Category: Auxiliary Outreach

Michele Brinson 901-734-8160 email

Hope everyone had a very happy Thanksgiving. Before we know it, Christmas and the New Year will be here. As you know, this time of year is filled with so many wonderful opportunities to volunteer and partner with organizations to help others; for example: serving meals for Thanksgiving and Christmas, collecting coats for kids, sorting gifts for the Angel Tree program, packing boxes for Operation Christmas Child, helping with Breakfast with Santa programs, and so much more. Also, there is also still a need for volunteers to collect and pack donations for the Hurricane Helene and Milton victims. 

Bambi Johnson, our National Auxiliary Outreach Ambassador, is asking each Department Ambassador to share some of the most outstanding projects and send her one or two of our best examples of our members partnering with other organizations by January 10, 2025. She plans to share this with everyone during the Mid-Winter Conference. So, I can’t wait to see your reports and pictures of all of your amazing volunteer activities. 

As a reminder, 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). So, let’s take another look at what Auxiliary Outreach is and what your auxiliary can do to help make a difference and to 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. ( 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, fall festivals, health screenings, 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. 

Thank you to Auxiliaries 3036, 7531, 9832, and 12124 for all that you are doing and for reporting your activities. As a reminder, please submit your reports and include the number of volunteers, the number of hours spent volunteering, and the name of the organization you helped. 

Also, please be sure to send pictures of your auxiliary activities to me and to Lisa D. Mayer-Thompson, our Historian, on or before January 10, 2025.

If anyone has any questions or needs assistance, please feel free to contact me. May God bless each of you and your families and help us to continue to bless others. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Michele Brinson 901-734-8160 email

It was so good seeing so many of you this past weekend in Gulfport, but we sure missed those of you who couldn’t be there with us. As you know, 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 happy to report that many of our auxiliaries are doing some pretty amazing things when it comes to Auxiliary Outreach. However, I feel certain that so many more of you are also doing some amazing outreach activities that you may not have reported yet; especially, in light of the recent devastation from Hurricanes Helene and Milton that affected so many of our fellow Americans, friends, and family throughout the southeastern United States. So, let’s take another look at what Auxiliary Outreach is and what your auxiliary can do to help make a difference and to 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, fall festivals, health screenings, 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.

I want to say “thank you” to Auxiliaries 3253, 3373, 3962, 4272, 4934, 5395, 5397, 6731, 7531, and 12124 for all that you are doing and for reporting your activities. Please if you have pictures of your auxiliary activities, send them to me and also to our Historian, Lisa D. Mayer-Thompson. In fact, I would love to see a report and pictures from every Auxiliary and to be able to share all that you are doing to help our communities and others in need. I know many of you have helped with Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton relief efforts not only coordinated by our organization but also through other organizations within our communities such as Southern Thunder Harley Davidson, Operation Freedom’s Reach, Difference Maker Ministry; through local churches, etc., by collecting, sorting, packing, and/or transporting donated items to those affected by these devastating storms. Please remember to report the hours spent volunteering and performing these 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 assistance. Yours in Service

Michele Brinson 901-734-8160 email

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.

Michele Brinson 901-734-8160 email

I am so sorry that I was not able to be with all of you in Gulfport at the School of Instruction (SOI)/Council of Administration (COA) in August, but look forward to seeing everyone in October. From Our Roots to Our Branches, Extending Service To Our Veterans, and to their families, our communities, and to organizations within our communities.

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.
• Donations of goods have now been approved by National.
• Participate in walks that benefit other organizations such as an event spotter, water station volunteer, timekeeper, etc. (Note: This does not include walking in the event or sponsoring someone who walks in the event).
• Partner with law enforcement personnel on child ID kits, bicycle safety training, collecting stuffed animals for situations involving children, etc.
• Partner with firefighters on fire safety and prevention.
• Partner with EMTs to host CPR training.
• Partner with Senior Citizens Centers by teaching a basic computer class, playing bingo, doing arts and crafts or other activities, etc.
• Partner with parks and recreation departments or garden clubs to adopt a park, plant trees, perform general clean up; 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, 4934, 5397, 6731, 7531, 9832, and 12124 for all that you are doing to extend your service and for reporting your activities. I look forward to seeing more reports from all of you.

Deborah Turner (601) 506-9430 Email report form

Hit The Ground working! 

1. Ask What can you do to help my community?
2. Connect Make a connection with a partner (local Groups or Organization)
3. Present Present it for a vote in your Auxiliary
4. Work Go to work with great partners. Wear your VFW Auxiliary gear and make a difference.

Deborah Turner (601) 506-9430 Email report form

What’s Not Considered Auxiliary Outreach

Auxiliary Outreach is for projects NOT AFFILIATED with VFW or VFW Auxiliary Programs. Volunteer work that is performed for the benefit of the Post or Auxiliary is NOT considered Outreach. Examples of projects that do not qualify include

· Repairs to, maintenance or beautification of the Post home.
· Cooking or serving a meal for a Post or Auxiliary fundraiser. “Buddy”® Poppy distribution.
· VFW or Auxiliary meetings, conventions, conferences or schools of instruction.
· Providing an honor guard at a member’s funeral.
· Flying the American Flag.
· Conducting Flag retirement programs.
· Church activities for one specific congregation and not the entire community (e.g., usher, elder, deacon, minister, etc.)

Important Auxiliary Additions to VFW Community Service:

1. Wear something that signifies you are a member of the VFW Auxiliary.
2. The project must be voted on during an Auxiliary meeting. (The VFW also requires this in another section of their instructions.)
3. If what you are doing is reportable under another Auxiliary Program, report it under that Program, not under Auxiliary Outreach.
4. Auxiliary work* (e.g., Outreach, Americanism, Veterans & Family Support, etc.) is to be reported to your local VFW Post Adjutant so it can be added to their report. This will help your Post with eligibility for the National Outstanding Community Service Post Award.
5. Auxiliary Outreach volunteer work need not be verified by the organization you are partnering with. (This is a VFW requirement only.)

Frequently Asked Questions

Q.: A few of the ways listed to participate in Auxiliary Outreach involve youth. Wouldn’t this be reported under the Auxiliary’s Youth Activities Program?

A.: It depends on the project. For example, if you are putting on a patriotic program at a school with your Auxiliary, that is reported under Americanism and/or Youth Activities. If your Auxiliary volunteers with the Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts to teach them the Folds of the Flag, that is reported under Americanism and/or Youth Activities. If your Auxiliary partners at the Boys & Girls Club to tutor a group of kids, that is reported under Auxiliary Outreach.

Please continue to report the great things you are doing in your communities. Continue to let the light of your Auxiliary shine and make a difference.

Thanks for all you do. Don’t hesitate to contact me.

Deborah Turner, Auxiliary (601) 506-9430 Email report form

What is the VFW Auxiliary Outreach Program?

• Auxiliary Outreach involves Auxiliaries volunteering to help nonprofit organizations, local groups and to
  address needs in your community.
• Focus is on volunteering, not monetary or in-kind donations.
• Partnership where one or more Auxiliary members help another organization or group to make their project
  successful.

The first step in making your Auxiliary Outreach Program successful is reaching into your
community.
Here are a few other basic steps:

• Find local groups and organizations in need of assistance.
• Ask what your Auxiliary can do to help them.
• Vote at an Auxiliary meeting to approve the activity.
• Form a partnership.
• Report the details.

Suggestions for VFW Auxiliary Outreach

• Assist with local fundraising walks as a volunteer, not an entrant.
• Help your local library by working at book fairs.
• Assist with local youth activities and at senior centers.
• Help your town or city during elections but remain nonpartisan.

Benefits of the Auxiliary Outreach Program

• Helping others
• Learning new skills
• Meeting new people
• Developing a sense of purpose
• Personal growth

Always Remember to

• Wear your VFW Auxiliary attire (name badge, shirt, hat, jacket, etc.)
• Report the number of hours volunteered.

Deborah Turner (601) 506-9430 Email report form

Our programs are designed to bring needed services, information, and assistance to these target groups. Veterans, service members, their families, and our communities.

Volunteering is second nature for VFW Auxiliary members. It’s what we do, how we do it, where we do it and why we do it – because it’s always the right thing to do.

While emphasis is placed on our core VFW and Auxiliary Programs, Auxiliaries also partner with other community organizations. Auxiliaries can report and be recognized for such community work through the Auxiliary Outreach Program.

When an entire Auxiliary partners with another organization outside our own, it is considered Auxiliary Outreach if the project was approved by the Auxiliary and recorded in the meeting minutes prior to the project. Search your community for great partnerships.

For example:

An individual can cook for and feed several Homeless Veterans and people in the community and that’s honorable but if you partner with and established soup kitchen it can mean feeding hundreds per day and that is making a difference on a much larger scale. 

Other examples include:

Working with local police on child ID kits.

Working with firefighters on fire safety and prevention.

Working with EMTs to host CPR training.

Handing out food at soup kitchens.

Partnering with an animal shelter to hold a spay and neuter clinic.

Auxiliaries are responsible for so many good deeds that help our communities. VFW Auxiliary members work with other organizations in their communities, often individually, and often behind the scenes, but Auxiliary Outreach gives us the opportunity to work together as members alongside members of another organization to do more with local communities and to be recognized in doing so. Collectively, all our projects need to be counted to effectively show the importance of the local VFW and VFW Auxiliary to the community.

Thanks for all you do. Don’t hesitate to contact me.

Deborah Turner, Auxiliary (601) 506-9430 Email

report form

REACH OUT FOR AUXILIARY OUTREACH

Search your community for great partnerships.

For example, and individual can cook for and feed several Homeless Veterans and people in the community and that’s honorable but if you partner with and established soup kitchen it can mean feedings hundreds per day and that is making a difference on a much larger scale. 

Auxiliaries are responsible for so many good deeds that help our communities. Collectively, all our projects need to be counted to effectively show the importance of the local VFW and VFW Auxiliary to the community. 

Thanks for all you do. Don’t hesitate to contact me

Community Service vs Auxiliary Outreach

Do not confuse Auxiliary Outreach with Community Service

Deborah Turner (601)506 9430 email

Auxiliary Outreach is one of our 12 National Programs. Community service is
not one of them.

VFW Community Service and VFW Auxiliary Outreach
VFW Auxiliary Outreach is similar to the VFW Community Service Program. Below is an excerpt from what the VFW communicates to their Posts. We hope this will help you to know what can and cannot be reported under this Program for both the VFW and the Auxiliary.

VFW Community Service
Community Service as defined by the National Community Service Trust Act
“encompasses any human act serving the common good, in the interest of the
community.” Elsewhere, community service is further defined as “a service that is performed for the benefit of the public or its institutions.”

The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. subscribes to the above but adds
that, for the purposes of volunteer recognition, VFW community service must
be performed by and as a representative of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and
must be performed for an organization outside the VFW and its Auxiliaries and must be verified by an authorized representative of that organization.

In addition, efforts performed for the benefit of the Post or Auxiliary’s benefit
should not be considered as community service.

A particularly controversial area in VFW community service is service to one’s
church. Generally, these efforts are not considered community service for two
reasons: 1) they are not performed for the community at large; 2) they are part of an individual’s service to their faith and not to the VFW. The exception to this would be performing the same service for all religious organizations in a given community.

Important Auxiliary Additions to VFW Community Service:

1. Wear something that signifies you are a member of the VFW Auxiliary.
2. The project must be voted on during an Auxiliary meeting. (The VFW also requires this in another section of their instructions.)
3. If what you are doing is reportable under another Auxiliary Program, report it under that Program, not under Auxiliary Outreach.
4. Auxiliary work* (e.g., Outreach, Americanism, Veterans & Family Support, etc.) is to be reported to your local VFW Post Adjutant so it can be added to their report. This will help your Post with eligibility for the National Outstanding Community Service Post Award.
5. Auxiliary Outreach volunteer work need not be verified by the organization you are partnering with. (This is a VFW requirement only.)

Auxiliaries are responsible for so many good deeds that help our communities. Collectively, all our projects need to be counted to effectively show the importance of the local VFW and VFW Auxiliary to the community.

We hope this provides clarification on this Program. If you are unsure of whether your project will count toward the Auxiliary Outreach Program.

What is Auxiliary Outreach?

• Auxiliary Outreach is volunteer work performed by an Auxiliary under the direction of another organization, for the benefit of their community or its institutions. It is a donation of time, not
  in-kind or monetary donations. It’s about partnering with other organizations in our communities to help improve where we live. Auxiliary Outreach can:
• Be performed by people of any age, skill set or ability level.
• Benefit any group of people such as youth, senior citizens and those with disabilities.
• Benefit animals, the environment and public spaces.
• Be done in communities of all types and sizes – rural, suburban and urban, small and large.
  

Please continue to report the great things you are doing in your communities.

Continue to let the light of your Auxiliary shine and make a difference.
Thanks for all you do. Don’t hesitate to contact me.