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:
- Wear something that signifies you are a member of the VFW Auxiliary.
- The project must be voted on during an Auxiliary meeting. (The VFW also requires this in another section of their instructions.)
- If what you are doing is reportable under another Auxiliary Program, report it under that Program, not under Auxiliary Outreach.
- 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.
- 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.