Building Strong Bridges for Veteran Support – Wickenburg’s 2nd Annual Veteran Stand Down
American Legion Kellis Draper Post 12 in Wickenburg, Ariz. (the Team Roping Capital of the World), has increased its new members by over 130 people in the last two years. We hosted our 2nd Annual Veterans' Stand Down in January. A stand down brings all available veteran service organizations to one location and leverages extensive advertising to reach veterans with the goal of providing veterans and their family members with knowledge about the support they have earned through their service to our nation.
This year’s Wickenburg Stand Down hosted more than 400 veterans and their family members. The VA provided more than 14 different services to the attendees including filing for disability, inoculations, information regarding the changes in the PACT Act and toxic exposure, just to name a few. Steve and Qasim from the VA Enrollment Center spent hours diligently enrolling veterans and family members in the VA system, ensuring each would be able to receive the benefits they earned.
Joining them from the VA, Ebony Thomas and Dan Smith from VA Claims refused to stop what they were doing until every veteran who came to the stand down received answers on their filed claims or completed the paperwork to start their claims. Minerva and Tamara from VA toxic exposures went so far as to go outside to meet with a veteran who was uncomfortable coming inside to update him on his benefits from the PACT Act and ensure he was placed on the exposure registry. These VA employees showcased a dedication to our veterans that is second to none.
Non-profits, volunteers and other government agencies showed up in a big way to support our veterans. For the second year in a row, Melissa, a local Wickenburg hair stylist provided free haircuts to vets. Rachel, from Catholic Charities, also attended for the second year in a row. Her organization proved that they are here to help veterans by once again setting up our homeless vets with a place to live and services to get them back on their feet. Rachel shared a story about the vet they helped from our first stand down, sharing that he is now back on his feet, reunited with his family and friends and volunteering to support other vets who are where he was a year ago.
David, from Packages from Home, shared his desire to make sure all our troops know that there are people in our country who are thinking about them. The justices from Veteran’s Court came on-site for the day, servicing our veterans. John and Todd from Midwestern University Dental School attended and provided dental hygiene checks and oral cancer screenings. John said, “This is a small thing we can give to help people who have given a lot.” These are just a few examples of the non-profits, volunteers and other government organizations who made our second stand down great.
We could not have accomplished the stand down without national and state level sponsors. They provided significant support to the execution of the stand down through financial assistance, but also their volunteer efforts. Through our sponsors, Post 12 hosted a luncheon free to all veterans and their families. The vice president of New Day USA was flipping hamburgers to serve hungry veterans. We can’t thank New Day USA and Arizona Public Services (APS) enough for their support.
We also welcomed U.S. Congressman Paul Gosar and numerous Arizona state level Legion dignitaries. These VIPs spent hours in Wickenburg observing the accomplishments of Post 12 and meeting and greeting numerous veterans who attended the stand down.
Post 12 continues to build our reputation as a post who helps our veterans and family members resulting in a major increase in membership across our Legion family. As with any successful operation, new challenges arise. Our new members require assistance. Those veterans that we helped last year now volunteer to assist others in need of help, but training and certification for service officers remains challenging. Post 12 will work with the District and the Department on obtaining realistic professional training for service officers so we can continue to meet the needs of Post 12 veterans and families.
