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"ONE UNIT, ONE FOCUS, ONE FAMILY"

From the President's Pen

Greetings,

Did February fly by or was it just me? MARCH is here!!! My favorite month. Why? I get to celebrate 44 years of marriage with my wonderful husband, Dwight on March 3, I have two grandchildren born in March, March 8th, (Oldest-22) & 10th (youngest 2), (a great grandchild should be here this month) and then of course my birthday March 19! So, if you want to take me out to eat, you better get on my calendar it fills up fast, just kidding about the going out to eat. But we should be excited to celebrate another year of living, life is short.  But I have a secret to share, I wanted my birthday to be on March 17, that way I knew someone would always be throwing a party somewhere. : ) Silly me. Speaking of St Patrick’s Day, our auxiliary dinner is the 15th, and we will be having yummy Corn beef and Cabbage! So come out and join us, where your green! Party like 1999!

We kick off the month Friday March 3rd with our monthly Bake sale, please have your goodies to the Post by 3:30 for the girls to set up. This really helps the auxiliary raise funds, for our programs.

March 5th, Mission Training for Auxiliary 9-5. Yes, all day. We learn so much and have a great time. You can still join us. Just show up and I promise we will let you in. Rumor has it there might be some snacks!

March 7th @ 10:00 AM, we will be stuffing poppies in envelopes to mail out for our major fundraiser. Laura our Vice President has done a wonderful job this year, getting this ready and organized…she might bring some snacks for our stuffing party!

Bingo is March 12- Second Sunday each month. We have a volunteer step up this month for the meal but will be looking for someone in April to do the meal for us. If you would like to volunteer this is your opportunity.

District 11 meeting is coming up again on March 12 @ 2pm at Post 61 in Avondale. If you would like to join us, please feel free to do so.

Nominations first round are this month. If you are interested in running for an office, please reach out. We really need your help. Yes, it is a lot of work, but we have a great group and can accomplish so much for our Veterans. March 21st is our general meeting this month. And if you have a birthday this month and don’t show up, I win all the queen of hearts tickets lol.

Last month our Mash themed party was fun, and we raised a good amount for our nursing scholarship so if you know any medical person going to school have them reach out.

Our Juniors are busy. A couple of them made wonderful poppy posters. You can check out the posters on our website. https://www.azalaunit62.org/   We also have a new calendar just for Auxiliary events. We are slowly doing things to improve the sight.

Hasn’t our Secretary Barbara Gile done a great job on our Newsletter each month? Again, a lot of work. She also sends out the birthday cards for your birthday electronically and welcomes our new members. I hope next year we can improve our new member process so that new members get more involved. It is on my list.

Has anyone noticed how clean our post is looking? Commander Tom has been working hard to clean up things, and we have a wonderful new bar in the back, thanks to Past Commander John. I am so proud of our Legion leaders! (They might have had a little nudging on the cleaning from so ladies)

We are beginning to focus on our department meeting in June and we have to get busy writing reports. So, your officers will be getting together on March 25th in a secret location (not really—have not determined the spot yet) to learn about report writing for department. We hope to bring back several awards at the end of June. So, if the auxiliary officers seem a little stressed…. You know why.

As always, we appreciate each and every one of you that volunteer and support Unit 62 Auxiliary. We could not do it without you. If you have suggestions, ideas, or anything, feel free to reach out to us. We are always her to listen.

Sincerely,

Kathy Amery

"ONE UNIT, ONE FOCUS, ONE FAMILY" 

Auxiliary Monthly Program

Community Service is the sponsored program for the month of March. The Community Service chairman is Jean Ellison.

Why Community Service?

"Community Service embraces all activities for improvement of conditions of life in the community where the American Legion Auxiliary unit is located. It has been a major activity of The American Legion and Auxiliary since 1926 and has resulted in the completion of a vast number of projects to make American communities better places in which to live".

 "What can you do"?

•  Sponsor a blood drive, first aid and CPR training

• support for women in shelters, and disaster and emergency preparedness programs

• send holiday greeting cards to deployed troops

• donate canned goods to local food banks

• make pillowcases and donate personal care products to local shelters

• provide yarn to a volunteer to make helmet caps and send to deployed troops

• volunteer at local hospitals, day cares, and ambulance services

• deliver meals on wheels

• assist with clean up of trash around your local community

• serve meals at a funeral

• serve as poll workers during national and local elections

• make bags of Christmas goodies and deliver them to veterans

• organize a Blue Star Salute event

There are many ways you can serve your community; these are just a few ideas.

A fun puzzle is attached below.

Please print out, complete for some fun, and return to the General Meeting for a chance at a prize.

Scholarships Available

Did you know that the American Legion Family has scholarships available not only for nursing, but many of our other programs as well?

The Past President Parley Program assists in accepting applications for assistance to students pursuing a career in Health Care Occupations. Applicants must be enrolled/enrolling in an accredited tax-supported institution in Arizona which offers a certificate or degree in Health Care Occupations (Nursing Assistant, Dental Assistant, LPN, Lab Tech, Physical Therapist, etc.).

The ALA through the PPP program also awards scholarships annually to not less than a second-year student who is in enrolled in an accredited institution in Arizona awaiting a degree as a Registered Nurse. The immediate family members of a veteran will be given first preference. But it is open to all that qualify. The Applicant must be a citizen of the USA and a resident of AZ for at least one year. Rules and regulations concerning this scholarship will accompany application forms.

Youth scholarships are also available to qualifying students. These include the James H. Parke Memorial Youth Scholarship. This scholarship of up to $20,000 is awarded to a deserving high student who has volunteered at least 100 hours in the Veterans healthcare system during the past year. This scholarship is awarded annually at the VA Voluntary Service (VAVS) meeting in the spring. The Auxiliary contributes $2,000 annually toward this scholarship. Eligibility information can be found at www.volunteer.va.gov/ParksScholarship.asp or contact your local VAVS office.

Spirit of Youth Scholarship for Junior Members-Five scholarships in the amount of $5,000 each are awarded annually to Junior members of the American Legion Auxiliary. Current ALA Jr. members who are in high school and who have been Jr. Members for the past three years are eligible to apply.

Children of Warriors National President's Scholarship-The American Legion Auxiliary offers five $3,000, and five $2,500 scholarships to high school students who are direct descendants of U.S. wartime veterans.

The American Legion Legacy Scholarship-This Scholarship is awarded to high school seniors or graduates whose parents were active duty military, Guard, and Reserve personnel who were federalized and died while serving our country on or after September 11, 2001. Each award is good for 1 year and is determined by the financial need up to $20,000. Beginning in 2017, the scholarship was extended to include children of VA-rated, post 9/11 veterans with a combined disability rating of 50% or higher.

Other Youth scholarships include-Eagle Scout of the Year Award, Samsung Scholarship, Legion Baseball Scholarship, Junior Shooting Sports Scholarship, Oratorical Contest Scholarship, ALLECA (American Legion Law Enforcement Career Academy) Scholarship, JROTC Scholarship, and the Wilma Hoyal/Maxine Chilton Memorial Scholarship.

Finally, is the Non-Traditional Student Scholarship-This scholarship helps people who are part of the American Legion Family pursue a college degree later in life or to allow them to pick up where they left off when their studies were interrupted. Five scholarships in the amount of $2,000 each are awarded annually.

These scholarships and many others are offered by many local ALA units and Legion posts. More than $1 million is awarded every year. Contact your local American Legion Family for more information.

The American Legion

More information:

Legion.org/programs

AZlegion.org/programs

Alaforveterans.org/scholarships

Aladeptaz.org/member-resources.html

UPCOMING EVENTS

3/3 5PM-AUX Desserts during 1st Fish Fry Friday

3/5-1PM AUX Bingo

3/5-9-5PM Mission Training at Post 62

3/7-9:30AM Poppy stuffing party at Post 62

3/12-1PM District Meeting at Post 61

3/14-6 PM AUX E Board Mtg.

3/21-6PM AUX General Membership Mtg 

JOKE OF THE MONTH

 Where can you always find gold on St. Paddy's Day?

In the dictionary.

EMAIL ADDRESS:

Email address for submission of articles, pictures, recipes, jokes, volunteer requests, and newsworthy items. Please keep us in your auxiliary loop so we can share with all of our members.

ALAAZunit62@gmail.com

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED:

We need volunteers for our auxiliary duties within the post for 2022.2023: Need volunteers for Sunday Bingo, Food Service, & Wednesday night dinners among other items.

Join us!