I hope you enjoy our VFW Christmas Card Collection this year. I am especially pleased with this new assortment because we ve worked hard to bring you a range of designs that represent all the joy and beautiful moments this season has to offer. My favorite is Silent Night. This lovely foil-enhanced card depicts a peaceful winter scene, which evokes the spirit of the season and helps us remember the true meaning of Christmas. We are so fortunate to have it as just one of the many wonderful pieces in our collection. Dear Sample, September, 2017 Every year it seems like this busy season arrives a little earlier. There s never enough time to get to everything on my To Do list, which just keeps growing. But today I can check at least one thing off my list sending a gift to you. I hope you like the enclosed set of special edition VFW Christmas Cards, designed exclusively for members of the VFW like you. I ve also enclosed a gift bag, address labels, a pen and more as BONUS GIFTS that I hope you enjoy. These gifts are my way of saying Thank You for your generosity in helping our fellow veterans and brave service members. I hope these tokens of our appreciation inspire you to rush a generous donation to the VFW. Your gift of $10, $15, or even $20 will be put to immediate use providing much-needed services to America s heroes. The holidays are a clear reminder of the gift our veterans and service members have given to us the gift of freedom! Thousands of veterans are now home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many have severe injuries you can plainly see. Others are recovering from invisible wounds like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury that will require a lifetime of intense medical care. Your donation will be put to work immediately. Just look at what a difference your support will make this holiday season: Fighting for Benefits. Your gift makes it possible for VFW Service Officers to help our veterans fight to receive the life-changing VA benefits they were promised. Helping Military Families. Thanks to your support, the VFW is helping struggling military families apply for financial assistance to cover necessities like rent, transportation and food. What a lifesaver during tough times! (over, please) 59558LRC1-A Processing Center P.O. Box 8908 Topeka, KS 66608-9954 1.816.756.3390, x7108 www.vfw.org vfwfundraising@vfw.org YES! I will visit a hospitalized veteran or current service member in my community this holiday season. Enclosed is my gift of: ** ( )$10 ( )$15 ( )$20 ( )Other $ **Send this amount or more by 10/27/2017 and receive your FREE Patriotic Tote Bag! q Enclosed is my check payable to VFW or charge my credit card (for donations of $10 or more only, please). See reverse side for more information. q I would like to join Partners in Patriotism by sending a monthly donation. My monthly gift will be $. See reverse side for more information. Sample Q. Sample Apt. 1-A 1234 Main Street Anytown, USA 12345-6789 q I am unable to participate in your program at this time. Please return this form with your donation in the envelope provided. Donations to the VFW are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law. The VFW is not supported at government or taxpayer expense. Thank You!
Advocating on Capitol Hill. With your support, we re urging our lawmakers to keep their promise to care for our heroes. The VFW has played an instrumental role in every significant piece of veterans legislation passed in the 20th and 21st centuries. With the holidays quickly approaching, your support is urgently needed! I hope you will also take the time to visit a hospitalized veteran or current service member in your community. Sad as it is, many older veterans feel lonely and forgotten. It would mean so much to them to know they have a friend in you! Your ongoing kindness to your fellow veterans truly warms their hearts. You have earned our deepest respect with your generosity, and I can never thank you enough. As I m sure you know, the holidays can be the loneliest time of year for our service members and veterans. They have served and sacrificed so much for our country, the least we can do is remember them during the holidays. So please, take the time to visit a hospitalized veteran or current service member this holiday season. Compared to their sacrifices for our country, a short visit may not seem like a lot, but I promise you, your act of kindness will bring smiles to their faces. They need to know that their sacrifices for America are remembered and appreciated. Visit heroes.vfw.org/volunteer to find out about volunteering at your local VA facility. Also, I hope you ll consider helping struggling veterans and brave service members with a donation to the VFW today. I m sure you reach out and help them when you can. I hope today is one of those times you can find it in your heart to send a generous gift. Because America s veterans especially those who are aging, ailing or unemployed could really use your help. You can take real pride in being part of the VFW. NO ONE DOES MORE FOR VETERANS. And frankly, our resources are stretched to the limit, especially at this time of year. We depend on donations from generous Americans like you to keep serving our veterans. The VFW receives no assistance from the government. So, please send a generous gift today in the spirit of the season. Thank you for doing your part to make sure not one of our military heroes faces despair in the coming weeks and months. May God bless you and yours during this joyous season. Please keep our service members and fellow veterans in your prayers. FOR VETERANS, Brian Duffy Adjutant General P.S. Show your gratitude during the holidays by making a short visit to a hospitalized veteran or current service member in your community. You can really lift a veteran s spirits! And finally, please help our heroes by sending a special donation to the VFW today. 59558LRC1-B
56199BE VFW Helps Blind Marine End VA Waiting Game.
VFW HELPS BLIND MARINE END VA WAITING GAME As a Marine who served for 32 years, Robert Casto* is the toughest of the tough. He fought in Desert Storm, the Gulf War, Iraq and Afghanistan. While on a convoy in Iraq, Casto was hit with shrapnel. In 2003, that injury paired with overexposure to the sun contributed to a diagnosis of Macular Degeneration. This incurable eye disease is the leading cause of blindness for people 55 and older in the U.S. I started having trouble reading right away, said Casto. But I wasn t diagnosed until my retirement physical in 2007. Casto didn t grasp the severity of his condition until three years later... It was a dark night in July. Casto working his safe civilian job was driving down the road on his newspaper route. The moon was slim. The streets were quiet. Unaware, Casto crossed the yellow line and almost hit a police car head-on... He didn t even see him. Shaken by the incident, Casto made an appointment with a vision specialist at the VA in Brecksville, Ohio. There he found his vision had gotten much worse bad enough that he would lose his license... and his job. In September 2010, Casto applied for 100% Unemployability. And the waiting game began... After almost a year, a VA doctor proclaimed Casto legally blind. One week later, Casto received his long awaited VA decision a DENIAL of benefits! Upon filing an appeal, Casto was sent to a specified outside-the-va specialist. The doctor confirmed that Casto was not only legally blind, but four times so. I kept checking the status of my claim, and the answer was always the same, Sir, it is in the review process. It was so frustrating, said Casto. Then came Marine Week in Cleveland, where Casto met VFW State Service Officer David Jenkins. After hearing Casto s story, Jenkins wanted to help. Knowing that an appeal decision can take 1-2 years, Jenkins filed for Reconsideration, stating that new information had surfaced since Casto s original claim was submitted. Two weeks later, Jenkins called Casto and asked if he was sitting down. I was approved, and the approval was backdated! said Casto. I thought I was dreaming. Within two days the backdated earnings were already in my bank account. Casto is grateful to Jenkins for ending his waiting game. I truly understand the frustration of waiting, and I know some have waited much longer than me, said Casto. I will forever be grateful to Mr. Jenkins for truly doing what he said he would do. *Name changed to protect privacy.
59566ARL1-A PEACE ON EARTH Season s Greetings Happy Peace P Holidays & Merry PEACE Joy Christmas Season s Greetings Happy Holidays P ON EARTH Peace & Joy q Enclosed is my check payable to VFW or charge my credit card (for donations of $10 or more only, please). See reverse side for more information. q I would like to join Partners in Patriotism by sending a monthly donation. My monthly gift will be $. See reverse side for more information. q No, I am unable to participate in your program at this time. Processing Processing Center Center P.O. Box P.O. 8958 Box 8908 Topeka, Topeka, KS 66608-8958 KS 66608-9954 1.816.756.3390, x6318 x7108 www.vfw.org vfwfundraising@vfw.org YES! Adjutant General Duffy, I received my VFW Christmas Cards and will visit a hospitalized or homebound veteran. Enclosed is my gift of: ( )$10 ( )$15 ( )$20 ( )Other $ Loyal Member Sample Q. Sample Apt. 1-A 1234 Main Street Anytown, USA 12345-6789 Please return this form with your donation in the envelope provided. Donations to the VFW are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law. The VFW is not supported at government or taxpayer expense. Thank You! DETACH HERE DO NOT PEEL! September, 2017 Dear Sample, Please forgive me if I seem a bit anxious Did you ever receive the beautiful set of VFW Christmas Cards and labels I recently sent to you? I also enclosed a bonus pen and gift bag for your use this upcoming holiday season as a thank you for your past support. I was also hoping these wonderful cards would inspire you to send a gift of $10, $15 or even $20 to support the VFW s many life-changing programs. Because you are among our most loyal members, I have also included these address labels for you today on behalf of the veterans you help. If our letters have crossed in the mail, please accept my deepest thanks. If not, I do hope you ll send a gift today to help your fellow veterans, especially those severely injured in war. Your generosity means so much, especially at this time of year. FOR VETERANS, Brian Duffy Adjutant General P.S. Please remember to visit a hospitalized or homebound veteran in your community over the holidays simply passing along your best wishes and thanks for their service means more than you can imagine!