National Volunteer Week is April 19-25
 
The American Legion Auxiliary needs volunteers in our committees to ensure our mission of serving veterans, military, and their families continues. Volunteers are important throughout the year for the Auxiliary, so let’s give them extra-special recognition during National Volunteer Week April 19-25. 
 
The ALA’s national mission outreach committee chairs were asked to share their thoughts on the following: What difference do volunteers make in carrying out your committee’s goals, events, etc.? 
 
Here are a few of those responses: 

Veterans Affairs & Rehabilitation Committee: Dr. Lisa Chaplin, National Chair
Volunteers are vital to enhancing the live of veterans in VA medical centers, state veterans homes, and in our communities. By donating our time and talents, each of us can make a difference. 
 
Within the VA system, essential services are provided by the VA, but by volunteering we can help to provide more than that — either through direct patient support or indirectly through staff support. We are all familiar with ways to directly support our veteran patients, but we can also provide indirect support through assisting staff in offices with filing or answering phones or other administrative duties as appropriate. 
 
Those residing in state veterans homes can benefit from our visits and cards and hosting recreational activities and events. Volunteering to serve veterans in the community is also part of the VA&R mission. Is there a veteran who could use help with yardwork or home maintenance, or a ride to an appointment or shopping? Providing assistance with these makes a difference too. Members can volunteer from home by participating in Buddy Checks and member check-in calls or by preparing holiday cards for distribution to VAMC patients and veterans home residents or through writing letters for Honor Flight mail call. 
 
Engagement with The American Legion’s Be the One mission to combat suicide and lessen the stigma associated with mental health challenges is one of the most important missions we share with The American Legion Family. Get involved by signing up for Be the One training to learn more about how to connect individuals in crisis to professional resources. What you will learn can serve at-risk individuals in the veteran community and the non-veteran community as well. No one is expected to become a mental health professional overnight, but everyone can learn to recognize the risk factors and warning signs of intent to self-harm. Go here to sign up for one of the free training sessions.

There is something for everyone — as the opportunities are endless — allowing individuals to volunteer when and how they are best suited to give back to America’s heroes with a welcoming presence.
 
ALA Girls Nation Committee: Jane Thurston, National Chair
The value of volunteers goes so much further than the dollar amount that the government assigns per hour. Our ALA Girls State programs and ALA Girls Nation Program would not be able to function without our volunteers. The educational aspect of the programs creates engaged citizens who participate in our local, state, and federal government systems. Besides learning about the rights of citizenship, they learn they have responsibilities, which are crucial to maintaining our form of government.
 
Our volunteers keep our participants safe, healthy, and engaged in activities 24/7 for a week at a time. They understand the importance of being a good example and a mentor. The mentorship is the most underestimated aspect of being a volunteer. Besides being mentors for the high school-aged participants, the volunteers mentor each other. Our more experienced volunteers share their knowledge with the newer volunteers. The younger volunteers share their knowledge of the digital world with us. They also bring unlimited amounts of energy and enthusiasm!
 
The volunteers at ALA Girls State and ALA Girls Nation become a sisterhood of friends. They encourage one another in endeavors outside of the week they spend together. They follow participants and encourage them as they enter the young adult phase of their lives. Many of the participants later join the American Legion Auxiliary if they are eligible. Our volunteers are the sparks that build the flame of ALA membership.
 
Americanism Committee: Diana Sirovina, National Chair
Volunteers are the heart and soul of our mission outreach programs. It is their passion for our veterans, their caring and concern for active-duty military, and unwavering dedication to our organization that truly bring our efforts to life. At every event, our members and volunteers generously give their time and talents, consistently going above and beyond. They are always the first to arrive and the last to leave, ensuring each event runs smoothly and fulfills its purpose. It is their caring hearts and helping hands that transform a successful event into a truly exceptional experience.
 
Children & Youth Committee: Melanie Taylor, National Chair 
Volunteers are passionate about our mission of taking care of children and youth, especially our military children. They provide their skills, their time, and their money when promoting the children and youth events in their communities. They build a strong relationship within their communities by being engaged and welcoming, which makes a difference with the success of our programs. 
 
I am so thankful for all that our volunteers do, especially during April: National Children & Youth Month, and Month of the Military Child. 
 
Community Service Committee: John Tester, National Chair
The Community Service Committee relies on our volunteers to fulfill our mission. The ALA Community Service Program serves the members of our community who are homeless, food insecure, or vulnerable. We also recognize and honor our first responders, raise money for worthy community causes, and volunteer in community centers, senior centers, and at community events. None of that would be possible without our dedicated volunteers. It is the volunteers who raise money, organize food and clothing drives, bake cookies, cook meals, and deliver essential toiletries to our homeless and domestic violence shelters. It is the volunteers who sit with our seniors and provide companionship and comfort, who work to clean community parks, and who walk miles and miles to raise money for worthy community causes. In a nutshell, volunteers are the lifeblood of the ALA Community Service Program. Because of them, we make a difference. 
 
Education Committee: Barb Washburn, National Chair
Volunteers are mission critical in promoting the ALA Education Program. They ensure supplies are gathered for classrooms through Give 10 to Education, share scholarship information with students, and recognize teachers and educators during National Education Week and Teacher Appreciation Week. Our volunteers engage directly with their schools to build relationships that support our students. Thanks to everyone who spends time working the Education Program.
 
Junior Activities Committee: Anita Biggs, National Chair
Junior Activities volunteers have a huge impact on the program. Without volunteers, we would be unable to assist Juniors in fulfilling the mission of helping veterans and the community. Volunteers provide the information and transportation to make the difference in getting Juniors to meetings and service projects. Volunteers mentor Junior members, teaching them how to succeed in raising funds, community outreach, and supporting military families. 
 
Legislative Committee: April Sinclair, National Chair
Every day is a day to volunteer in the eyes of the American Legion Auxiliary. Volunteering using the Legislative Program can look different depending on how or what the volunteer task or goal may be.
 
For instance, participating in action alerts through the Legion’s Grassroots Action Center takes only one step in our members engaging with their legislative representatives.
 
We are all volunteers; however, using your voice through actively sending letters and emails in support of the Legion’s priorities places a larger footprint and visibility of how our members continue to volunteer time when advocating through the Legislative Program.
 
Be consistent when volunteering, whether sending emails via action alerts, writing independent letters, attending local, state, and national activities, or volunteering at local fairs and other events. No matter the action in volunteering, every hour increases the voice of the entire Legion Family and the Legislative Program participation.
Be visible, share information about the Legion Family and the legislative priorities when attending events and community outings, and incorporate personal touches into the information shared. Personal examples when communicating are more impactful to the cause and leave lasting impressions.
 
Volunteers and volunteering will always make a difference. The “key” to our Legislative Program and how volunteering supports the program is by staying consistent — don’t give up on what you truly want to advocate for.
 
Your voice is the persistent nudge when advocating for change.
 
National Security Committee: Norma Tramm, National Chair
The American Legion Auxiliary National Security Program maintains and promotes a strong national defense by strengthening and supporting military servicemembers and their families.
 
Volunteers are critical in the National Security Program. This past fall, we had several requests to send care packages to our troops.  
 
One request was for monthly packages to share a bit of home with those deployed.  When Kansas was contacted to see if they would be willing to assist in this project, they immediately said they would do the first three months. During a quarterly Zoom meeting, others were asked to volunteer for the remainder of the year. Several departments volunteered to take on this project. It is hard to count all the volunteers who assisted in this project. 
 
Another request for nearly 300 airmen came to our attention. Schoolchildren volunteered to make cards to go into the boxes. Members volunteered to make homemade cookies; others donated money to provide the items for the boxes.  
 
Volunteers shopped for the many items needed. Several packed the boxes and made the trip to mailboxes to our deployed servicemembers. Without these volunteers, it would not have been possible to provide a little bit of home to our airmen. This is just a snippet of volunteering to assist our military and their families. 
 
Poppy Committee: Karen Toll, National Chair 
Volunteers really are the backbone to every organization. They keep us from the cookie-cutter effect. Our volunteers are from every aspect of professions and every aspect of the globe, with ideas of their own. Our volunteers provide so many different points of view and different ideas, which keep our great organization going. But we all have the most important thing in common and it’s the wonderful support for the needs of our veterans, family, and our individual communities. When it comes to volunteering related to the Poppy Program, just wearing a poppy in public to give visibility and telling people about the meaning of the poppy is a super helpful part of being a volunteer.