Multiple organizations receive money from local Buddy Poppy donations

USO Northwest center at SeaTac

By Carl "Chris" Christopherson

Members of VFW Post 3348 twice annually (Memorial Day and Veterans Day) enjoy discussing and then voting on which organizations will receive donations from the net proceeds from their Buddy Poppy events.

Having already delivered 25 Gift Cards ($50 each) to the 25 veterans who live in the Compass Veterans Center in Shoreline, (see previous article) the members decided to donate the remaining $6,750 to other organizations that serve veterans.

Some larger organizations regularly receive millions annually. Any donation we may make to them would only have the effect of a drop in the ocean, so we deliberately choose organizations where our donation will either make a difference or of whom we are particularly fond.

USO Northwest at SeaTac provides many services

Those organizations that our members chose were

• VFW National Home for Children
• VFW Unmet Needs 
• USO Northwest (SeaTac)
• Two VFW Department of Washington Funds
• Fisher House of Puget Sound
• WA Soldiers Home in Orting, WA
• Veterans Home in Port Orchard, WA
• U.S. Volunteers – Joint Service Command 103rd BCT 
• Joint Service Committee 

It would take pages to adequately describe these organizations. Here are some less verbose comments on a few of the organizations we did choose:

• $500 for USO Northwest @ SeaTac. VFW members who volunteer at USO tell of the need for small things e.g. coffee, sugar, etc. that they offer to Active Duty veterans and their families at SeaTac airport.

VFW National Home for Children in Michigan
Washington VFW sponsors one of the houses

• $500 for VFW National Home for Children. This is a 600-acre facility in Eaton Rapids, Michigan that has 42 single-family homes available only to military families. Each house has a sponsor. The VFW Department of Washington [State] sponsored one of those houses. 

• There are four Veterans Homes in WA State --- two on the West Side and two on the East Side (Spokane and Walla Walla). We focus on the West Side:
• $1,500 for WA Soldiers Home (Orting, WA) --- $500 for their cemetery which we were told was a need. The remaining $1,000 was for the Home itself.
• $1,450 for Veterans Home (Port Orchard, WA) --- $600 for their cemetery which we were told was a need; $500 to “Building 9” which helps the homeless; $350 to their Nursing Home.

Families live at the VFW National Home for Children

• $500 for Fisher House which is literally 50 yards away from the VA Hospital in Seattle. It houses family members of existing patients in the VA hospital who cannot otherwise afford to stay in a local hotel.
• $500 for the Joint Service Committee. These are local veterans who volunteer to help other veterans with their VA claims. They are led by an attorney who is a member of VFW Post 3348 and is VA certified. He understands what the VA looks for on VA Claims and is very effective in helping veterans with their VA Claims; he is breathtakingly effective at helping veterans with PTSD. 

All VFW members are very appreciative of the public for the donations they make in exchange for Buddy Poppies.