Diane Small
2017-2018 National Youth Activities Ambassador
New (School) Year, New Resources
The new school year is underway and now is the time to contact and partner with your local libraries, homeschool associations, parent/teacher committees, Scout troops, etc. Consider hosting a meet and greet for your local school district superintendent, principals, teachers and youth leaders in your community. This will give you an opportunity to share information about our Youth Activities Program and excite your community’s leaders about the amazing opportunities we offer our youth.
As we begin the new program year, we want to make sure everyone knows about the exciting NEW enhancements and resources we have made available to the Youth Activities Program.
- Random Acts of Patriotism (R.A.P.)
- NEW card design! The design has been updated to show gender and racial diversity. You can download and print the cards here.
- We’ve asked Departments to purchase at least 100 R.A.P. coins and distribute to their Auxiliaries. Check with your Department Youth Activities Chairman to see if they have coins available.
- Patriotic Youth Award – *NEW*
- This award is a wonderful way to recognize individual youth for their efforts and service projects honoring veterans and assisting active-duty military and their families.
- There are three designs to choose from. They are all fillable or you can print them and write the information in.
- Library of Congress – Veterans History Project (VHP) – *NEW* Auxiliary initiative
- High school youth are welcome to participate our focal point will be on middle and junior high school youth (grades 6, 7 and 8).
- This is a great age for youth to meet veterans and begin or advance the understanding of their freedom and patriotism.
- This age group is well-equipped to handle this project. Middle/junior high school students are tech-savvy and comfortable using A/V (audio/visual) equipment and computers. What we need to provide them is guidance and support.
You can access the above resources and more on the Programs & Publicity page of the National Organization’s website here: https://vfwauxiliary.org/resources/
As “We Catch the Dream for Our Veterans,” we must remember the youth of today will be the leaders of tomorrow; the leaders of our country, our communities and our own organization. By engaging them in our Youth Activities Program, we can enrich their lives and they can learn about our veterans and the sacrifices they made to maintain the freedoms we enjoy daily.
