2022-2023 National Ambassador Cathey Farley
I’m home from Mid-Year Conference aboard the Norwegian Bliss. After a hiccup or two trying to board, off we sailed. Everyone had a good time, and I enjoyed having an opportunity to talk with members from other Departments.
At the Council meeting during the cruise, I reported that we still have work ahead of us. Not all Auxiliaries have contributed to Health & Happiness. Please, check with your Department Treasurer for the Auxiliaries that have not yet donated, then contact each of those Auxiliaries. It would be great if we could get to 100% by the end of May.
We are making great strides getting Auxiliaries to sign up for Home Front Heroes; keep reminding the Auxiliaries to sign up. It is never too late to become a Home Front Hero.
The National Home thanks all of those who contributed to the completion of the Veteran & Family Resource Center; the initial project was completed with well over the requested $10,000. Moving forward, the National Home is working on broadband reception. Stay tuned for the proposal explaining how we can help.
St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner. Looking for a quick fundraiser for the National Home and a promotion of the “Buddy”® Poppy? On the reverse side of a “Buddy”® Poppy tag, write the number and face of 2 decks of cards; insert “Buddy”® Poppy in the band of a hat or place them inside a St. Patrick’s Day hat. There will be 104 poppies on or in the hat. Next pull one out without looking at the reverse side of the “Buddy”® Poppy tag, place the “Buddy”® Poppy in an envelope and seal. Distribute the “Buddy”® Poppies for a small donation. When all the “Buddy”® Poppies are gone, open the envelope and announce the winner. The person with the matching Buddy Poppy is the winner. You can determine what the prize is, but my suggestion is half of the proceeds. This is usually an easy fundraiser since everyone likes instant cash.
This is a fun activity for a St. Patrick’s Day event at your Post.
Some may think it is too early to start planning a Memorial Day event. Wrong! Organize a planning committee or ask to participate with the Post in the planning process. It is always better to be proactive than sit back and wish you had been more involved.
Which reminds me of a story about a farmer who had a blind horse named Buddy. While tending to Buddy one day, along came a stranger who desperately needed the farmer’s help. The stranger had lost control of his vehicle and ran into a ditch. He asked the farmer if his horse could somehow pull the vehicle out of the ditch for him, stating it was small car and he was sure the horse could get the car out of the ditch. The farmer said he would come, bring his horse and take a look, but he could not help if his horse might be injured in some way by attempting to pull the vehicle out of the ditch.
Upon arrival, the farmer saw the car was small, so he hitched Buddy up to the vehicle. He then called out, “Pull Casey, pull!”, but the horse did not budge. The farmer then called out, “Pull Bailey, pull!” still the horse did not budge. Once again, the farmer called out, “Pull Mandy, pull!” and still the horse did not budge. Finally, the farmer called out, “Pull Buddy, pull!” and the horse pulled until the vehicle was out of the ditch. The stranger was very grateful but asked the farmer why he kept calling the horse by different names? The farmer said, “Buddy is blind, and I had to make him think he had help pulling the car out of the ditch or he would not have pulled.”
The lesson of this story is:
Don’t wait on others in order to accomplish something or you may always be in a ditch. Sometimes we won’t attempt to do something if we know we don’t have help. You can be the one to start the ball rolling.
In November, I ask everyone to PUT ON YOUR THINKING CAP and consider how we can best educate our veterans, service members and their families about what the National Home can do to help them. If everyone would go to our Facebook 2022-2023 VFW Auxiliary “Buddy”® Poppy & VFW National Home group and post one idea about how to educate veterans about the opportunities available at the National Home, we could in turn help and inspire each other. I will be posting mine this week. I look forward to the creative ideas coming from each of you. And if by chance you try one of the suggestions, make sure you post the results.
May the sound of happy music,
And the lilt of Irish laughter,
fill your heart with gladness,
that stays forever after.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!