2012 By the Numbers

New Consolidated Post Report shows the many ways Legionnaires are making differences in their communities and beyond.

American Legion posts around the world gave millions of hours, raised millions of dollars and influenced millions of lives in 2011 and 2012. The newest American Legion Consolidated Post Report, released in August, attaches numbers to the Legion's acts of advocacy and outreach.

The number of posts reporting their performance jumped by 485 this year, which means a little over 60 percent of American Legion posts collect data and submit the reports. "It is nice to see an increase in the number of reports compared to the previous year, but we can do better than that," American Legion National Commander James E. Koutz said. "If even 10 percent more of our posts submitted reports, we would make it clearer to veterans, communities and the federal government the important role The American Legion fulfills across the land. It would be great if every post submitted their CPRs."

In addition to traditional paper reporting, posts can fill out and submit their forms online through myLegion.org, the members-only area of the national website.

Here is a snapshot of activities performed by American Legion posts, according to the 2011-2012 American Legion Consolidated Post Report:
8,819
 Number of American Legion posts submitting Consolidated Post Reports in 2012
13,807
 Number of American Legion posts worldwide
   

$946,400
 Money spent on Support Our Troops efforts
500,625
 Volunteer hours logged for Support Our Troops efforts
   
$2,258,893
 Money spent by posts providing emergency aid in their communities
   
3,917,943
 Hours of community service logged by American Legion posts
$4,621,777
 Money spent performing community service by American Legion posts
   
140,978
 Number of veterans benefits cases handled by American Legion post service officers
32,016
 Number of Legionnaires who are registered in VA Volunteer Services
825
 Number of local Heroes to Hometowns coordinators, who assist wounded warriors and newly discharged veterans as they adjust to civilian life
   

920
 Number of posts participating in veteran career fairs
1,096
 Number of veterans placed in job-training programs with help from the Legion
3,067
 Number of veterans placed in jobs with help from the Legion
   

46,528
 Number of blood donors who gave through American Legion posts
83,746
 Number of pints of blood donated through American Legion posts
   

25,722
 Number of school medals presented to students by local posts
7,576
 Number of ROTC medals presented
   

2,751
 Number of local posts with publications
2,151
 Number of local posts with websites
   

 

13,259
 Number of college scholarships granted by local American Legion posts at a cost of $3,782,638
6,601
 Number of participants in post-sponsored Junior Shooting Sports clubs at a cost of $267,593
2,254
 Number of American Legion Baseball teams sponsored at a cost of $5,925,258
46,882
 Number of youths participating in Legion-sponsored Scouting units
14,867
 Number of American Legion Boys State participants sponsored by Legion posts at a cost of $3,144,734
9,129
 Number of competitors participating in local American Legion Oratorical contests at a cost of $269,119
   

3,175
 Number of posts with local Legion Birthday events
1,335
 Number of posts with local Four Chaplains ceremonies
7,121
 Number of posts with local Memorial Day events
4,365
 Number of posts with local Fourth of July events
4,327
 Number of posts with local Flag Day events
1,489
 Number of posts with lcoal Get Out the Vote events
305
 Number of citizenship and naturalization activities conducted by local Legion posts nationwide
   

756
 Number of Homeland Security/Disaster Relief programs conducted
959
 Number of Fire Prevention Programs conducted
853
 Number of Crime Prevention/Law and Order programs conducted
901
 Number of posts that have Vets in the Classroom programs
   

$156,012
 Money donated by local posts to help children's hospitals
$311,633
 Money donated in support of Special Olympics
$277,735
 Money raised locally for the National Emergency Fund, which provides cash grants to veteran and military families who have suffered hardship due to a natural disaster
$830,053
 Local donations to The American Legion Legacy Scholarship Fund, to help the children of military personnel killed on duty after 9/11
$1,585,868
 Dollars raised by local posts for VA hospitals
   

$301,478
 Amount posts provided through the Temporary Financial Assistance program
$376,495
 Amount posts provided for the Family Support Network