What The American Legion Does:
•
Processes more than 600 disability claims appe
als per month for veterans trying to get
their VA medical benefits.
•
Gives emergency financial assistance to Legi
on families hit by hurricanes, floods,
tornadoes and other disasters.
•
Urges Congress to provide enough VA funding
to take care of veterans’ medical needs –
and provide it in advance.
•
Awards college sch
olarships to children whos
e mothers or fathers have sacrificed their
lives in the global war on terrorism.
•
Volunteers about one million hours every ye
ar at about 160 VA medical facilities
nationwide.
•
Helps families of deployed troops through
its Family Support Network and Operation
Military Family Outreach.
•
Through its Temporary Financial Assistance pr
ogram, helps the children of veterans
who are suffering hardships.
•
Donates about 100,000 pints of blood
annually to the American Red Cross.
•
Lobbies Congress to upgrade and improve Po
st-9/11 GI Bill education benefits (the
Legion wrote the original 1944 GI Bill that educated 8 million veterans).
•
Through its Heroes To Hometowns program, works with communities to welcome back
their returning veterans and help them
make the transition to civilian life.
•
Sponsors more than 5,000 American Legion Baseball teams, which are made up by more
than 100,000 ballplayers.
•
Raises funds to improve the quality of lif
e for active-duty troops, with the Wounded
Warrior Recognition Program and Operation Comfort Warriors.
•
Offers community programs that encourage the intellectual and social growth of
America’s children (Boys State, National
Oratorical Competition, Boy Scouts). In a Nutshell:
o
If you’re a veteran, The American Legion
will help you. It will help you with VA
health care, GI Bill benefits, sudden emergencies and the needs of your children. o
And
The American Legion does it all for free
, because we have an army of
volunteers – each one a wartime veteran. That’s why we’re here now – veterans helping veterans,
servicemembers and their families. To find out much more about what Th
e American Legion does, please visit
www.legion.org
