Online Community Service Reporting:

**COMMUNITY SERVICE REPORTING IS NOW DONE ONLINE BY LOGGING INTO THE MEMBERS ONLY SECTION OF THE WEBSITE. ONCE LOGGED IN YOU WILL SEE A LINK FOR PROGRAM REPORTING! 

Click here to view the Community Service Best Practices.pdf

Reporting Your Activities

You may have heard the saying that "the job’s not over until the paperwork is done!” That is especially true of VFW Programs. Chairman must report their Post activities in their respective areas monthly or at least four times each year. Check with your respective Department chairman to learn what should be reported and in what form. Documentation of your programmatic efforts is the thing that ensures the VFW’s reputation and the Post not-for-profit status.

Master Organizational Skills 

As chairman, your talents must be varied. Consequently, your organizational skills should be fully developed. Some of your specific duties include:

 *Recruiting and maintaining a pool of active volunteers

*Identifying and initiating programs needed in your community

*Motivating your Post members, community volunteers, and sponsors involved in your

projects

*Recognizing your volunteers’ efforts

*Organizing and maintaining records, photos and newspaper clippings that document the Post/Auxiliary activities.

*Reporting to your Department chairman the volunteer hours, dollars donated by VFW,

Auxiliary,  Cooties, and other information requested.

All Posts, no matter how large or small, do some types of Community Service work.  The success of this program is dependent upon you, the Commander, your Chairman and your reports being submitted for credit. Cut grass for someone, pick up trash on road, build a step for a handicap PERSON, or babysit for a military family – inexpensive projects – but very helpful to someone in your community.

First, appoint a Community Service Chairman who has demonstrated basic leadership qualities, one who will accept the challenges and DO the work. Second, REPORTS ARE A MUST.   REMEMBER No report is equivalent to no work.  Making reporting records are essential.  Retain information on each project, through newspaper clippings, pictures and the like.  Keep dates telling each project’s completed date, hours of volunteering, how much money was spent or donated, how many miles were driven and how many persons benefited by the project.  If this is done, all Posts in the State will be credited by the end of April.

Community Service is defined as "Any activity or program sponsored or cosponsored by a VFW Post and/or its VFW Auxiliary, which serves to benefit the city, town, neighborhood, other organizations, institutions or individuals NOT AFFILIATED with the VFW or its Auxiliary as a body.”  Activities and/or contributions that are performed or given by individual members WILL be credited. Use of VFW and/or Auxiliary buildings or meeting room to groups or organization for free is a great community service project.

Listed are some ideas for community service projects:  Working with Youth Groups, Chamber of Commerce, Churches, Local Fraternal Organizations, and other Veteran Organizations.  Working with other groups will also build public awareness and increase active membership in our organization.

Analysis of Service hours and dollars should be reported as follows:

Hours:  When the Post reports to the Department, they should list the hours of community service performed by the Post. Affiliated Cootie Scratch, Auxiliary, and Sons of the VFW  for that reporting period.  Only volunteer service hours benefiting the community are to be reported.

PLEASE NOTE: Volunteer hours committed to projects and activities benefiting the Post and its affiliated units –as listed, CANNOT BE REPORTED.  Such as – Post dance; Post bingo, Post parties and/or Christmas parties.

Money:  The money that should be reported are the dollars donated OR expended by the members in the performance of the community service hours reported, plus $.14 per mile for each mile driven by the volunteers

Importance of accurate reporting:  It is of the utmost importance that VFW Posts report their volunteer hours and especially their donations accurately.  A Post that inflates the amounts of money they donate intentionally or otherwise may place their non-profit status in jeopardy.

Click the link below to view the Power Point for Community Service Overview.  

/uploads/Documents/TRAINING/VFWLADepartofLACommunityServicePresentation.pptx

 If you have any questions please contact the State Chairman:

Jared Nolen

Post 3693

Email: jnolen92@yahoo.com

or

State Co Chairman

James Prestenback

Post 3665

Email: jprestenback302@gmail.com