46 THE QUEENS COURIER • SALUTE TO VETERANS • NOVEMBER 9, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
salute to veterans
American Legion Auxiliary (ALA) Foundation celebrates
10 years with renewed commitment to veterans
For many U.S. veterans, the drumbeat
of daily life is hard to overcome.
Aft er tours in combat-heavy environments,
some veterans struggle to fi nd
their way aft er they return home. Many
do not know where to turn to or who will
be a true advocate for care. Deb Becker is
making sure that veterans under her care
are being heard loud and clear.
Becker is an activity supervisor at the
Norfolk Veterans Home in Norfolk, Neb.,
and her fi ght for veterans’ rights is a passion
and full-time job. When members
of the facility where she works needed
extra support, she turned to the American
Legion Auxiliary (ALA) for help.
“Our facility needed new equipment
for physical therapy for members who
served in wars from World War II to
Vietnam, and we were unsure where to
start,” said Becker, who helps nearly 140
veteran members in the Nebraska facility.
“It wasn’t until I met the Auxiliary president
of Nebraska and heard about the
ALA Foundation that I knew they could
help us achieve our goals. Th rough their
donation, our veterans were able to get
the additional equipment we needed to
support their therapy.”
Th e ALA Foundation is a 501(c)(3)
nonprofi t organization that acts as a lifeline
for many facilities and individuals
across the U.S., providing services, equipment
and support to veterans. Th e organization
was created to support the ALA,
a 501(c)(19) veterans service organization,
in order to secure external funding
to ensure the Auxiliary’s mission of service
endures. Th e ALA Foundation’s purpose
is to enhance charitable and educational
programs for the military community
through endowed gift s, grants and
sponsorships. Since its founding in 2007,
the ALA Foundation has supported many
local organizations and activities nationwide
that directly improve veterans’ lives.
ALA units and departments have secured
grants through the ALA Foundation that
have funded everything from mental and
physical therapy equipment for facilities
to computers and educational materials
for veterans who are returning to school
or are job searching.
As the ALA Foundation celebrates its
10th anniversary, the focus, now more
than ever, is on working with local ALA
units to identify the right projects for the
ALA Foundation to support. “In the fi rst
few years aft er we established the ALA
Foundation to support the ALA’s mission
outreach, we really worked hard to demonstrate
how it could extend and expand the
positive impact the ALA has on the lives of
U.S. veterans and their family members,”
said Linda Boone, president of the ALA
Foundation Board of Directors. “Now we
have the opportunity to look back at even
the smallest grants we have been able to
provide to ALA programs and show people
how the ALA Foundation can make
a diff erence. Th is is why we continue to
work so hard to fi nd new opportunities to
make our ALA community and veterans
aware of our mission.”
For the next decade, the ALA
Foundation’s focus will be on raising
a million dollars to fund the American
Legion Auxiliary’s continued support
of future generations of veterans. Th e
work has just begun, and you, too, can
support the ALA Foundation by donating
to help veterans, military and their
families. To learn more about how to
get involved or give back, visit www.
ALAFoundation.org.
Courtesy BPT
I want to thank all of our Veterans
and specifically each of the 900,000 +
Veterans who call New York home.
You Veterans are Truly America’s heroes and
I wish you nothing but the best
this Veterans Day. God Bless You All.
Assemblyman Mike Miller, District 38
83-91 Woodhaven Blvd. Woodhaven, NY 11421
718-805-0950
“Paying tribute to our nation’s
veterans for their service
to our country.”
Congressman Joseph Crowley
14th Congressional District
PAID FOR BY CROWLEY FOR CONGRESS