Medford VFW Post 7677 is looking for donations for a Red Cross Food Drive benefiting military families at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.
Many military families only make budget ends meet with food help from local organizations. While some military families are eligible for programs such as food stamps, other military families are ineligible for these programs. Even though their income may be low enough for these programs, it is still not enough to feed their families.Â
At Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, the Red Cross runs a free food cupboard, which is available to all military families. When fully stocked, the Red Cross Food Cupboard can have upwards of 80 visits a day.
To support the Red Cross Food Cupboard, VFW Post 7677 will host a Donation Drop Off at 317 Church Road, Medford, NJ.
Drop-off boxes are available indefinitely.
About VFW Post 7677:Â
The VFW traces its roots back to 1899 when veterans of the Spanish-American War (1898) and the Philippine Insurrection (1899-1902) founded local organizations to secure rights and benefits for their service: Many arrived home wounded or sick. There was no medical care or veterans’ pension for them, and they were left to care for themselves.
In their misery, some of these veterans banded together and formed organizations with what would become known as the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States. After chapters were formed in Ohio, Colorado and Pennsylvania, the movement quickly gained momentum. By 1915, membership grew to 5,000; by 1936, membership was almost 200,000.Â
Since then, the VFW’s voice had been instrumental in establishing the Veterans Administration, creating a GI bill for the 20th century, the development of the national cemetery system and the fight for compensation for Vietnam vets exposed to Agent Orange and for veterans diagnosed with Gulf War Syndrome. In 2008, VFW won a long-fought victory with the passing of a GI Bill for the 21st Century, giving expanded educational benefits to America’s active-duty service members, and members of the Guard and Reserves, fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.Â
The VFW also has fought for improving VA medical centers services for women veterans.
Besides helping fund the creation of the Vietnam, Korean War, World War II and Women in Military Service memorials, the VFW in 2005 became the first veterans’ organization to contribute to building the new Disabled Veterans for Life Memorial, which opened in November 2010.
Annually, the nearly 2 million members of the VFW and its Auxiliaries contribute more than 8.6 million hours of volunteerism in the community, including participation in Make A Difference Day and National Volunteer Week.Â
From providing over $3 million in college scholarships and savings bonds to students every year, to encouraging elevation of the Department of Veterans Affairs to the president’s cabinet, the VFW is there.
