#Middlebury #Veterans #VeteransServiceOrganizations
VETERANS POST
By Freddy Groves
If you’re a veteran, are you in a veterans’ service organization? There are four groups, and while they differ in their origins, they all have the same goal: to help veterans.
The largest organization is the American Legion. Across the country are more than 12,000 posts and approximately 2 million members. The Legion is to be thanked for the GI Bill of Rights, which has helped many veterans get a college or trade education and a home with a low mortgage rate. But the Legion has done much more: The organization has also donated $1 million to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund and sponsored a study on the effects of Agent Orange. If you want to explore the Legion, read more online at www.legion.org.
Like the name says, the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) steps up to help disabled veterans with nearly anything they need. Just last year, for example, they provided 163,000 rides for veterans to reach their medical appointments and helped file over 150,000 claims. They have 26 transition service offices, helping veterans make the change to civilian life by providing benefits counseling. For more information on the DAV, start with www.dav.org.
Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) changes lives. They push for better access to air travel, help veterans find employment and pay for adaptive housing and vehicles. So far they’ve invested over a half million dollars into spinal cord research. In one year alone, they helped veterans receive over $78 million in benefits. Learn more at pva.org.
Started in 1899 by a few veterans during the Spanish-American War, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) has worked since then to get the rights and benefits that veterans deserve. They’ve assisted veterans with collecting $10 billion in disability compensation and pension benefits with the help of over 2,000 accredited VFW reps. Today membership stands at 1.5 million. To learn more about the VFW, check www.vfw.org.
To be considered: Many of the veterans’ groups are losing membership due to the age of their members. Your interest will be most welcome.
© 2022 King Features Synd. Inc.
