Disabled American Veterans

I was reading a post over at The Family CEO where she was talking about where she donates the things she declutters from her house. She mentioned the DAV (Disabled American Veterans) as the easiest option, since they send bags in the mail and you can just leave things on the curb (also, you can usually call them and they will come with a truck and pick things up) but then she says “But I have reservations about this “charity.” I’m not convinced that the money goes to what they want you to think it goes to. I’ve never taken the time to research it so I only use this option when I’m feeling especially lazy and have items that I want out of the house NOW.”

As a veteran myself I was interested to see what the DAV actually does. Once I looked into it I realized if I posted all this in her comments section I would be totally hijacking her blog. So I decided to post about it here and just direct anyone interested over from her comments section. I realize this has nothing to do with Frugality, but hey, I deserve to go off on a tangent occasionally.

Here it goes!

Well, the DAV is listed on the US Department of Veterans Affairs webpage as “An Organization Chartered by Congress and/or Recognized by VA for Claim Representation “

According to the DAV’s own website “With more than 1.2 million members, Disabled American Veterans is an organization of disabled veterans who are focused on building better lives for disabled veterans and their families. The organization accomplishes this goal by providing free assistance to veterans in obtaining benefits and services earned through their military service. It is fully funded through its membership dues and public contributions. It is not a government agency and receives no government funds. DAV is the foremost representative of the interests of disabled veterans and their families, their widowed spouses and their orphans before federal, state, and local governments. Our National Legislative Program ensures disabled veterans are not forgotten by lawmakers.” It goes on to say that they have programs across the country to help transport disabled vets to medical centers and veterans assistance offices.

I’m not a member of the DAV, but I am a member of the VFW and the American Legion. Most of these organizations help veterans file their disability claims for free and provide not only information but also scholarships and various forms of assistance, but what I see as their most important function is to serve as a lobbying organization to ensure that veterans, widows, disabled vets etc are not forgotten in the lawmaking process.

I am always especially concerned about the elderly veterans and widows out their on fixed income. For example, when the Army changed over to the “Tricare” health insurance system 10 years or so ago, the rules changed. Folks who had retired over 30 years before and had been promised free health care for life suddenly had co-pays. When you are in your 70’s and on a fixed income, the sudden addition of copays on all your medical expenses can be devastating. And these are the folks least likely to have a say in the lawmaking process. Veterans service organizations offer important services to these folks.