VSO encouraged to seek grant funding

Jacob Gadd, The American Legion's Veterans Affairs & Rehabilitation Division's deputy director for Health Care, and Field Service Representative Denise Bullock attended a roundtable meeting with Sen. John Warner, D-Va., and Patrick Corvington, president and CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service. The purpose of the meeting was to receive feedback on the Veterans Corps, which was an amendment under the Serve America Act passed last year.

The participants of the meeting discussed strategies that the Corporation for National and Community Service will be developing this fall to identify and design volunteer assignments based on servicemember and veteran needs in the community, encourage veteran service organizations to apply for grant funding, and recruit servicemembers and veterans into voluntary service. Through a press release. Warner said, "I envisioned participants in the program would work to identify the unmet needs of veterans through recruitment into service opportunities, promoting community-based efforts to meet the unique needs of military families, assisting veterans develop educational opportunities, including professional certification, and developing projects to assist older and disabled veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan." Warner said that the Veterans Corps program was designed to compliment and augment VSO volunteer programs and be a value-added program, and he encouraged VSOs to apply for grant funding, as they have the experience and expertise in serving veterans in the community.

To learn more about volunteering with The American Legion in your community, click here. For questions, please contact the VA&R Division at var@legion.org.