Disabled American Veterans taking care of all generations

Disabled American Veterans taking care of all generations
by Chaplain Kathie
Wounded Times Blog
July 22, 2012

Yesterday morning I went to the Orlando VA Community Living Center for a BBQ with the DAV.
The Orlando DAV and Auxiliary usually goes out there once a month to play Bingo with the veterans, so I know them pretty well. While the food was cooking, we had tables set up to play some card games with them. I don't know enough about card games but I figured 21 wouldn't be that hard. Wow was I wrong! Thankfully I was rescued and was sent to deal Crazy 8's. That was fun! We laughed more than anything else.

That's one of the great things about belonging to the Orlando DAV Chapter 16. We don't stop helping but we also enjoy the company of our veterans. All our veterans need to be taken care of and not forgotten just because another generation arrives. The older veterans are always willing to make room for them but they don't want to be pushed out of the way. At my table there were Korean War Veterans, Vietnam veterans and a younger veteran. They teased each other but above that, they cheered for each other! That is the way it should be with every group popping up across the country.

Chapter 16 handed out certificates of appreciation to 43 members because in 11 months these volunteers gave 15,341 hours of our time out of love.


I never understand why all of these new groups are showing up wanting to reinvent the wheel. Seems to me they are falling down since intentions are wonderful but clearly they do not know what they are doing.

We see it all the time on Facebook and all over the web, new groups claiming to have the answers but they cannot answer simple questions they just didn't take the time to learn about.

In a nut shell, I am very disappointed in these new groups. Well, most of them. If they were worth a dime or ten minutes of your time, I wouldn't have to do what I do. There are so many my head spins when they email me "look at me" so I can help promote them. I stop what I'm doing, go to the link and while it all looks good, I begin to notice things that should be there. I make a list, email them back with the questions like, "What is your background?" "Who is your expert or do you just let people say what they want?" Most of the time it's about 10 questions. 90% of these new groups never email back with the answers. The few trying to answer the questions usually do not have all their "ducks in a row" and are missing key components.

The Disabled American Veterans takes care of all generations of disabled veterans.

The 1.2 million-member Disabled American Veterans (DAV) is a non-profit 501(c)(4) charity dedicated to building better lives for America’s disabled veterans and their families.

The DAV was founded in 1920 by disabled veterans returning from World War I to represent their unique interests. In 1932, the DAV was congressionally chartered as the official voice of the nation’s wartime disabled veterans.

With our brave Americans leaving the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, the DAV’s services and advocacy are as relevant and critical today as in any time in our nation’s history.

Annually, the DAV represents more than 200,000 veterans and their dependents with claims for benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense.

The DAV’s Voluntary Services Program operates a comprehensive network of volunteers who provide veterans free rides to and from VA medical facilities and improve care and morale for sick and disabled veterans.

The DAV’s 1.2 million members provide grassroots advocacy and services in communities nationwide. From educating lawmakers and the public about important issues to supporting services and legislation to help disabled veterans — the DAV is there to promote its message of hope to all who have served and sacrificed.

DAV MISSION STATEMENT
We are dedicated to one single purpose: empowering veterans to lead high-quality lives with respect and dignity. We accomplish this by making sure veterans and their families can access the full range of benefits available to them; fighting for the interests of America’s injured heroes on Capitol Hill; and educating the public about the great sacrifices and needs of veterans transitioning back to civilian life. This mission is carried forward by:

★ Providing free, professional assistance to veterans and their families in obtaining benefits and services earned through military service and provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs and other agencies of government;

★ Providing outreach concerning its program services to the American people generally, and to disabled veterans and their families specifically;

★ Representing the interests of disabled veterans, their families, their widowed spouses and their orphans before Congress, the White House and the Judicial Branch, as well as state and local government;

★ Extending the DAV’s mission of hope into the communities where these veterans and their families live through a network of state-level Departments and local Chapters; and

★ Providing a structure through which disabled veterans can express their compassion for their fellow veterans through a variety of volunteer programs.

While it is wonderful for people to want to do something to help, they should find out what is already being done by people with the experience do actually do it instead of just claiming they do.

Now you know I'm deeply connected to the DAV because my husband and I are very active in it as life members but you also have to understand my Dad was a disabled Korean War veteran, so pretty much I grew up knowing about them and how much they help. When you have an organization like this working so hard all these years, it is very puzzling why all of these other groups are popping up all over the place when the DAV has been there and done that all these years.

Then again, I am not just a life member but Florida's Disabled American Veterans Auxiliary Member of the Year. I am only one of the many doing as much as possible to help our veterans.