Local Disabled American Veterans chapter 47 has devoted months of planning to its annual forget-me-not fund drive.
“We want to do our part to help make this a success,” said adjutant Michelle McClain at the group’s November meeting last Thursday at the Oak Harbor library. “Come what may, as far as the weather goes, our volunteers will be out there.”
Friday DAV volunteers will staff tables set up in front of Wal-Mart, Saar’s Marketplace, Ace Hardware, and the Navy Exchange and Commissary.
Speaking of volunteers, while not everyone is able to help out financially, some are very happy to donate their time.
“We have a very pressing need for volunteers to drive the van,” said senior vice commander Muggs Monahan. “Right now, we only have five drivers for this month.”
DAV chapter commander John Callahan reported that during the past month, the chapter furnished 73 riders transportation to medical appointments at the Seattle VA hospital. In a timely gesture to the need the DAV fills on that front, McClain read aloud a thank-you note from one such person:
“I don’t know how I would have made it to my doctor’s appointments if it weren’t for the van,” she read.
It is for these individuals that the DAV invites and encourages anyone willing to lend a hand as a volunteer driver to contact them, said Callahan.
“We will furnish volunteers a ride to Seattle VA, which will supply the training they need,” he said.
In other business, the group’s leadership gave out information from the DAV winter conference held October 20 to 23, and developments on the legislative front.
“Right now, there’s a lot of focus on helping veterans get jobs,” said McClain. “There are websites available that operate as virtual job fairs once you fill out the required on-line profile.”
Monahan reported that new training requirements for chapter service officers will include 40 hours from a certified CSO.
“The upshot of this is, it looks to be a money-saving move to make CSO’s responsible for the training,” he said. “On the other hand, with us doing our own training directly, it’s more likely that the impetus is for the training to be done correctly from the outset.”
With much of the focus lately on possible government cutbacks to military spending, some good news on the horizon is a planned 3.6 percent cost-of-living-increase in disabled veteran compensation, the first since 2009, said McClain.
The DAV and other veterans’ service organizations will be very visible this Veterans Day, but the needs go on 365 days a year. If you would like to help, whether through time or money, seek them out. The DAV will hold its next meeting on Thursday, Dec. 1, with the location to be announced later.
