Today we continue to have young men and woman fighting the War on Terrorism. Some of these veterans will fall in to a life of homelessness. There are still veterans from previous wars that are becoming homeless, while some continue to remain homeless.
Would you like to help a veteran have a second chance on life?
The Pennsylvania American Legion started a non-profit organization to help address the homeless veterans problem through transitional housing, helping to secure a better job and going back to school. Our program is designed to enhance the quality of life for the veteran and their children. It is designed to help them become productive tax paying citizens again by securing a good, decent job. Over the past 21 years, we have had over 655 veterans go through our program with an 85% success rate. Our homes are located in Moon Township, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Ephrata, Pennsylvania. We have a full-time director to help in achieving our vision of giving every homeless veteran a second chance at the American dream.
In order for The American Legion to finance this program, we are asking for your support. We will be sponsoring a dinner on January 15, 2011 at the Holiday Inn Pittsburgh Airport, Moon Township. There will be a cash bar beginning at 5:30 PM with dinner following at 7:00 PM. Dinner tickets are $25.00 per person and include a program book. Ads can be placed in the program book at the following prices:
Full Page $70 (of which $50 can be used for a tax write off)
½ Page $50 (of which $30 can be used for a tax write off)
¼ Page $40 (of which $21 can be used for a tax write off)
Please make checks for dinner tickets and ads payable to: PA American Legion Housing for Homeless. Mail to: Ron Conley, 709 Hope Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15220.
The remodeling and upkeep of these homes is the responsibility of The American Legion Housing for Homeless Veterans, Inc. We need your support!
Thank you in advance for your consideration and support
Click here for the donation letter
Click here for the dinner reservation
“Pride & Performance” is Department Commander Pete Wasco’s motto this membership year. You interest and participation in the Pennsylvania American Legion is welcome and in fact, needed! This great organization has a myriad of exceptional programs all of which set us apart from any of the other veterans’ service organizations. There is literally something of interest for all veterans and their families in The American Legion! Promoting membership to advancing any one of our programs is essential to the success of any or all of our programs. The task is everyone’s responsibility. Together, with your assistance, we can increase our membership and participation in The American Legion programs. You can be an asset to the success of your post, county, district, section or department. We implore you to be an active component in our American Legion. “Pride & Performance” is a fitting slogan, through your participation we will ALL benefit – ALL being The American Legion, our post’s, communities and this great Nation! Our four pillars are still as important today as they were in 1919.
Legion College is here again. All posts are encouraged to send their commanders, adjutants, SAL officers, Auxiliary, Legion Riders officers and all interested members who may benefit from this day-long training/informational session. The dates are October 30 for the east and central section at Cumberland Valley High School in Mechanicsburg and November 6 at Latrobe High School for the western section. The courses this year are: General Course, Adjutant Course, Auxiliary Course, SAL Course, Service Officer Course, Legion Riders Course, Home Association Course and Chaplain Course. The registration is only $15 for any of these eight courses. Of particular interest this year are detailed instructions on the IRS Form 990, small games of chance updates, a new membership tool that will be useful for the entire Legion family, as well as information offered through each of the scheduled classes. We have had a great turnout over the past three years and we hope you will take time to attend the Legion College most convenient for you and your post’s Legion family members.
Our Department Commander Pete Wasco’s project this year is the National Emergency Fund (NEF). We have instituted the placards that have been used in the past and customized them to reflect our commanders NEF project. These placards are in essence exactly the same as the shamrocks for Muscular Dystrophy, the hearts for the American Heart Association, etc. There is one difference and that is they are supported by our members and they benefit our members. In the past ten years Pennsylvania posts and Legionnaires have drawn from this fund. We support this fund and through the sales of these placards this poses no real burden to any of our posts in pushing this worthwhile program. To support this, a post simply needs to get the placards from your district commander and sell them to your customers. Post 145 in Crafton does not have a bar but they easily sell 100 of these NEF placards at their bingo. We ask you to make a concerted effort to make this a successful campaign. In addition to the NEF our Department is supporting other National programs to include the Legacy Fund, Wounded Warrior Project, and the Child Welfare Fund. All these are very worthwhile programs that deserve our support. With the small games of chance being scrutinized more now than ever before these programs are an excellent way for your post to comply with the letter of the law and support a good cause. When your post is making donations to worthy causes please consider these as they are very worthwhile programs deserving of our support!
Congress has made September 16 The American Legion Day! In commemoration of the day The American Legion was chartered by Congress – The American Legion Day marks the beginning of a three-month period to promote the organization and the good work done to aid America’s veterans, their families and the communities in which American Legion posts are located. This is an opportune time to reconnect with your local community and possibly get some free publicity in your local news media. As I have said many times before, “our posts are the window through which our communities view our American Legion.” Posts should make an effort to reestablish programs in the community and the schools in your respective areas and show we are much more than a bar. Make your community a Legiontown! Making your town a Legiontown can begin on American Legion Day with a ceremony involving city leaders and the public with events and activities continuing through November. Every community interaction is an opportunity to educate the public about the Four Pillars of The American Legion and the services provided by your post. Other opportunities might include a Veterans Service Day, disaster preparedness education, Halloween safety, Heroes to Hometowns troop support events, and other opportunities that directly involve members of your community. The better we educate our communities as to what The American Legion is the easier we will garner participation in our programs and entice new members to join our great organization! Let’s all make our community a Legiontown!
The Oratorical Contest is coming quicker than you think! This is the time to get your local students/schools working on this great program. Every school should have a participant and should have an equal opportunity to compete for the more than $16,500 in prize monies given by our Department at the state finals. This is in conjunction with the contest money that can be won at the district, county and section contests. The student who wins our department contest will advance to the National contest for a chance to win an additional $18,000. With the high cost of higher education today I am sure many students in all our posts communities and their parents would participate in this great program.
Remember Veterans Day is November 11th that may be an opportune time to reconnect with your community. An open house may be the ticket. Inviting prospective new members to attend is a great idea!
The Department of Pennsylvania American Legion annual Christmas Tour will be December 3-9. The Department Commander, Adjutant, National Executive Committeeman, Auxiliary President and the Hospital Entertainment chairman will travel across our Commonwealth and visit each state veterans’ home and VA hospital. We encourage all interested members of our American Legion family to join us when we are in your area. The residents and patients truly appreciate it, so come out and help bring some joy to our veterans’ lives.
Our Department Executive Committee meeting is January 14-16, 2011. The annual Housing for Homeless Veterans Corp. dinner will be held Saturday, January 15th. Make plans to support this important program by placing an ad in the program book and attending the dinner. Dinner tickets will be $25, ads will run $70 for a full page, $50 for a half page and $40 for a quarter page. Make sure you get ads approved early so you can send them in and show your support for this great program.
The National Commander’s tour of Pennsylvania will begin in the east on March 7, continue to the central section March 8 and conclude in the western section on March 9th. Make plans to attend the banquet when it is in your area and hear the message from National Commander Foster and show him we are Pennsylvania proud!
Finally, I participated on a 9-11 Memorial Pennsylvania American Legion Riders run. This was well attended, well run, very organized and the camaraderie was second to none. I wish to thank the Pennsylvania American Legion Riders for their support and for the good things they are involved in! Until next time…
I would first like to thank you again for electing me as your Department Commander. When I was elected I spoke about change, and how we need to re-think the way we do certain things.
One of those changes is our American Legion Riders (ALR) program. We did have our first open election for our ALR and they are out there getting old chapters re-chartered and starting up new ones. I want to congratulate Charles Oakley on being elected State President and wish him well this year.
Other areas we need to look at are our programs. We need to get out into our communities and promote all of them: Keystone Boys State, State Police Week, Oratorical and Essay, the list goes on and on but it’s up to each and every one of us to get out and promote them.
My motto for the year is “Pride & Performance”. I have pride in this great organization and perform proudly the duties that I took an oath to uphold. That’s one way we can increase membership and help each of The American Legion programs.
Speaking of membership, we lost 11,000 members last year. I don’t know about you, but I am very proud of the fact that I come from the largest department in the world. If we don’t stop letting older members slip out the back door we will no longer be the largest department. So I urge you to make contact with all your members and ask them to renew, or find out why they are not renewing, it could be a simple fix.
Another thing that needed looking at was our employee retirement plan. I would like to thank all members of the DEC for making necessary changes so that we can not only take care of our employees but stay financially secure in the future.
My project for this year is the National Emergency Fund (NEF). I feel this is a very important program in which members and posts can and have used in the past when there was a natural disaster. All district commanders were given 1000 NEF placards at the September DEC. I hope they are being distributed to all our posts.
I hope to see and meet many of you at one of our Legion Colleges, either Legion College East on October 30th at Cumberland Valley High School or Legion College West on November 6th at Latrobe High School.
Please keep up the good work. Keep in mind Veterans Day is November 11.
God bless
Our Department Commander Pete Wasco is continuing his stand to protect the battlegrounds of the Civil War’s most crucial battle of Gettysburg. Two months ago, Pennsylvania American Legion Department Commander Pete Wasco toured through Gettysburg and he continues to stand alongside our national organization. Wasco said, “Gettysburg is to honor those soldiers who fought for this nation. It is our duty to protect the history of our nation and the unmarked graves of those who gave all.”
The American Legion’s national headquarters expressed strong opposition to a proposed gambling casino that would be located next to the battlegrounds of the Civil War’s most crucial battle.
Speaking at a Sept. 21 press conference at the State Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa., American Legion Executive Director Peter Gaytan told the audience, “Many say the issue of Gettysburg and this casino is a local issue - I say they are wrong. The history of the country is a national issue and The American Legion believes in protecting Gettysburg - protecting the honor and sanctity of the grounds that those men died and fought for.”
Gaytan’s remarks reinforced an American Legion press release issued Aug. 12, calling a plan to build a casino near the Civil War landmark a “national disgrace.” The proposed casino site is right next to land where Union and Confederate cavalry fought a bloody engagement.
The formation of a new anti-casino group, Veterans for Gettysburg, was announced at the press conference, where a group of Gettysburg citizens, some sporting “No Casino” T-shirts, stood on the Capitol’s main staircase behind the featured speakers: Gaytan, Jan Scruggs of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, and historian Edwin Bearrs, who is also a decorated World War II veteran.
Veterans for Gettysburg also sent a letter to Gregory Fajt, chairman of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, asking the board to reject a developer’s application to open a gaming facility a half-mile from Gettysburg National Military Park.
“We are not against a casino; rather, we are for Gettysburg,” the letter said. “We concur with the judgment of over 275 American historians who also voiced their concern for this project’s unavoidable conflict with Gettysburg’s place in American history.
“We stand on behalf of the millions of Civil War veterans who endured four harrowing years of combat, but are no longer with us to speak for themselves. As you would honor (veterans’) service, we ask you to remember theirs.”
Representatives of the Civil War Preservation Trust also attended the press conference. The organization’s president, James Lighthizer, applauded the formation of Veterans for Gettysburg.
In a statement, Lighthizer said that Gettysburg “holds a special place in the hearts of all Americans, but it is particularly dear to those who have felt the heat of battle. The call to military service is a tie that stretches across the generations and makes all of our nation’s veterans truly one ‘band of brothers.’”
Thanks all who Supported the USS Wasco On Oct 2 2010 for NEF Fund to raise over $2500
The National Emergency Fund has provided over $6,000,000 in direct financial assistance to Legion family members and posts. The National Emergency Fund has kept posts from closing and enabled Legion family members to begin to rebuild their homes and their lives.
The Pennsylvania American Legion Riders got behind our Department Commander Wasco and supported his project the NEF Fund.
There was a Benefit Run for the NEF will on October 2nd that started at 8:00 am. The cost was only $10 per person. We will visited many Posts including 910, 386, 998, 420, 26, 143, 730, and 733. We returned to Department Headquarters around 1:00 pm. We had an all American cookout including hamburgers, hot dogs and refreshments.
We support our Department Commander Pete Wasco’s project for the NEF and now show us what you can do to support the NEF fund.
Click Here to visit the Pennsylvania American Legion Riders website
Washington (Sept. 29, 2010) – Dan Dellinger, former chairman of The American Legion’s Economic Commission, has been appointed to the Obama administration’s Interagency Task Force on Federal Contracting Opportunities for Small Businesses.According to an April 26 White House press release, the task force was established in order to “coordinate executive departments’ and agencies’ efforts towards ensuring that all small businesses have a fair chance to participate in federal contracting opportunities.”
Dellinger, who owned a construction management and general contracting company for more than 20 years, currently serves as chairman of the Legion’s national security commission. His military background and extensive experience with small businesses make him a perfect addition to the task force, according to a colleague.
“He’s a veteran and business owner, so he understands the challenges that both groups go through,” said Joe Sharpe, director of The American Legion’s economic division. “He is in a unique position to speak for the veterans community, he understands the issues, and it is great for him to be on this task force and ensure that veterans receive a fair amount of government contracts.”
Sharpe says that Dellinger will focus on getting federal contractors to work more effectively with service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs), awarding them the amount of contracting dollars they are supposed to be receiving.
“Right now, there’s a law that says that three percent of federal dollars will go to service-disabled veteran small business owners, and that mandate has never been reached,” said Mark Walker, deputy director of the Legion’s economic division. “Having Dellinger on the agency task force will help the White House understand these issues and ensure that these agencies will uphold their mandates to fulfill these promises to veteran servicemen and women.”
Dellinger was raised in Vienna, Va., and is a graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War as a company commander, and was promoted to captain while serving in the Army Reserve. A member of The American Legion for 29 years, Dellinger is a former Vienna town councilman and currently serves as judge advocate for American Legion Post 180. He lives in Vienna with his wife, Margaret. They have two children, Scott and Anne.
By Lauren Maffeo
The American Legion is sponsoring a College Fair to help shrink the costs of college for students and their families. This college fair is unique because it’s hosted by veterans. The men and women who have served our country by protecting our freedoms is now working to help the young men and women of our state attend college.
Click Here for the informative flyer
The American Legion presented over $5 Million in awards in 2009 around the country.
The American Legion invites you and your family to Soldiers and Sailors Hall in Oakland, Allegheny County on November 15, 2010 for scholarship opportunities.
These scholarship opportunities include:
- Regional and local presented by veterans organizations
- Government programs like ROTC (Army, Navy and Air Force), the 5 Military Academies, the GI Bill, USAR and the National Guard
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Contests including written, spoken and participated in (including Legion Baseball, Scouting, Boys and Girls State, Essay and Speech Contests)
There is money out there, let us help you find it.
We are leaders!
More information coming soon - check back!!
Survival in an emergency
To prevent acts of terrorism on American soil, we must enlist all of our intelligence, law enforcement, and homeland security capabilities. These threats and hazards include terrorism, natural disasters, large-scale cyber attacks, and pandemics. To protect our homeland we should continue to integrate and leverage state and major urban area fusion centers that have the capability to share classified information; establish a nationwide framework for reporting suspicious activity, and implement and integrated approach to our counter terrorism information systems to ensure that the analyst, agents, and officers who protect us have access to all relevant intelligence throughout the government. As we do everything within our power to prevent these dangers, we also recognize that we will not be able to deter or prevent every threat.
That is why we must also enhance our resilience-the ability to adapt to changing conditions and prepare for, withstand, and rapidly recover from disruption. To keep Americans safe at home, we are also integrating our homeland security efforts seamlessly with other aspects of our national security approach, by strengthening our preparedness and resilience.
By effectively managing emergencies, we are building our capability to prepare for disasters to reduce or eliminate long term effects to people and their property from hazards and to respond to and recover from major incidents. You may need to survive on your own after an emergency. This means having your own food, water, and other supplies in sufficient quantity to last for at least three days. Local officials and relief workers will be on the scene after a disaster, but they cannot reach everyone immediately. You could get help in hours, or it might take days.
In addition, basic services such as electricity, gas, water, sewage treatment, and telephones may be cut off for days or weeks. Some of the things you can do to prepare for the unexpected, such as making an emergency supply kid and developing a family communications plan.
There are important differences among potential emergencies that will impact the decisions you make and the actions you take. You should learn more about the potential emergencies that could occur where you live and the appropriate way to respond to them. In addition, learn about the emergency plan that have been established in your area by your state and local government. Emergency preparedness is no longer the sole concern of earthquake prone Californians and those who live in the part of the country known as “Tornado Alley.” For Americans, preparedness must now account for man-made disasters as well as natural ones. Knowing what to do during an emergency is an important part of being prepared and may make all the difference when seconds count.
In closing, a reminder that September is National Preparedness Month and is designed to encourage Americans to take simple steps to prepare for emergencies in their homes, businesses, and communities. There are three simple steps in accomplishing this: Get Prepared, Get Trained and Get Involved!
Written by Eugene R. Paul National Security Chairman Department of Pennsylvania
Do you know someone whose enlistment was involuntarily extended by stop/loss?
Do you know someone whose enlistment was involuntarily extended between September 11, 2001 - September 30, 2009?
If so, do them a favor and tell them that they have until October 21, 2010 to file a claim for Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay (RSLSP). The $500 a month payment for each month they were involuntarily extended was part of the 2009 War Supplemental Appropriations Act.
Over $127 million has already been paid to approximately 30,000 Air Force, Army, Marine Corps and Navy members, veterans or beneficiaries but there are thousands of others who have not filed claims.
It is estimated that there are approximately 80,000 eligible Soldiers, 12,000 eligible Airmen, and 5,000 eligible Marines who have not filed. While approximately 250 Sailors are eligible only 18 have filed so far.
To file a claim tell your friends (or children) to go to http://www.defense.gov/stoploss. There you can find links to get the claims forms and service links to get instructions on how to file. The average payment has been $3700. This should not be ignored.