Veterans Day: Give more than your Facebook status

Today I saw a ton - I mean, a TON - of Facebook statuses about how people thank, support, and honor American veterans. The more I saw, the less sure I was of how typing that status provides any veterans with any real support or sense of honor.

Because it's Frisky Friday, and I'm in a bit of a mood this morning, a not-insignificant part of me feels these are just empty words. I'm a woman of action (!), so I decided to give my readers a few tools to actually make a difference for veterans on Veterans Day.

donate goods, money, or time

Visit the Department of Veterans Affairs Voluntary Service website (http://www.volunteer.va.gov/) where you'll find a list of volunteering and donation options specific to your state's VA needs.

There's even a printable shopping list available of items your state's VA needs to help recovering veterans participating in rehabilitation programs. Black Friday is coming up, so you can even find many of these items on sale!* Shop and do good, y'all!

support veterans legislation

Nearly 1-freaking-million veterans** remain unemployed. (Me: "Are you kidding me?!?" Me: "No, I'm not kidding you.")

The VOW to Hire Heroes Act passed the Senate yesterday. It couples tax incentives for hiring veterans, along with job training programs and other initiatives to keep veterans gainfully employed once they come home from saving our asses.

Contact your senators and representatives to thank them for taking this important step. Not sure who your senators are or how to contact them? That's OK - just choose your state from the US Senate Contact website. Easy!

visit a memorial or museum

Each state has one or more cemeteries for veterans. Stop by to pay your respects. (List and locations of veterans cemeteries by state: http://www.cem.va.gov/scg/lsvc.asp). I don't say this to seem morbid, but rather to offer a suggestion on a quiet way you can reflect on veterans' service in a way that is meaningful to you.

Most states also have veterans museums. I wasn't able to find a centralized website that lists them all, but here are a few links for states where I know some of my readers live:

• Wisconsin Veterans Museum: http://www.wisvetsmuseum.com/
• Washington State's Veterans Museum: http://www.veteransmuseum.org/
• Illinois Veterans Art Museum: http://www.nvvam.org/
• Texas Veterans Museum (still a work in progress): http://theveteransmuseumintexas.org/

If I know anything about museums (and I think I do) entrance will be free to visitors and there will be a donation box close to the door. Give what you can.

send a care package to an active-duty soldier

Yellow Ribbons Support Group has choreographed a huge program to supply troops with care packages full of creature comforts and necessities. They have a list of items you can easily purchase and send to the organization for inclusion in the care packages they create.

Looks like a couple of the items they need are free to folks who often stay in hotels: any travel-/trial-sized personal hygiene stuff like shampoo, soap, and conditioner.

none of these options feel quite right?

Visit MakeItBetter.net for a few additional suggestions on ways to make a real impact today and every day.

* This was my choice. Seems like a no-brainer.
** From http://veterans.house.gov/jobs