Veterans of Foreign Wars of The United States

Community Service and Public Awareness - Community service is a major priority of the VFW. This includes grants of $876,975 to support these activities around the world. The VFW's mission includes maintaining true allegiance to the government of the United States of America and fidelity to its Constitution and laws, fostering true patriotism and love of country, and maintaining and extending the institutions of American freedom. To fulfill these objectives, the VFW has a comprehensive set of educational and informational programs, materials, and activities that reach out to every American virtually every day of the year. The major elements of VFW Community Service include community activities, citizenship education, safety programs, and youth activities. Community activities include assistance in conducting blood drives, recycling programs, and neighborhood and highway beautification projects; aid to senior citizens, volunteering in hospitals and nursing homes, and assisting families in times of personal tragedy or illness; and assistance to churches and schools through volunteering and speaker programs. Citizenship education, materials, and activities are geared to remind, educate, and inform citizens of their country's traditions, freedoms, and the need to preserve and protect them. Key elements of citizenship education include publications and dissemination of information honoring the flag, proper flag display, the flag history, and the flag code as well as periodic distribution of free flags. Support of citizenship education in schools through distribution of citizenship education materials and school folders containing copies of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and other important historical documents; publication and dissemination of information concerning official patriotic holidays such as Memorial Day, V-J Day, Veterans Day, and D-Day; celebration of patriotic holidays through participation in parades, presentations and assemblies; distribution of patriotic literature and emblematic materials to individuals, organizations and schools; and activities to support "Get Out the Vote" campaigns and Veterans in the Classroom. The safety materials and activities in the overall community service category include pedestrian safety, drug awareness, recreational safety and home and fire safety. The VFW made grants of $631,000 to assist VFW Posts and Auxiliaries with outreach projects in their respective communities. For youth activities, the VFW supports America's youth athletic programs by encouraging local posts to sponsor teams and provide leadership and mentoring. VFW encourages America's youth to be good citizens by providing citizenship educational materials and honoring outstanding community service by young people following the Medal of Honor Character Development program of instruction. VFW encourages academic progress and achievement through a national scholarship program for high school students and another for junior high students. Participating students may receive scholarships at the local, state and national level. During the fiscal year, the VFW National Headquarters provided $169,000 in scholarships and awards for students.