The American Legion’s Commission on Children & Youth manages a pillar of service guided by three main objectives: to strengthen the family unit, to support quality organizations that provide services for children and youth, and to provide communities with well-rounded programs that meet the physical, educational, emotional and spiritual needs of young people. The commission works to provide hope for children who face health, safety, discipline or home-life challenges, and provides opportunities for young people to succeed.
The American Legion Child Welfare Foundation provides more than $500,000 in grants each year to nonprofit organizations that work to improve the lives of young people. These grants have aided organ-donor campaigns, supported efforts to help military children cope with deployment or the loss of a parent, and funded projects that increased public awareness of Huntington’s disease, autism, Reye’s syndrome, meningitis, spina bifida, diabetes, cancer and other conditions.
The Commission on Children & Youth has focused recent attention on several important national programs, including the Children’s Miracle Network, Ronald McDonald House Charities, Special Olympics, youth-suicide prevention, Halloween safety, the Family Support Network, Temporary Financial Assistance, Operation: Military Kids, and others. The American Legion has been a staunch supporter of the children and youth of our nation since its founding in 1919.
The commitment continues today for the National Commission on Children & Youth as it seeks to improve the well-being of all children. Every generation of veterans knows that the key to the future of a free and prosperous country is held by the children and youth of today. The Legion strongly supports traditional family values, assistance for at-risk children, and activities that promote their healthy and wholesome development. While there is no way of knowing what issues will face our youth tomorrow, our survival may well depend on the quality of care, education and training that we, as parents and citizens, provide for young people today.
The American Legion’s Children & Youth pillar includes positions on:
Child Pornography
The Legion opposes any attempts to weaken U.S. laws governing the production, sale and distribution of pornographic materials.
Catastrophic Illness
The American Legion supports enacting legislation to financially assist families facing the catastrophic illness of a child.
Intellectual Disabilities
The American Legion supports continuing research and early intervention efforts to prevent intellectual disabilities, including research on the development and function of the nervous system; fetal treatments and gene therapy to correct abnormalities produced by defective genes; and early-intervention programs for high-risk infants and children.
Immunization for Needy Children
The Legion urges federal funding for state and local health agencies to ensure that indigent children are afforded the opportunity to receive needed vaccines and treatments.
Family Integrity
The Legion promotes the family as the cornerstone of society and supports National Family Week in November. The Legion further recognizes that the natural family is the fundamental unit, inscribed in human nature and centered on the voluntary union of a man and woman in a lifelong covenant of marriage.
Media Violence
The American Legion supports appropriate state and federal legislation to restrict the excessive use of violence, vulgarity and immoral expressions in movies, television programs, news, video games and the Internet.
Drug Abuse
The American Legion fully supports adequate funding for all border, state, federal and military drug-trafficking prevention programs to keep illegal substances from reaching our nation’s young people.
Child Sexual Exploitation
The American Legion supports appropriate legislation aimed at the prevention, investigation and prosecution of child sexual exploitation, and seeks to empower the public to take immediate and direct action to enforce a zero-tolerance policy on the problem.
Family Support Network
An e-mail recently sent to The American Legion’s Family Support Network read, “I am currently in Afghanistan, and I am worried about my children’s safety.” A Massachusetts National Guardsman and father of five learned that a section of his backyard fence had fallen down. With a busy highway only a few feet away, the children’s only play area became a safety concern. The local post responded by repairing the fence at no cost to the family. The Family Support Network is ready to provide immediate assistance to U.S. military personnel and their families whose lives have been directly affected by the war on terrorism. As National Guard and Reserve units are mobilized in record numbers, the families of these men and women often find themselves unable to meet normal monthly expenses and needing assistance for a variety of everyday chores like grocery shopping, child care, mowing the grass, fixing the car and other routine household jobs. To address these issues, The American Legion has a nationwide toll-free telephone number for servicemembers and their families to call for assistance. Requests can also be made online. All inquiries are referred to the department in which the call originated. Departments relay the collected information to a local American Legion post. The local post then contacts the military servicemember or family to see how assistance can be provided. Since the creation of the Family Support Network during the Gulf War, thousands of American Legion posts have responded to meet these families’ needs. Posts are reminded that families in financial need with minor children are encouraged to call on the Temporary Financial Assistance program at National Headquarters to assist. Otherwise, it is up to local posts to provide or develop the resources necessary to meet the need. Nearly 3,000 requests through the Family Support Network came to National Headquarters in 2009. Most cases are handled locally, without notification or involvement from the national organization. Creating an ongoing and active relationship with local military units allows posts to respond immediately when needs arise.
www.legion.org/fsn
(800) 504-4098
Temporary Financial Assistance
The American Legion’s Temporary Financial Assistance program helps military and veteran families with minor children at home. Through TFA, a local American Legion post can call upon the national organization for cash assistance to help meet the basic needs of veterans’ children. Funding for TFA comes through The American Legion Endowment Fund. In a record-setting 2008, nearly 1,500 children were helped by the fund, amounting to more than $705,700 in disbursements from National Headquarters.
The Samsung American Legion Scholarship
After researching dozens of veterans organizations, Samsung – a worldwide leader in electronics – chose The American Legion in 1995 to administer an endowed scholarship fund of $5 million. The endowment was established to show appreciation to U.S. veterans who came to the aid of Korea during its struggle against communist forces during the Korean War. The scholarship is for undergraduate study only and may be used for tuition, books, fees, and room and board. Seven to 10 students are chosen each year for the $20,000 scholarships, which are awarded to direct descendants of U.S. wartime veterans.
Child Welfare Foundation
Not all American children grow up with the same opportunities. Some face physical disabilities, parenting problems and even homelessness. For thousands, each day is a challenge marked by pain, prayer and perseverance. Many require specialized care. That is why The American Legion Child Welfare Foundation exists. Established in 1954, the foundation was developed to collect donations from individuals who wished to contribute to the betterment of children in this country. To date, nearly $10 million has been awarded to organizations to support worthwhile projects through the dissemination of information to both the general public and specific target groups. In 2009, the foundation awarded grants totaling $636,869 to 19 nonprofit organizations. Among those grants was $41,000 for the The American Legion Children’s Home of Ponca City, Okla., one of few children’s homes of its kind in the country, established to support the children of U.S. military veterans. Other 2009 grants went to such groups as the Childhood Leukemia Foundation of Brick, N.J., the Junior Diabetes Research Foundation, Students Against Destructive Decisions, and the National Center for Learning Disabilities in in New York.
www.legion.org/childwelfare
Child Welfare Foundation
The American Legion Child Welfare Foundation awarded $636,869 to 19 nonprofit organizations for 2010.
The American Legion Children’s Home of Ponca City, Okla., received $41,000 to increase awareness of the home, established to support the children of veterans’ families in need.
The American Legion of Nevada received $3,037 for a project titled “Hear Today – Learn Tomorrow,”to develop and distribute letters requesting discount services from medical providers and hearing-aid manufacturers for HT-LT participants; produce information sheets about the availability of support to families of hearing-impaired children; and produce public-service announcements related to HT-LT.
Boy Scouts of America Exploring Program of Denver received $35,717 for a project titled“Experience 9 to 5,”to produce 12,000 course catalogs, 31,200 flyers and 90 posters associated with the program.
Childhood Leukemia Foundation of Brick, N.J., received $48,000 to print and ship 1,600 Hope Bindersto 160 hospitals nationwide for families facing the diagnosis of childhood cancer.
Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters of Norfolk, Va., received $30,050 to develop and distribute “A Guide to Chest Wall Deformities in Children: Information For Parents, Patients and Primary-Care Physicians,” a CDROM intended to better educate families and physicians.
Children’s Institute, Inc., of Rochester, N.Y., received $30,500 to develop and provide the DVD” Possibilities of Play: Building Connections through Play” to schools and community agencies that work with military families and their children.
Cornelia de Lange Syndrome Foundation of Avon, Conn., received $16,744 to develop a syndrome-screening checklist for medical professionals, and distribute it nationally to 16,000 pediatric offices.
Diabetes Education and Camping Association of Huntsville, Ala., received $25,000 for a project titled “Ready, View, Go – Diabetes Camp Web Training Project,” which will produce training videos instructing camp directors and staff on how to handle diabetes issues in a camp setting.
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation of New York received $39,500 for a project titled “I’m Aaron and I’m Bionic,” which will produce 4,000 DVDs about the history of treatment for Type 1 diabetes and the newest innovation, the artificial pancreas.
Mercy Medical Airlift of Virginia Beach, Va., received $45,700 to develop five updated Web sites and a full social-media presence to provide information to the public and pediatric medical world regarding available charitable child-patient long-distance medical air transportation. The
MY HERO Project of Laguna Beach, Calif., received $28,872 to research, produce and distribute training videos for students to tell their own hero stories through video and filmmaking.
National Center for Learning Disabilities of New York received $45,500 to revise and enhance NCLD’s Web site to make parents of children with learning disabilities aware of their children’s rights, and inform parents that they can advocate for them.
National Exchange Club Foundation of Toledo, Ohio, received $25,000 to produce, print and distribute 1,000 child-abuse prevention kits, expand and enhance its Web site, and purchase promotional items.
National Reye’s Syndrome Foundation of Bryan, Ohio, received $38,200 to mail postcards to 131,377 U.S. schools, directing school nurses and health-care givers to its Web site to download handouts, brochures, bookmarks, literature, a list of products containing aspirin and wellness information; and to distribute information for students to take home to parents and caregivers.
PKS Kids of Florissant, Mo., received $29,500 for a direct-mail campaign to raise awareness of Pallister-Killian syndrome among 50,000 pediatric doctors.
Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), Inc., of Marlborough, Mass., received $54,549 to redesign its Web site and integrate a new feature called the Parents’ Corner, which will offer practical advice, tips and information to parents, teachers, school staff, coaches, summer-camp professionals and other caring adults to enhance adult/ teen communication.
Spina Bifida Association of Washington received $40,000 to produce “Faces of Spina Bifida,” a social network for children with spina bifida designed to facilitate peer-to-peer support.
Tourette Syndrome Association, Inc., of Bayside, N.Y., received $25,000 to create and produce presentation kits to help Tourette syndrome sufferers educate children about what Tourette syndrome is and is not.
Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), Inc., of Washington received $35,000 to produce 5,000 Caisson Horse/ Comfort Book packages and a Website to help children who have lost a parent serving in the U.S. military to understand and deal with their grief.
