"Honor the dead by helping the living"
The VFW traces its roots back to 1899 when veterans of the Spanish-American War (1898) and the Philippine lnsurrection (1899-1902) founded local organizations to secure rights and benefits for their service. The VFW provides numerous services to military service members and their families"
Fostering patriotism and honoring America's veterans on Patriotic Day
s: Memorial Day, lndependence Day, Patriots Day, Loyaltv Day, Veterans Day and POW/MlA Recognition day. Constructive Community Service is a founding VFW tenet with volunteerism benefiting education, the environment, health sciences and civic projects. The VFW's citizenship education program is designed to stimulate an interest in America's history, its traditions and institutions, as well as promote patriotism. The VFW also partners with the National Rifle Association, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, lnternational Association of Firefighters, the Salvation Army and Boy Scouts of America. The VFW's Citizenship Education program arms teachers with school aetivities and resources designed to teach America's youth about patriotism and seruice and about the contributions of our nation's veterans in preseruing peace. VFW Scholarship Programs include Voice of Democracy, Patriot's Pen and VFW Military Family Scholarship. Every year, hundreds of thousands of students participate garnering more than $3.1 million in scholarships and incentives. One of the VFW's most successful legislative push was making coltege education affordable for military service members with the signing of the 1944 Gl Bill of Hights, and in 1984, the signing of the Montgomery GI Bilt. For more than 75 years, the VFW's Buddy Poppy program has raised millions of dollars in support of veterans' welfare and the well being of their dependents. Cost of Buddy Poppies to VFW units provides compensation to the veterans who assemble the poppies, provides financial assistance in maintaining state and national veterans' rehabilitation and seruice programs and partially supports the VFW National Home for orphans and widows of our nation's veterans.