Disabled American Veterans is asking people to consider serving veterans in their community not only during April, which is National Volunteer Month but all year round.
DAV National Voluntary Services Director and Marine Corps veteran John Kleindienst said volunteers fill critical gaps by helping veterans in their community where other resources cannot. Between the COVID-19 pandemic and volunteers aging out of service, volunteerism has dramatically declined in the last two years, he said.
“We are looking for individuals to volunteer in the community by helping their neighbors who are veterans with lawn care needs, cleaning up flower beds, cleaning up gutters, light household maintenance,” he said.
In his role at DAV, Kleindienst is responsible for a corps of volunteers who, along with DAV Auxiliary volunteers, donate more than 4.7 million hours per year.
He also directs the nationwide DAV Transportation Network, in which DAV hospital service coordinators arrange transportation for veterans who have no way to get to and from VA medical appointments.
“We continue to provide hundreds of thousands of rides for veterans to and from their medical appointments,” he said.
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Before 2020, volunteer drivers spent more than 1 million hours and logged over 20 million miles, providing more than 600,000 rides for veterans.
Kleindienst stressed that you do not have to be a veteran to volunteer to become a DAV volunteer.
“You may establish a lifelong friendship with a veteran just by volunteering,” he said. “Service continues each and every day for all of us.”
Volunteering can also be a family affair. Students can log volunteer hours to potentially earn a DAV scholarship.
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“We do 10 scholarships valued at $110,000 annually to anyone 21 years of age or younger who volunteers in the name of DAV,” said Kleindienst.
The application process is open and young adults who have logged 100 hours of volunteer service in the name of DAV can apply at www.DAVscholarships.org.
“We want to recognize young men and women for their time and talent when they volunteer for veterans,” he stressed.
For more information on volunteer opportunities with DAV, visit www.volunteerforveterans.org.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.