Military Officer - November 2008 - (Page 42)

chaptersinaction Helping Veterans MOAA chapter members are reaching out locally to hospitalized and homeless veterans to remind them someone cares and let them know their service to our country is appreciated. M OAA chapter members take care of each other — and other veterans. The VA has a vast network of hospitals and clinics to care for the millions of veterans who earned these health care beneﬁts through service to our nation. But despite its considerable resources, the VA still needs the help of a network of volunteers to accomplish its mission of taking care of the nation’s veterans. That’s where MOAA’s chapter system comes in. In this department’s main story, “Chapters Helping Veterans,” we highlight what some MOAA chapters are doing to help the VA help veterans. For many chapter members, this has been a very rewarding effort and is one more example of how they make a difference locally. Many volunteer through the VA Voluntary Service (VAVS) program, which coordinates volunteer support in VA hospitals nationwide. These support functions can run the gamut from working in an emergency room to lending a hand at specialized clinics to visiting patients to lift their spirits. More than a few MOAA chapter members are patients themselves for various service-related ailments and have seen ﬁrsthand what a great need for volunteers the VA has. Who better to help a veteran than another veteran? Many chapters help veterans struggling with homelessness — a signiﬁcant problem that requires a lot of time and resources to ﬁx. One chapter in this department’s main story annually devotes time and resources to this effort. There still is a great unmet need for programs that beneﬁt homeless veterans, and chapter members can help. MOAA’s chapters are an ideal group to participate in giving back to these especially vulnerable veterans. Several months ago, I visited a VA hospital in Fayetteville, Ark., where I talked with the hospital’s administrators about its volunteer program. What impressed me most was what the Northwest Arkansas Chapter was doing to contribute to the well-being of the patients. VA staff recognized and appreciated their services. If you want to help, visit your local MOAA chapter and ﬁnd out what it is doing to help veterans. They need your help — and so do MOAA chapters. Think about joining a chapter today. — Col. Lee Lange II, USMC-Ret. Director, Council and Chapter Affairs Chapters Helping Veterans L ON THE ROAD: This month, Col. Lee Lange II, USMC-Ret., director of MOAA’s Council and Chapter Affairs, will visit chapter members in Indiana and Kansas. Go to MOAA Calendar, page 96, for dates. 42 M I L I TA RY O F F I C E R NOVEMBER 2008 * t. Col. Mel Wilkerson, USA-Ret., is a regular at the Atlanta VA Medical Center. Wilkerson not only volunteers at the facility, he also gets treated there. “I’m a 100-percent, combat-related, disabled Vietnam veteran,” says Wilkerson, a member of MOAA’s Atlanta Chapter. “I use the VA medical center, and I’ve seen ﬁrsthand the need they have for volunteers.” At Wilkerson’s urging, fellow chapter members began participating in the VA Voluntary Service (VAVS) program at the medical center in 2000. Since then, chapter members have accumulated hundreds of volunteer hours. Currently, Wilkerson; Lt. Col. Jerry Johns, USA-Ret.; Lt. Col. Gus Strassburger, USAR-Ret.; Lt. Col. Marvin RotPHOTO: STEVE BARRETT

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Military Officer - November 2008

Military Officer - November 2008 Contents From the Editor From the President Your Views MOAA Directory Rapid Fire Washington Scene Chapters in Action Financial Forum Ask the Doctor Financial Guidebook Out of the Red 7 Year-End Tax Strategies Cover Story: Memory Survives Something to Say MOAA Scholarship Recipients Pages of History Faces of MOAA Information Exchange Member Books Advertising Index MOAA Member Services MOAA Calendar Sounding Taps Encore

Military Officer - November 2008

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