attending to the hospitalized, handicapped and homebound veterans’ physical comforts. In a single year, veterans’ programs utilized the services of more than 100,000 hospital field and home service volunteers who donated millions of dollars and millions of hours to assist veterans. The Auxiliary’s gift shops and holiday parties have become an essential part of the VA program. The Poppy program provides therapy and a means of earning money for handicapped and hospitalized veterans and their families. Members work with legislators and congressmen to pass legislation to increase government benefits and assistance for veterans. Essential equipment and supplies are purchased by caring members to upgrade and facilitate the level of care provided in veterans’ facilities. Members furnish job assistance, transportation, food, clothing and medicine to thousands of needy, handicapped and homeless veterans. The Auxiliary plays a necessary and important role in the life of America’s veterans.
Get Involved
- Support the therapeutic rehabilitation and healing of veterans through arts, crafts, and hobbies.
- Support veteran caregivers, family members, and survivors.
- Volunteer at local VA facilities, including state VA facilities in your area.
- Collaborate with organizations that support veterans and their families, such as Wreaths Across America, Honor Flight Inc., and the Military and Veteran Caregiver Network.
- Look in your community for opportunities to support veterans, their caregivers, their families, and their survivors.
Outside Partnerships
- Wreaths Across America
- Take part in local wreath placement at a national cemetery.
- Sponsor wreaths for placement through Wreaths Across America.
- Honor Flight Inc.
- Volunteer with local hubs.
- Utilize your unit’s poppy funds to support important aspects of Honor Flight activities. For more information, please see www.honorflight.org/donations.
- Participate in welcome-home events.
- Coordinate the creation and delivery of cards and letters to Honor Flight hubs for mail call.
- Consider volunteering as a guardian for an Honor Flight. Please note — there is an associated cost.
- Military and Veteran Caregiver Network
- Learn who is considered a caregiver. This will help you identify caregivers in your community and maybe even as a caregiver yourself. If you identify as a caregiver, consider joining their online peer support community.
- Familiarize yourself with local caregiver resources found in the Hero Care Resource Directory
- Refer to the MVCN’s community calendar for educational and volunteer opportunities
- National Veterans Creative Arts Festival
- Promote awareness of healing through arts, crafts, and hobbies.
- Donate to the National Veterans Creative Arts Festival through the American Legion Auxiliary Foundation.
- Donate to local Veterans Creative Arts Festivals (e.g., time, supplies, money).
- Identify arts, crafts, and hobby projects targeted to veterans (writing, oral history recording, visual and performing arts, quilting, and gardening).
- Donate art supplies to your local U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs facilities including state veterans homes, community living centers, and VA medical centers.
- Plan and organize a local Veterans Creative Arts Festival.
- Advocate for art therapy, music therapy, drama, and recreational therapy programs within the VA healthcare system.
- Apply to the ALA Foundation for Veterans Creative Arts Festival Grants to be used for local competitions and festivals in your community. For more information, please go to https://alafoundation.org/vcaf-grants/.
- Center for Development and Community Engagement (CDCE, formerly known as VAVS)
- Recruit Auxiliary members as volunteers for the VA Center for Development and Community Engagement at VA healthcare facilities.
- If you see a need in your community that is not being addressed, contact your local VA.
- Familiarize yourself with the service of the VA caregiver support program
- Volunteer at your local VA facility for events such holiday gift shops, Bingo, baby showers, etc.
- Don’t forget to include all American Legion Family members in your VA events.
- Coordinate a supply drive for the needs of hospitalized veterans by gathering items such as socks, underwear, toiletries, etc. Please contact your local VA facility or American Legion Auxiliary CDCE representative for needed items.
- Don’t forget your state VA facilities, such as state veterans homes. The veterans who reside there have needs that we may fill as well. For more information and local points of contact, please refer to https://nasdva.us/resources/.
- Service to Veterans (Outside of VA Facilities)
- Take part in a veteran job fair by organizing or working at an informational table.
- Promote local veteran-centric job fairs in your community. Support The American Legion by helping host a local job fair at your post home or community center.
- Support veteran caregivers, family members, and survivors.
- Provide a spa day or caregiver day out for community veteran caregivers.
- Offer to sit with a veteran while the caregiver runs errands.
- Offer to run errands for a caregiver.
- Prepare information for units concerning the needs of caregiver support.
- Transportation of veterans to appointments or running errands.
- Contact an American Legion Service Officer at your post, and offer to be on the list of people to call when a veteran’s family needs help.
- Buy school supplies, host a baby shower, or send care packages to veterans’ children who are headed to college.
- Become the catalyst to find needs, and encourage members to help veterans in their community.
- Promote volunteer opportunities in community settings.
- Utilize websites, newsletters, and other media.
- Report your ALA Service to Veterans hours to your unit VA&R chair.
Deadlines/Important Dates
- Year-end reports — May 15, 2024: Department chairmen reports due via email to division chairmen with a copy to national chairman.
- Department and Unit Award Nomination Form Completed and Submitted: June 1.
- NVCAF Award: NVCAF Support Award — Send donations to the ALA Foundation to National Headquarters for the current calendar year by Dec. 31.
Contact
Contact the Alaska Department of the American Legion Auxiliary or American Legion Auxiliary National Headquarters to learn more.
