Good afternoon Auxiliary Brothers and Sisters!
Even though the Auxiliary Outreach Program has been in effect for the past five (5) years, there still seems to be a lot of confusion on what is considered Auxiliary Outreach and what is NOT considered Auxiliary Outreach.
I know that our Auxiliaries are very busy in our communities, helping others. I also know that they do a lot for our Veterans. The main differences are –
When you help the Veterans, it is NOT considered Auxiliary Outreach! That falls under Veterans and Family Support.
When the Auxiliary has a booth at an event and the Auxiliary gets credit for the booth – that is NOT Auxiliary Outreach! That falls under Community Service.
But when the Auxiliary helps another organization in the community by working one of their booths, handing out water, manning the fishing pond, registering entries, etc.
Auxiliary Outreach is for project NOT AFFILIATED with the VFW or VFW Auxiliary programs. Again, there are a few rules: The event must be voted on by the Auxiliary membership AND the Auxiliary members must wear their Auxiliary name tag, shirt, hat, etc. that identifies them as Auxiliary members.
So we are going to play a game – and I have a few prizes for those who get the answers correct!!
I’ll give a few examples and you will tell me if it is or is not Auxiliary Outreach.
- John, who is an Auxiliary member, mowed his neighbor’s lawn (the neighbor was a Veteran) out of the goodness of his heart. Is this Auxiliary Outreach? No this is NOT Auxiliary Outreach. It would fall under Veterans and Family Support.
- Susan, an Auxiliary member, went to donate blood. She noticed how busy the Red Cross volunteers were. She offered to stay and help, and they accepted. Is this Auxiliary Outreach? This is NOT Auxiliary Outreach. However, while she was there, she asked if they could use help in the future. They said yes. She brought it up at the next Auxiliary meeting, the Auxiliary voted yes to help with future Blood Drives. Now when there are blood drives, Sue and other members of the Auxiliary are there, wearing their Auxiliary attire and helping. This IS Auxiliary Outreach.
- Paul, an Auxiliary member, visited the local Senior Center and found out that the center helps mow lawns and gather wood for other community members. He brought this up at his local meeting. The Auxiliary voted to partner with the Senior Center. Is this Auxiliary Outreach? Yes! It is helping another organization not affiliated with the VFW or Auxiliary.
- Linda, an Auxiliary member, took her cat to the local spay and neuter animal clinic. They were overrun and needed help. At the next meeting, she brought this up at the local meeting. The Auxiliary voted to partner with the animal clinic. Is this Auxiliary Outreach? Yes!
Hopefully, these examples will answer some of our questions. Continue to send me the reports and IF they are not Auxiliary Outreach, I will send them on to the appropriate chairman. Also, please give more information in the notes. Tell us WHAT you are doing; not just working a Fun Run – tell us that you handed out water, registered entries, flagged traffic, etc.
Thank you all for participating and continue to report, report, report.
Queenie Barz
Auxiliary Outreach Chairman