Parade magazine recently listed 11 ways in which you may help a returning veteran or those servicemen and women who are still serving and are deployed overseas. On this Veterans Day maybe you could help. Here’s the list.
1. Help build a home or donate equipment for a house for a severely disabled veteran with “Homes for Troops.” To get in touch with that organization go to www.homesfortroops.org.
2. Provide free transportation to medical facilities by volunteering to drive a Disabled American Veterans’ van. See www.dav.org/volunteers
3. Provide care for the pet of a vet who is deployed or wounded and receiving help at a VA facility. www.guardianangelsforsoldiers.pet.org
4. The Library of Congress is interested in recording the stories of old soldiers. Go to www.loc.gov/vets for a kit and instructions.
5. Ship your old cell phones to www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com. For each one donated, the organization will pay for an hour of talk time for troops overseas.
6. Donate used DVDs to www.dvds4vets.org.
7. Have extra coupons? Military families may use expired coupons for up to six months past the due date. See www.coupsfortroops.com
8. Contribute clothing, food and gifts for service members. They will be used to prepare gift boxes. Go to www.operationgratitude.com/volunteer.
9. Post a care package with a thank you note through the Kitchen Table Gang. Go to www.soldierpackages.org.
10. Share your expertise with a vet, financial, legal services, counseling, building etc. Go to www.milserve.org.
11. Support Big Brothers and Sisters. The organization has a program to help children with parents in the armed forces. Go to www.bbbs.org.
Parade magazine, in honor of 11/11/11, Veterans Day this year, is donating a portion of the proceeds from their last issue to the Wounded Warrior Project. If you would like to make a $10 donation, press **HERO on your cell phone. And don’t forget Michelle Obama’s “Joining Forces” organization (see the blog this month, “Joining Forces with Michelle Obama.”
In the same issue of Parade, former General Colin L. Powell contributed a piece called, “Why We Serve.” Here’s some of what he had to say:
It’s Veterans Day for our veterans every day of their lives. “So thank them. Talk to them, invite them to schools so they can share their experiences and teach our children that we all must take care of each other, on the battlefield and in life. You can also support one of the many organizations that assist former service members….To find programs in your area, contact your local chapter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, or the Disabled American Veterans.”
Or go to any of the web sites listed above. We owe our veterans a lot. Let them know we appreciate them for their service and sacrifice.
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