Tag Archive: Relief Fund

Speaking of the Relief Fund: 

VFW/Legion Fund Raising Raffles

We have done very well in the past couple of years in keeping our Buddy Poppy receipts up, particularly given the impacts of the pandemic on our activities. We even have some room to expand what we give to some of our Relief Fund recipients, or add some additional smaller beneficiaries. 

If you are aware of any Veterans programs, or other, particularly local, organizations worthy of our support, please let our Chaplain, Dan Doyle know who they are and how we can contact them. The Relief Committee (chaired by our Chaplain) will consider all candidates and add them to our list as appropriate. Here are some of the programs/organizations we have supported, to give you an idea: 

Freedom Scholarship 
Youth Programs 
Teacher of the Year 
Student Essays 
Orting Veterans Home 
Retsil Veterans Home 
National Home

National Military Services 
USO 
Special Olympics 
Fallen Heroes+ Speakers 
Fisher House – JBLM 
Fisher House – Seattle 
Santa’s Castle – JBLM 

Relief Fund

The Commander’s Corner

Buddy Poppies 

Post 8870 members have good reason to be proud of their efforts distributing “Buddy Poppies” over the Veterans Day weekend. Pretty much all of our active members who are physically able to participate did so. The result is a healthy boost to our Relief Fund and a great deal of community exposure for the post. I can’t speak for everyone, but I really enjoy meeting people and hearing their stories of their own or their families’ service. It wasn’t always comfortable weather wise, but we hung in there and got the job done.

Our thanks to Past Commander Jim Traner for reaching out to the DAV leadership and making arrangements to avoid conflicts next year. And thank you all for your hard work.

 

More Poppy Kudos 

On Monday, the Veterans Day observed holiday, I received a call from a teacher at Cedarcrest Elementary School in Marysville who was looking for some poppies for their student assembly to be held on Tuesday Nov 13. It seems that several years ago, Past Commander Fred Apgar had made some poppies available to them and they were out of stock.

The teacher had approached two other VFW Posts (who shall remain nameless) who she said were unable to help her and she found her way to me through Fred. It was already late in the day and my wife had the car, but I told her I had a bag of around 100 poppies in the car if we could find a way to get them to her. This teacher drove all the way down from Marysville to my home in north Lynnwood to pick the poppies up for her school’s event the following day. She also brought a check for the Relief Fund in the amount of $ 50.00 and invited us to speak at her school next year. Thank you, Fred, for helping to make the Post what it is today.

District 1 Awards for 8870

District 1 Awards for 8870District 1 Commander Don Wischman was in attendance at the July Post meeting to present Post 8870 with a number of awards recognizing our accomplishments during the 2015-16 VFW year. In these photos, Immediate Past Commander Jim Blossey is shown at top left, accepting awards from Wischman for, among other things, meeting membership goals.

District 1 Awards for 8870Also shown is (right bottom) is Chaplain and Past Commander Fred Apgar, accepting certificates of recognition of his tireless efforts in coordinating so many of our Post projects, including our Relief Fund, Teacher of the Year, Freedom Scholarship and Youth Essay. In addition to his leadership of our Post, Fred performs many of those same functions at the district level.

Commanders Column By Jim Blossey

It is a genuine privilege to have been chosen to be your Commander. I thank you all for your support and ask for your continued efforts as we move forward.

I am more fortunate than most incoming Commanders in that I have two exceptional predecessors to guide me and—where need be—correct me: Fred Apgar and Jim Traner. What a comfort it is to know that I can fall back on the knowledge and wisdom of these two models of effective leadership. Comrade Commanders, your example has been extraordinary and has definitely set a high standard for the future.

I am also greatly encouraged to see the dedication and experience of the active membership of VFW Post 8870. You members are the ones that have made this post one of the best in the district, if not the state. No other post even comes close to generating the amount of revenue that we do from the distribution of Buddy Poppies.

More revenue means that we can do much more through our Relief Fund. As one of four members of your relief committee, I have been perhaps more closely informed about the various causes that we support. We have taken the job seriously, researching each organization in depth and not committing even one cent until we are fully convinced that doing so is the best use of our funds. I plan to stay on with the Relief Committee and will continue to exercise close fiduciary responsibility.

The motto of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States is “No One Does More for Veterans.” At Post 8870 our relief efforts reflect that, either in direct veteran support, or in support of current active duty military or of local youth.Besides financial support, each year the VFW as a whole donates more than 13 million volunteer hours of community service. Post 8870 continues to carry more than our share of those hours. From a personal point of view I am proud and honored to be a part of such an organization. So as your new Commander, what could possibly improve on such a record? Actually, I have two items on my agenda; they will be the topic of my column next month. Stay tuned.