SEPTEMBER 21, 2012 NATIONAL ADJUTANT’S MESSAGE Our family helping another family By Daniel S. Wheeler T ere’s little T e American Legion cannot do
when it puts its mind to it. T ere’s even less our Legion family can’t accomplish working togeth- er. Just ask Paul Zimarowski Sr. Commander of Francis W. Robbins Post 194
in Florence, N.J., Zimarowski recently witnessed fi rsthand what that family can do in a short period of time. Word reached Zimarowski from a friend and local radio personality – Derik Glen, who hosts a veterans radio show on 92.1 FM – about a Vietnam veteran and his family of four living in a 10-foot camper. Glen off ered to pay to bring the family to Post 194’s annual picnic. “I said, ‘No, you will not pay for them; they
will be our guests,’” Zimarowski said. “But I thought that maybe we could do more.” Zimarowski posted a note on Facebook
asking for people to bring non-perishable food items to the picnic for the family. He put a notice up on the post’s website and spoke with other members of the post’s Legion family. Within three days, 15 boxes of food were contributed. A local teacher, hearing of the situationa, collected $275 in Visa giſt cards from her school’s faculty. At the picnic, the family’s twin girls were given toys, while the mother and father were
inconspicuously “slipped” more than $270 in cash. And the father, who has a commercial driver’s license, was given leads on potential employment with three local businesses hiring truck drivers. “Hopefully something can come of that,”
Zimarowski said. “Florence is just a fantastic area. T e people really support our causes here. And the family was so thankful. T ey had tears in their eyes and said that they will never forget Florence. T ey adopted Post 194 as their second family.” And it was Post 194’s Legion family that got
the ball rolling. Zimarowski said everyone in the post – Legionnaires, the Auxiliary, Sons and Legion Riders – chipped in. T e post also received support at the department and county level. “It just felt so good to do what we did for this
family,” Zimarowski said. “I am so proud of my post, the people, the town of Florence. It’s hard to describe how it feels.” Try feeling proud, Paul. Both you and Post
194’s Legion family deserve it. You really came through.
NUMBERS from Page 1 spent to provide emergency aid at the local level
$1,585,868: Money posts raised for VA hospitals in their local communities
32,016: Registered VA Volunteer Services members 825: Heroes to Hometowns coordinators 83,746: Pints of blood donated through posts 46,528: Blood donors who gave through posts
853: Crime Prevention/Law and Order programs conducted 959: Fire Prevention Programs conducted
756: Homeland Security/Disaster Relief programs conducted 36,891: Annual community events conducted by posts
$277,735: Money raised by posts for the National Emergency Fund
Troop Support
$376,495: Amount posts provided for the Family Support Network
$301,478: Amount posts provided through the Temporary Financial Assistance program
$946,400: Amount posts spent on Support Our Troops eff orts 500,625: Volunteer hours spent on Support Our Troops eff orts
Media
Youth
2,751: post publications 2,151: post websites
14,297: Children & Youth program activities conducted by posts
$1,993,951: Cash aid provided by posts for Children & Youth activities
7,576: ROTC Medals presented
14,867: Young men sponsored for Boys State $3,144,7343: Money invested by posts for Boys State
6,601: Participants in American Legion Junior Shooting Sports clubs
$267,593: Money spent in support of Junior Shooting Sports program
$830,053: Money raised for the Legacy Scholarship 2,254: American Legion Baseball teams sponsored by posts
$5,925,258: Money spent by posts in support of American Legion Baseball
2,097: Scouting units sponsored by posts
46,882: Youths participating in Legion-sponsored Scouting units 901: American Legion Vets in the Classroom programs 1,178: American Legion Oratorical Contests conducted
9,129: Youths participating in T e American Legion Oratorical Contest
$269,119: Money invested in Oratorical Contests by posts 25,722: American Legion School Award Medals given
13,259: American Legion scholarships awarded at the local level $3,782,638: Legion scholarship money awarded at the local level $156,012: Money raised by posts to help children’s hospitals $311,633: Money raised by posts in support of Special Olympics
Employment
3,067: Veterans placed in jobs with help from the Legion
1,096: Veterans placed in job-training programs with help from the Legion
920: Posts participating in veteran career fairs
Citizenship
305: Citizenship and naturalization programs involving posts
Community Events
4,327: Flag Day events coordinated by posts
1,489: Get Out the Vote events coordinated by posts 7,121: Memorial Day events coordinated by posts 4,365: Fourth of July events coordinated by posts 1,335: Four Chaplains ceremonies conducted by posts 3,175: American Legion Birthday events conducted by posts
View these fi gures on the national website:
www.legion.org/bythenumbers
Read the Legion’s Consolidated National Report for 2011:
www.legion.org/american-legion-consolidated-national- report-2011
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