President: Project serves veterans, servicemembers

I would like to thank all of you for putting your confidence in me to serve as our American Legion Auxiliary 2026-27 department president.  I am looking forward to this Auxiliary year.  I thank the past department presidents for being examples for all of us.  It will be a challenge to follow them.

I know our units, our districts and our department have the skills and the determination to continue what those that went before us accomplished while continuing to grow — just like the tree on my button. We are who we are because of those who went before us.

I look forward to meeting more of our members throughout the year. I also want you to know that I am here for all of you. Please reach out to me if there is something I can do for you or your unit.

Please look for our monthly unit mailings, there is so much information in there for you. It can be emailed to you (call our office to be added to the e-mail group) or find it on our website (www.mnala.org).

Look under “Unit Resources” to find “Unit Mailing.”

President’s Projects

Veterans:  The 2026-27 President’s Project is to raise funds for the Creative Arts program.  This program is open to ALL veterans, with the only stipulation that they are registered with the VA.

They do not need to live in a veterans’ home, nor do they need to receive medical services through the VA — just be registered.

The VA’s Creative Arts Program uses therapeutic arts — including art, writing, music, drama, and dance — to help veterans heal from physical and emotional trauma. Part of the VA’s Recreation Therapy Service, it aids in managing PTSD, reducing social isolation and improving motor skills.

Participating veterans can submit their creative works to one of the four VA medical centers that the American Legion Auxiliary support. They each have an annual contest for each of the divisions of the program.

Any donations will be split between the eight veterans’ homes in Minnesota to be used for supplies to offer this program to its residents. My goal is $32,000 — $4,000 for each home.  Any extra money may be awarded to the four VA medical centers.

Gambling funds may be used for this project.

Current military: I am challenging our units to find names and addresses for our military and send them a card. My reasoning is that we need to let them know that we care — in other words, “thank you for your service” or “thinking of you.”

The cards can be purchased or homemade. Ask your local elementary classes to color cards for them. They can include a gift but don’t need to. The biggest cost will be postage.

I have been told that, due to the privacy practices, it may be hard to find names and addresses. I think “word-of-mouth” will probably be the most successful. Our unit started this program a few years back starting with relatives and friends of our members. We do not limit the names to only our city’s residents, but it may be grandchildren, nieces and nephews, friends.

My suggestions would be fliers, cable announcements, an article in your local paper, talk to other organizations, ask churches to put it in their bulletins — just to mention a few.

To jump-start your efforts, I will provide enough supplies to make 1,000 cards at Fall Conference. It will be in the same room where we are making poppies. Come join the fun.

Linda Kelly of Pine Island Unit 184 is the president of the American Legion Auxiliary Department of Minnesota. Her theme is “Grounded in Our Roots. Growth Through Renewals and New Members.”