During National Volunteer Week (April 18 - 24th), Port City Java will be inviting local non-profits to send representatives to “set up” in their cafes and hand out information about their organization, try to recruit new volunteers, discuss upcoming events, etc.
This is the first year they are doing this so…they kind of don’t know what to expect but thought you or one of your volunteers may want to come out and meet some folks.
Port City Java is headquarter in Wilmington, North Carolina, however they have many locations outside of Wilmington and North Carolina.
For more information, please contact:
Megan Winters Marketing Manager
Port City Java® Corporate Hdqtrs.
2101 Market Street
Wilmington, NC 28403
ph: 910.796.6646 x323
A few weeks ago, I sent out an email about the Honor Flight of Southeastern North Carolina. The non-profit program is operated entirely by volunteers, the Wilmington, NC headquarters is affiliated with the national Honor Flight Network and serves veterans of southeastern North Carolina and surrounding areas.
On April 13th North Carolina’s Inaugural flight will leave Wilmington (ILM) with a group of World War II veterans who will make their way to Washington, DC to visit the World War II Memorial.
Last week, I learned that my application to be a Guardian (volunteer) was accepted. Guardians play a significant role on every trip, ensuring that every veteran has a safe and memorable experience. My duties will include assisting veterans at the airport, onto and off of the plane, navigating steps at the memorials, making sure they stay safe and have everything they need in order to enjoy their trip.
Guardians are responsible for paying their own way for the trip, which at this time is $250 per guardian - a small price to pay to spend an unforgettable day with members of our Greatest Generation!
Yesterday I learned that I am a member of the White Team and I have been assigned three veterans. I’ll make calls to these three men before the week is out, so that I can introduce myself to them before our adventure.
If you are interested in participating, check out Honor Flight.
While preparing for the recent National 9th District meeting in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, I ran across the document below and thought that perhaps it would be useful to someone.
Code of Ethics
Because I am fortunate in being able to qualify for membership in the Disabled American Veterans Auxiliary, and because I am proud of our affiliation with the parent organization, Disabled American Veterans (DAV), I must always remember that it is my duty as a member:
To live up to the meaning of “Auxiliary” which is “A Helper.”
To realize that our organization is a subsidiary of DAV and for that reason I must be most careful not to interfere with DAV’s internal organization and politics; and I must never attempt to dominate that organization.
To conduct myself in a manner that shall never cast any unfavorable reflection on the DAV or the DAV Auxiliary.
To think and act constructively.
To accept my duties as a member, a committee member or chairperson, or an officer willingly; and to the best of my ability do all in my power to promote the aims and purposes of our organization.
To be courteous at all times; to be considerate of others.
To show my interest in our organization by attending all meetings and be on time.
To accept the rule of the majority gracefully
To assume leadership in right thinking and action,
To be temperate in my speech, habits and opinions.
To be extremely careful if I am honored by being elected to any office on my level, that the weight of the office is never used to unduly influence the affairs of our organization or of our parent organization
To endeavor to follow all the purposes of our auxiliary as set forth in our Constitution, because by doing so, I am serving all mankind, regardless of race, color, or creed.
Finally, believing that the golden rule “All things whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so unto them.” applies to us all, do my part to see that equal opportunity is given to each member to contribute to the good of our auxiliary.
Please become a fan of the Disabled American Veterans Auxiliary on Facebook.
In this season of hope and giving the American Red Cross and Pitney Bowes, Inc. have joined forces to invite Americans to “send a touch of home” to United States service members and veterans across the country and abroad. In its third year, the Holiday Mail for Heroes program is an opportunity to share joy and thanks with our service members throughout the holiday season by way of a greeting card. Today over 1.4 million men and women serve in the U.S. armed forces and over 24 million veterans have served in the past. The holiday season is the perfect time to honor and extend a warm holiday greeting to those who’ve served and continue to do so.
How Holiday Mail works - We have established an extensive process to ensure all cards sent to our service members are safe and arrive in time for the holidays. Holiday cards will be collected through a unique P.O. Box address from Monday, November 2 through Monday, December 7*. First, cards from across the nation must be sent to this address:
Holiday Mail for Heroes
Post Office Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456
Every card received will be screened for hazardous materials by Pitney Bowes and distributed to participating Red Cross chapters nationwide. Once the cards arrive at the Red Cross chapters, they are sorted and reviewed by volunteers who then distribute them to service members, their families and veterans in communities across the country. Please don’t forget to follow these guidelines while preparing your holiday greetings!
Do…
* Sign all cards
* Entitle cards “Dear Service Member, Family or Veteran”
* Limit cards to 15 per person or 50 for school class or business group
* Bundle groups of cards in single, large envelopes (there is no need to include individual envelopes and postage for cards)
Don’t…
*Send letters
* Include personal information such as home or email addresses
* Use glitter - excessive amounts can aggravate health issues of wounded recipients
* Include inserts of any kind as they must be removed in the screening process
I’ve had a very busy and stressful couple of weeks in the office. Not the Auxiliary office, but the money making office that allows me to do all the volunteer work. So today, I received a nice little chuckle from a piece of snail mail that I wanted to share with anyone who would read…..
In the last few weeks the DAV Auxiliary State Department of North Carolina mailed to all our members a fund-raising letter titled “Count Your Blessings (CYB) Tax”. The CYB Tax Form allows the recipient to take time out of their busy day to think about all the things they have in their lives that are considered blessings. A couple of examples: for every TV set you own, you pay $0.25 tax per TV; for every cup of coffee you drink per day you pay $0.25 per cup; if you had ever been to Disney Land or Disney World you pay $5.00.
On Saturday, I received my personal copy of the CYB Tax Form and immediately completed my form. When I reached the Disney Land Tax Line, I personally thought that was a little steep. Some of the lines were $0.20 each which I thought was too cheap. However, when I completed my form, my tax totaled around $15 - which wasn’t that bad since $5.00 was for my trip to see Mickey. I thought the $15 that I owed was just right.
As State Assistant Adjutant, I am the person responsible for receiving everyone’s Count Your Blessings Tax Form and their payment. In today’s mail I found the first 12 returns in the box. I looked at each form wondering if someone would include a cute little note with their donation…after all this was the first time we have used this project and I felt sure someone would make a comment.
Then, in the final envelope, there it was…..the envelope without a donation included. There was no return address on the envelope and no name on the CYB Tax Return…. The individual completed each line as they counted their blessings. On the line “I have a lovely Spouse pay $1.00″, the filer put -$50.00 (that’s right a negative $50). At the bottom of the return, there it was…. on the Total Due or Donation Line, the note I was yearning for….You Owe Me $44.80.
All I can say is…..to the anonymous filer….thanks so much for the chuckles as every time I think of your note, it cracks me up.
Welcome to the Disabled American Veterans Auxiliary, State Department of North Carolina Blog. We’ve been talking about it for months and months, and now the day is finally upon us…our first blog posting.
We hope to use our blog as a way to educate our members and share ideas with one another. Our goal is that our readers will learn more about the organization and find suggestions on activities they can do in the community to make a difference in the lives of disabled veterans and their families.
We encourage you to subscribeto our posts - that way every time we update, you’ll receive an email announcing our latest post. We hope that you will enjoy our blog and ask that you provide feedback and suggestions as often as possible.
