DAV Magazine - March/April 2019

Help Volunteer for Veterans grow in 2019

John Kleindienst 2019-02-20 02:49:39

Anyone reading this likely knows a veteran in need of some type of assistance. Many of us could personally use help. Even beyond that, we know our nation is full of grateful people who want to help veterans, but unfortunately, most don’t know how.

Connecting veterans with assistance is the reason DAV developed VolunteerForVeterans.org. The online resource can connect volunteers with those who’ve served.

As we look to the second year of this exciting program, we’re just scratching the surface in terms of the impact it can have in communities nationwide when our membership embraces it. We need to continually populate this site to ensure every city, every town and every state have enough volunteers and veterans to connect locally. We need you to help grow the network of opportunities.

We’ve seen success where our members have embraced the platform. Veterans and nonveterans alike have signed up to help veterans in their neighborhoods, whether by raking leaves, mowing grass or helping with home repairs. But we know that we need to do more.

We have many areas across the country where volunteers have signed up but not a lot of veterans in their area are in the Volunteer for Veterans system—and vice versa. We need your help to populate the site so plenty of volunteers are ready to answer the call for assistance while veterans and caregivers can let people know their needs.

In addition to expanding our pool of volunteers and veterans across the country, chapters can use Volunteer for Veterans to help support community events as well as chapter events.

Also, don’t forget about our high school students whose volunteer hours can help earn a Jesse Brown Memorial Youth Scholarship, which could cover up to $20,000 toward their education.

Get the word out to your communities about visiting our site and signing up. The application process is easy, and once enrolled, volunteers will receive information on opportunities in their areas.

If you know of veterans in need who are not comfortable with technology, register as a person who knows a veteran in need, to help them sign up.

You never know the difference you can make in the lives of others until you try. Visit VolunteerForVeterans.org and sign up to help or get help today.

Published by Disabled American Veterans. View All Articles.

This page can be found at http://digital.dav.org/article/Help+Volunteer+for+Veterans+grow+in+2019/3311344/569109/article.html.