The VFW: Who We Are, What We Do
As the nation’s largest organization of combat veterans at 1.6 Million Strong , our top priority remains to provide support to our service members, veterans and their families. Since 1899, the VFW’s voice has been instrumental in the fight for veteran’s rights and today, we’re still fighting on Capitol Hill to make sure our government keeps its promises to all our veterans. For decades, the VFW has been lobbying for active-duty service members and veterans, and has celebrated several significant accomplishments over the years. Victories that include: benefits for World War Two veterans, the Veterans Preference Act, educational benefits dating back to Vietnam, Agent Orange studies and service-connection determinations for Agent Orange and Gulf War Syndrome. As the VFW looks toward the future, we will continue to support and defend veterans’ rights. These are the rights veterans from older eras fought so hard to earn and those same rights younger generations of service members fight to protect today. Our commitment to veterans extends beyond our fight on Capitol Hill. Our dedication to veterans’ health is evident through our Department service officers, now located in every VA regional office nationwide. Our service officers are skilled professionals who, every year, help thousands of veterans file claims with the VA to get their benefits and compensation. The VFW’s troop support programs also provide unparalleled support in effort to provide the vital support our servicemen and women have come to expect before, during and long after they return home from deployment. Vital support programs like:
· Our Unmet Needs program which assists families facing financial hardship due to deployment or military service with financial grants to help with basic life necessities.
· Our Adopt-a-Unit program that helps to forge a connection between local VFW members and military units, and provides support to military families during deployments.
· And the VFW’s “Sport Clips Help A Hero Scholarship” program, offering service members and veterans college scholarships of up to $5,000 per semester. To date, we’ve awarded nearly 1,300 service members and veterans with more than $5.7 million in college scholarships … helping student veterans achieve their academic goals even after their GI Bill benefits have been exhausted or transferred to a family member. The programs I’ve mentioned are just a few of the many the VFW provides … completely free of charge to all veterans, with no VFW membership required. Every member of the VFW has served our incredible nation and we understand the sacrifices every veteran has made and what is needed when they return home. We understand because we’ve been there. We will never stop fighting for veterans because we are an organization that shares the bond of battle, and what it means to put your life on the line for our nation. We will remain steadfast in doing all that we can to improve the quality of life for all of today’s service members, veterans and their families.
