November is a month of reverence and respect. We owe our Veterans, past and present a debt of gratitude and love.
November 11th is Veterans Day. Please take time to take a meal or a book or sit with a Veteran and give them your best moments full of grace and love. After all, that’s why we are free – Some gave all but ALL gave some 💕💕🙏
VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!
I hope that you already have or will cast your ballot in this year’s elections.
Reminder that is important to keep yourself informed of any legislation affecting our veterans benefits by being signed up for Action Corp Weekly newsletters.
If you were unable to attend our recent School of Instruction and C of A, you missed a rousing game of tic-tac-toe involving legislative questions!
BE INFORMED! BE AN ADVOCATE!
Lanell Thornton (662)549-2856 email
We’re All Aboard the VFWA “Scholar” Ship!
Our ship has begun its maiden voyage for the 2024-2025 Academic Year and has plans to stop at numerous posts and districts!
Join the fun and help our future!
The deadline has passed for the October 31, 2024, deadline for students to participate in the Patriot’s Pen Essay Contest and Voice of Democracy Audio Essay Contest. By this time, VFW posts are judging the entries submitted and should be selecting their winners to send to their districts for judging. From there it goes to the Department for judging.
A BIG “thank you” to all the auxiliaries that have participated in spreading the word about these two magnificent scholarships, and remember . . .
celebrate the winners!
Keep in mind the deadlines for other scholarships:
· February 15, 2025 – Continuing Education Scholarship for VFW Auxiliary members and immediate family (spouse and children)
· March 31, 2025 – Young American Creative Patriotic Art Contest (grades 9-12)
· March 31, 2025 – 3-Dimensional Patriotic Art Contest (grades 9-12)
Digital Photo Albums and Digital Scrapbooks – How to Create
To create an album on Facebook, you can do the following:
Click your name in the top right of Facebook
Scroll down and click Photos
Click Create Album
Enter a title for the album
Choose the privacy settings for the album by clicking Share with
Click Create Album
You can also add photos to the album by selecting them after clicking Create Album.
You can add up to 1,000 photos to an album, but you can’t add live videos. You can only add photos or posts to albums you’ve created or to shared albums where you’re a contributor.
You can also add information to the album, such as a description, date, location, and co-contributors.
When you share an album with contributors on Facebook, they can add photos or videos to the album. They can also tag photos, edit the album and add other contributors.
Contributors can only edit or delete the photos they upload. You can delete the contributor’s photos in albums you own. If you remove a contributor, they may be able to delete photos they added to the shared album from their activity log.
Creating A Facebook Album Thru Your Mobile App
To create a shared album on Facebook mobile, you can use the Facebook app on an Android or iOS device:
Start with by going to your Facebook profile
Under “Add Story” find Posts Photos Videos
Go to Photos then choose under Your Photos and Videos,click Albums
Tap Create Album, Name Your Album and hit “Save”
Also Choose who can see your album – your audience
your choices are: Public, Friends, Specific Friends or Only You
Once everything is saved you can start adding photos from your cell phone.laptop or computer
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Adding Contributors to your Facebook Album
Desktop Help
To share an album with contributors:
Click your profile picture in the top right of Facebook.
Click your profile name.
Click Photos, then click Albums.
Click in the top right of the album you’d like to add a contributor to.
Click Edit album.
In the Add Contributors section, enter the names of contributors you want to add.
Click Save.
Note: You can’t add contributors to some albums, like Mobile Uploads.
Mobile App Help
To share an album with contributors:
Tap in the bottom right of Facebook, then tap your name.
Tap Photos.
Tap Albums.
Tap on the album you’ve created.
Tap in the top right corner, then tap Edit Album.
Tap next to Add Contributors to turn it on, then tap Choose Friends.
Select the friends you want to add as contributors, then tap Done.
Tap the privacy to select a new audience.
Tap Save in the top right corner.
Note: You can’t add contributors to some albums, like Mobile Uploads.
To edit an album on Facebook,
You can go to your photos, select the album, and then click Edit. From there, you can change who can see the album, add photos or videos, and more.
To edit the date of a post on Facebook, you can do the following:
Log into Facebook on a computer
Click your profile picture in the top right
Click See all profiles and select the page you want to switch to
Click your page’s name in the left menu
Go to the post and click in the top right
Select Edit date from the menu
Choose a new date and time for the post
Click Done
The Edit Date option may not appear if you’re not on your Facebook page, or if you’re on your page as an admin instead of switching to your page profile. The option is only available on the desktop version of Facebook.
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Other Ways
To create a digital scrapbook, you can:
Choose photos: Select a few of your favorite photos. If you’re using printed photos, you can scan them.
Select a design: You can choose a template or start from scratch. Some tools offer design tools to customize layouts and pages.
Add elements: You can add text, shapes, icons, and filters to personalize your scrapbook.
Edit images: You can edit your photos.
Preview and save: Preview your finished scrapbook and save it.
Here are some tools you can use to create a digital scrapbook:
Canva
A free online tool with a drag-and-drop feature that lets you add shapes, icons, and elements. You can search for “Scrapbook” to open a new design.
Scrapbook Maker
An app with design tools that let you edit photos, add text, apply filters, and rearrange elements.
Digital kits
These kits can include background papers to help you create pages more quickly.
Lanell Thornton (662)549-2856 email
Our VFWA “Scholar” Ship has set sail for the 2024-2025 year!
Remember that October 31, 2025, is the deadline for students participating in the Patriot’s Pen Essay Contest and Voice of Democracy Audio Essay Contest. Students should have submitted their entries to their local VFW Posts on or before this date.
Patriot’s Pen Topic: “My Voice in America’s Democracy”
Voice of Democracy Topic: “Is America Today, Our Forefather’s Vision?”
Deadlines for other scholarships:
· February 15, 2025 – Continuing Education Scholarship for VFW Auxiliary members and immediate family (spouse and children)
· March 31, 2025 – Young American Creative Patriotic Art Contest
· March 31, 2025 – 3-Dimensional Patriotic Art Contest
Salute to my Advocates!
Election time is fast approaching, make sure you are registered to vote.
Kudos to Auxiliary/Post 5397 for holding a National Voter Registration day! If your auxiliary has held one, please let me know.
Reminder to sign up for Action Corp Weekly if you haven’t done so. This enables you to receive Action Alerts for pending legislation. We HAVE to stay in the loop regarding our veterans rights and benefits.
Use your VOICE
to make a CHOICE
October is Deployment Month. Recognize and Remember that our Soldiers are not with us.
Many are deployed overseas defending us and in harms way. Many are here in the U.S.A. defending are homeland.
Please help them and their families. You can get together and pack up boxes to ship to our soldiers & take to nearest base. You can give a wife a break by watching the children, run errands. Check to see if the children need anything.
Everything you are able to do makes a difference.
Patriotic Observances
10/02: Rosh Hashanah begins at sunset
10/07: Global War on Terrorism and Desert Storm Veterans Day
10/10: World Mental Health Day
10/11: Yom Kippur begins at sunset
10/13: Happy Birthday, U.S. Navy!
10/14: Indigenous Peoples Day
10/14: Columbus Day
10/21: National Pets for Veterans Day
10/26: Day of the Deployed
10/27: Navy Day
10/28: Statue of Liberty’s birthday
10/31: Halloween
Can you believe it’s already October, and we are half way through our reporting year? Remember, this year’s theme is From Our Roots to Our Branches, Extending Service To Our Veterans (and to their families, our communities, and to organizations within our communities). I’m so happy to report that many of our auxiliaries are doing some pretty amazing things when it comes to Auxiliary Outreach. So, let’s take another look at what Auxiliary Outreach is and what your auxiliary can do to help make a difference and help others.
Steps to a Successful Auxiliary Outreach Project:
– Vote and approve a motion to provide assistance and partner with other organizations in your community in your meeting and record that approval in your meeting minutes. Approval should occur prior to the outreach activity except on rare occasions such as a natural disaster or emergency. You can do this where it covers all activities/ partnerships for the entire year or prior to each activity/partnership as they occur.
– Partner with organizations that could use assistance.
– At least one Auxiliary member must participate in order to be counted as auxiliary outreach, and projects may be done by only the Auxiliary or together with the VFW Post.
– Wear VFW Auxiliary attire while participating (shirt, hat, name badge, lanyard, etc.).
– Take pictures of all the amazing things you are doing in your communities and share with other auxiliaries, your Department Historian, National Headquarters, and with me.
– Count all volunteer hours (but not monetary donations).
– Share information about the VFW Auxiliary; i.e., what we do, why we do it, how someone can become a member, etc.
What’s Considered Auxiliary Outreach:
– Projects not affiliated with the VFW or VFW Auxiliary.
– Volunteer your time to collect needed items for organizations who serve the community.
– Participate in walks that benefit other organizations such as an event spotter, water station volunteer, timekeeper, etc.
– Partner with animal shelters by volunteering to help clean kennels, walk animals, collect bedding, cleaning supplies, dog/cat food, leashes, etc.
– Partner with homeless shelters by serving food, bussing tables, cleaning up, etc.
– Partner with food pantries/banks or Meals on Wheels to stock shelves, pack food boxes, serve food, pass out food boxes, deliver meals, etc.
– Partner with the Red Cross or other groups at their blood drives.
– Partner with organizations that provide clothing, household goods, furniture, appliances, bedding, etc., by sorting items, passing out items, collecting needed items, etc.; such as House of Grace, Hope Ministries, Sacred Heart, etc.
– Partner with organizations that provide medical equipment; i.e., wheelchairs, crutches, walkers, etc., by collecting needed items.
– Partner with a church hosting a community-wide event Easter egg hunt, trunk or treat, breakfast with Santa; Vacation Bible School, etc.
Auxiliary Outreach Program Award: Most outstanding photo collage created by the VFW Auxiliary of their auxiliary Outreach partnerships during the current Program Year. Citation and $25 to one VFW Auxiliary in each of the 10 Program Divisions that creates the most outstanding photo collage of their VFW Auxiliary partnerships during the current Program Year.
Last, but not least, thank you to Auxiliaries 3253, 3373, 4934, 5395, 5397, 6731, 7531, 9832, and 12124 for all that you are doing and for reporting your activities.
For those auxiliaries who have not yet submitted a report, please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have or if you need additional information. I know all of you do so much to help others within our communities, and I would love to see at least one report from every auxiliary in the near future.
Your District Commander and President will be getting their carve on!
Saturday afternoon the District Commanders and Presidents will be competing for your vote (bragging rights) on who carves the best Jack-O-Lantern. Votes will be by dollar bills (would love to see 10’s, 20’s etc) placed in the container in front of your favorite creation.
All votes (money) will be donated to UnMet needs through VFW Foundation.
Happy Fall everyone.
I’m so happy to see the cooler temperatures. Fall presents lots of opportunities to interact with our young people. Football games, fall festivals, and pumpkin patches are just a few.
Here’s an idea, work with one of your local pumpkin patches to teach flag etiquette or distribute Pledge of Allegiance cards one weekend. That is a great opportunity to reach a lot of children at one time. You could incorporate our Patriotism through Literacy program into that as well by providing a story time for the children. You could even dress up as a historical character, Betsy Ross telling the story of the flag would be awesome. Don’t forget to hand out your Illustrating America Applications either. I hope you take advantage of these opportunities and have some fun while doing it.
I want to remind everyone about our R.A.P card, Random Acts of Patriotism. It’s very import to reinforce behaviors in children so please print a few of these out from MALTA and keep them with you. Just the act of acknowledging and praising a child for being patriotic makes a lasting impression.
Don’t forget about the Patriotic Youth Award and Youth Groups Supporting Veterans Citation either.
Remember the coloring contest entries are due to the auxiliaries by Oct. 31. Please choose a winner for each grade category and forward that one to me. We will choose the Department Winner at Mid-Winter Conference.
I hope to see you all at Oct COA
