Historian/Media Relations: Reach Out and Help Your Community during the Holidays

Reach Out and Help Your Community during the Holidays

It’s the time of year when we focus on the holiday season and look for ways we can help in our communities. Reach out to, or collaborate with, other organizations to see what we, as VFW Auxiliary members, can provide for homeless and/or needy veterans, struggling families, at-risk youth and the elderly in your community.

Inform members how the Auxiliary will help brighten the holiday season. Publicize your cause in your local paper, hang fliers in community centers and your Post Home, and share it on Facebook. By sharing your cause with others, you increase the likelihood of donations and therefore, the number of people who can receive help.

Things your Auxiliary can do to help others this holiday season:

• Host a coat/glove/hat drive.
• Adopt a family of a deployed service member.
• Make it festive by providing decorations for a family in need.
• Donate gifts to Fisher House or Toys for Tots.
• Provide gifts for a local family in need.
• Donate toiletry items to a homeless shelter.
• Donate a Christmas dinner box or food basket to a family in need.
• Donate to a local food bank.

We often focus our giving on monetary or item donations, yet there are plenty of service-related opportunities to give this holiday season. These opportunities are fulfilling and heartwarming for both those who give and receive.

• Participate in a community holiday parade.
• Spread cheer by singing carols at the VA, nursing home or children’s hospital.
• Offer to babysit for a family.
• Offer to provide a break for someone caring for an elderly parent.
• Offer to serve a meal at your community/soup kitchen.

Take pictures of the donations and of Auxiliary members participating in service-related activities. If you take photos of those on the receiving end, be sure to get permission before doing so. Share the photos with your local newspaper and post them on Facebook. Let your community know how your Auxiliary and its members made a positive impact this holiday season.

Start a scrapbook for your President if you haven’t already. There are still many events that will happen during the second half of their term. You have the chance to put together a beautiful memory book for them. You can put together a digital or traditional scrapbook, photo album or binder. Consider adding enhancements such as:

• Picture of a Flag
• Pressed flowers
• Pamphlets, menus or programs
• Other mementos

Just be sure it can lay flat on a page! This scrapbook will be a beautiful memory for the President.

Happy Holidays and a Great New Year to All as We Serve Our Veterans With Aloha!