Brothers and Sisters,
It was wonderful seeing you at the Mid-Winter
Conference in Portland. Has your
auxiliary sent money to the VFWA Oregon Department for Veterans and Family
Support? Donate today and assist in the efforts of Unmet Needs, SportsClips "Help
A Hero” Scholarship, and Map grants. These programs are vital to helping our
veterans and soldiers.
Did you know that the Department of
Oregon VFW has a Service Office is staffed with 4 employees?
2 Veteran Service Officers, 1 Claims
Consultant, and 1 Administrative Assistant at the Downtown Portland VA Service
office? (For those who don’t know, a Service Officer is a Veteran, and a claims
consultant is not a veteran.) These employees help thousands of veterans and
spouses access their veteran’s benefits. Due to many factors, there is a current $58,000.00 deficit to pay for
these positions. If your auxiliary can donate to the service office, please
send a check to Sonya earmarked for the Oregon Veterans Service Office. That
would help them to continue to offer current positions. (If you have more
questions about this, please feel free to contact me)
At our Council of Administration at the
Mid-Winter Conference, we passed a motion to assist with the yearly Oregon
National Guard "Run 2 Remember” and "Military Youth Ball.”
The Run 2 Remember is an open and free event honoring
the men and women who have died in service to our country. By reaching out to
the survivors and family members, we hope to promote a community of support on
behalf of those "Never Forgotten.” The event takes place every year on the 3rdSaturday in May.
Place
Salem
Riverfront Park
200 Water Street NE
Salem, OR US 97301
Description
5K
RUN/WALK (ALL AGES) and 1/2 MILE KIDS RUN (AGES 6-12)
9:00
AM MAY 17, 2025
Salem
Riverfront Park
200
Water Street NE, Salem, OR 97301
This
event is free to the participants and open to the community.
The
race is funded through donations and
sponsorship from
local businesses and the community. All contributions can be made on the website below
or by Check to Sonya earmarked Run2Remember. The Veteran of Foreign Wars Department
of Oregon enables all donations to be tax deductible. Your donations make
honoring that commitment possible. The average amount needed to raise is
between $10.000.00 - $13000.00, Any amounts left over after paying for the run
are divided 3 ways. 1/3 to the VFW Department of Oregon, 1/3 to the VFWA
Department of Oregon, and 1/3 to the Oregon National Guard Fund held at the VFW
Department of Oregon for Oregon National Guard UNMET Needs. If you would like
additional information, please contact me.
9th Annual Run 2 Remember: Veterans of
Foreign Wars, Department of Oregon
Oregon National Guard Military Youth
Ball –
Every year in January, the Oregon National Guard Youth have
a youth ball. Since the National Guard is not allowed to raise and hold on to
monies, ONGFS reached out to VFWA Auxiliaries for the past 7 years at the local
level to help cover dinner costs. In 2024, the VFWA Department of Oregon
President had this event as one of her special projects and this year the
Department of Oregon asked for help to cover the dinner. At our Council of
Administration at the Mid-Winter Conference, we passed a motion to assist with
this project for years to come. The call for funds will go out in early Aug to
give auxiliaries time to vote and send money to the Department of Oregon
Treasury.
Thank you to all the Oregon VFW Auxiliaries who donated
$4300.00 needed this year to cover the food for the event. The event was an
enormous success, and the youth loved the food. Certificates from the National
Guard for all who donated will be passed out at the Convention in June 2025.
