Letter to the editor: Veterans continue to volunteer for their community

Veterans care

Earlier this year, the Veterans of Foreign Wars launched #StillServing, a campaign to tell the story of how military veterans give back to their communities and do so more than the rest of the population — 25% more time donated, 17% more likely to make a monetary donation and 30% more likely to participate in local organizations.

Now we are in what the administration has described as a war footing against COVID-19, the lethal virus devastating our families, communities and economies. This is National Volunteer Week. Volunteering has rarely been so urgent.

Thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, of Americans are volunteering sewing masks, filling pantries, providing clinical and non-clinical medical support — the list goes on. In this terrible time, we are seeing the better angels of our nature.

One of every 10 U.S. adults is a veteran. In the Kansas City metro, there are more than 130,000 of us. In late March, the U.S. Army sent an email to former soldiers asking for volunteers to assist with the pandemic. More than 17,000 stepped up in the first two days.

We give and are proud to do so. We love our country and our neighbors and are honored to work alongside every one of you as we fight this latest battle.

Are you a veteran who is #StillServing? VFW urges you to visit vfw.org/stillserving and share how you continue to answer the call to serve in ways big and small.

- Kevin Jones, adjutant general, Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, Kansas City