To instill a commitment to volunteerism and awareness of the American Legion Auxiliary mission, departments and units are encouraged to integrate mission-focused activities into their Junior Activities program — the focus being veterans, military, and their families. 
 
Adopt a military family with a deployed family member 
Work with your American Legion post or local U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs office to identify a family in your community. 
 
• The Junior Activities chair should contact a family and introduce themselves as well as introduce the American Legion Auxiliary and explain our mission. 

• Ask if you and a small group of Juniors can meet with the family to find out how the Juniors can help. Check to see if a senior member needs to be present for the family’s comfort level or if Juniors can do the work on their own. 

• Once the family agrees and you know the needs, create a calendar that specifies when Juniors will be at the home, how long they can stay, what they will be doing, and how many Juniors will be assisting. 

• Be sure the family has the Junior Activities chair’s contact information, as well as a copy of the calendar. 

• Let the Juniors know this is their project and their responsibility to follow through on their assignments. Be sure you have backup Juniors scheduled in case something happens where a Junior can’t make it. 

• Suggested activities for the Juniors would be mowing the lawn, planting flowers in the yard or flower boxes, cleaning the house, babysitting (for an evening out or just for a short respite), or washing the car. 

• Be sure you assign age-appropriate Juniors for the assigned task. Younger Juniors may not be able to handle complicated or strenuous activities. Have a start and an end date set clearly with the family. If you feel the need to continue services once the deployed family member is home, you can work something out with the family. 
 
Mail for veterans and servicemembers 
Many veterans and active military do not receive mail on a regular basis. Take the time to write them a note to let them know we are grateful for their service, and we support them.
 
• You may write letters or postcards. If you plan to keep it brief, a postcard is a better choice.

• When starting the letter, address the reader as Dear Veteran, Dear Servicemember, or Dear American Hero. Remember: If you address it to “soldier”, that is a term used by the Army and your letters may go to a different branch of service.

• Be sure Juniors do not sign their names or provide personal addresses. Correspondence should close with “Grateful Junior Member of the American Legion Auxiliary” and perhaps their first name.

• When you send the letters, be sure to include an ALA logo, name, and address for return mail  to let them know who is writing the letters.

• For security reasons, it is best not to put the letters in individual envelopes when sending letters to servicemembers abroad.

• Ask for a group photo of the servicemembers with their letters. The Juniors can then see how much their letters mean to our military.

• Provide the Juniors with some patriotic stickers to add a personal flair to their letter.

• Avoid the use of glitter. 

These are just a few ideas — there are many other projects you can do with your Juniors to emphasize our mission! Need more ideas? Reach out to JuniorActivities@ALAforVeterans.org.