As an unfortunate consequence of the War on Terror, many children of our active-duty military personnel are now members of single-parent families. These children are entitled to receive money toward a college education, but money provided by law simply has not kept up with what a higher education costs today. The American Legacy Scholarship Fund exists to help ensure that higher education will be a reality for these children. It’s the least we can do.
As our forces pursue the enemies of freedom in Iraq and around the globe, The American Legion’s Family Support Network stands ready to provide immediate assistance to our men and women in uniform and their families whose lives have been directly affected by the War on Terrorism.
The American Legion Child Welfare Foundation’s foremost philanthropic priority is to provide youth-serving organizations across this nation with the means to educate families and communities about the needs of special children.
Through Temporary Financial Assistance (TFA), a local Post can call upon the National Organization for cash assistance to help maintain the basic needs of veterans' children. The TFA fund has been used to assist families in meeting the costs of shelter, food, utilities and health expense items when the parents are unable to do so, thereby keeping the child, or children, in a more stable home environment.
Every year, Children’s Miracle Network hospitals treat 17 million children for every disease and injury imaginable, regardless of their family’s ability to pay, impacting the lives of more children than any other children’s organization in the world. A corporate partner since 1998, The American Legion continues to raise funds and awareness for local children’s hospitals to ensure that the best care is available whenever children need it.
The National Emergency Fund (NEF) program is perhaps one of the most visible illustrations of “veterans helping veterans” that the Legion has to offer. Hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, wildfires…The National Emergency Fund was born out of natural disasters to compassionately heal the wounds of catastrophe. Providing direct financial assistance, the NEF has kept posts from closing and enabled Legion family members to begin to rebuild their homes and their lives.
Our Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation program provides a comprehensive network of American Legion Department Service Officers at the state level to help veterans, their dependents and survivors apply for any Federal or state benefit to which they may be entitled.
The American Legion’s Americanism activities acknowledge and preserve our heritage, recognizing all of the inalienable rights of man. Many of these programs are designed to benefit our nation’s youth:
The American Legion maintains an ongoing commitment to veterans and their families. This includes: testimony before the House and Senate, quality reviews of VA Regional Offices and medical centers, appeals to the Board of Veterans Appeals, and claims for discharge upgrades or correction of military records.