Veterans Organizations?

[Django]

I'm in a car club (with 6 other guys) and we put on a car show every year. One of our goals was to generate some money for charity after expenses. We've almost paid for everything for this year's show, so we want to donate some money to a worthy cause. We each get to choose a org and my choice would be for some kind of veterans organization. Perhaps a disabled vets organization. Does anyone have a favorite that they can recommend? Thanks.

[rwdfresno]

http://americaswoundedheroes.org/index.htm

http://www.freedomalliance.org/fa/index ... &Itemid=15

One thing that my father started as a tradition was having an annual Christmas Party for his organization and asking the attendees to bring gifts of cookies (purchased and sealed sometimes they won't take homemade), candy, etc, with letters of appreciation to the veterans then taking it down to the veterans hospital to distribute among the veterans who are receiving inpatient medical care. Just a way of saying thanks and hoping to brighten their Christmas. I think finding a local charity can sometimes be more rewarding since you know exactly what and where your resources are being sued for.

Ryan

[Paul Krumrei]

Disabled American Vets DAV.org

I am a member. They provide a lot of resources for us.

Or the local VFW or American Legion would be very nice.

Thanks for your group in supporting Veterans like that. IT is really nice to see that!

[tinbender2]

You really want to lift the spirits of a vet stuck in a hellhole VA hospital?

Coordinate with the nursing staff, go room by room, and let them order a meal from local restaurants. Have menus available for them. Call in the orders, and have a friend already in town ready to pick up the meals and deliver them.

I spent six hellish days in a VA hospital, and the food was garbage. Even some of the milk was spoiled. A visitor walked in with a bag of McDonalds food. The aroma was pure heaven. And most of us begged her for a few fries.

Many patients can have regular meals, and for those that cannot, ice cream, soups, etc. are often ok. The nurses will know.


It's a little thing, but the effect on morale is huge. Especially so for the vets who are stuck there for months.

[Bill Greenwood]

That food for vets in the VA sounds like a good idea, but I wonder if the hospital will resent it or cooperate? Are there hundreds of patients in most?

[tinbender2]

In my regional VA hospital, non-wartime, there were probably 30 veterans as in-patients, and about 10 homeless/drug addicted NON-vets taking up beds so the hospital could show a high bed use rate.

I wouldn't expect the nursing staff to provide much help. They NEVER answered the emergency call buttons when I was there, and other vets have told me not much has improved. I sure wouldn't trust them to deliver meals that had been dropped off for veterans.

You will meet some awesome veterans there. One of the guys in my ICU survived a kamikaze crash during the battle of Okinawa. He lost both feet from the crash and underwent frequent leg amputations due to infections in later years. His stories of that battle were very inspiring. When I met him, his legs had been amputated up to his thighs. He spent many years of his life in VA hospitals, suffered much abuse and neglect, yet still had the mental toughness to keep going forward in life.