chaptersinaction Filling a Niche
Several MOAA chapters have created unique funding or scholarship programs to help meet the needs of local veterans, veterans’ children, or disabled wounded warriors.
A
fter 10 years of war, there are thousands of returning veterans, many
with injuries, and still the current force continues to support combat deployments. These veterans have many needs — and so do their fami- lies. With many needs come many opportunities to help. A number of MOAA’s chapters have stepped up and decided to take action by com- ing up with resources to help veter- ans and their families. Chapter members bring many skills to the table from their years in the military and working in second careers. Over the years, MOAA’s chap- ter system has played a significant role in veterans helping veterans. This department’s main story,
“Helping Veterans,” shows you don’t have to have a big chapter and lots of funding — just a few people can make a difference. That’s really what we’ve been saying all along when we talk about belonging to a chapter as a part of the MOAA membership experience. Chapter membership in MOAA is voluntary,
On the road: This month, Col. Lee Lange II, USMC-Ret., director of MOAA’s Council and Chapter Affairs Department, will visit members of the California Coun- cil of Chapters. Go to MOAA Calendar, page 84, for the dates.
and chapter members make up a relatively small proportion — just 18 percent — of the total member- ship. Yet chapter members end up making a big difference in the association and in the lives of many people. Think what MOAA could do with a few thousand more chapter members. If you currently are not a chap- ter member, ask yourself why. Are you too busy? The answer probably is yes. But think about carving out some time to make a difference in your community like these chapter members have. An MOAA chapter is the best vehicle for members who want to make a difference in their communities and the association. In addition to community ser-
vice, MOAA’s chapters have a real grassroots support role in helping move MOAA’s legislative agenda forward. This includes legislation to help veterans and their families. By talking to your legislators and telling them what’s on your mind and getting them to speak at chap- ter meetings, chapters can influence the action — and get their legisla- tors to contact national MOAA with questions about the issues when they return to Capitol Hill. MOAA’s government relations team follows up to provide more details and a so- lution, usually in the form of a piece
*online: Visit
www.moaa.org/chapters/locator to find a chapter near you. 42 MILITARY OFFICER NOVEMBER 2011
of legislation. Chapter members can have a say in what happens to ser- vicemembers’ benefits — and they make a real difference. Take the next step to start having an impact in your community. Join your local MOAA chapter today.
— Col. Lee Lange II, USMC-Ret. Director, Council and Chapter Affairs
Helping
Veterans Chapter members help servicemembers in need.
D
avid Matlock is familiar with the financial pressures young servicemembers face.
As a struggling Marine Corps cor- poral with a wife and a new baby, he received a $200 interest-free loan from the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society to help him make ends meet. Now Matlock, who is vice presi-
dent of Institutional Advancement at Virginia Highlands Community College in Abingdon, Va., is helping other servicemembers in need as the administrator of the college’s Veterans’ Emergency Assistance Fund. MOAA’s Mountain Empire (Tenn.) Chapter established the fund in 2008 to provide small, in- terest-free, short-term loans to vet-
PHOTO: STEVE BARRETT
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