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VFW And Legion Posts Struggling To Recruit Young Members

VFW

Veteran service organizations across the country are facing a mounting problem: as their membership slowly dies off, few young veterans are getting involved. That means the organizations are finding themselves strapped for cash and struggling to remain relevant.

Fighting Decades-Old Stereotypes



The walls of Greenwood VFW Post 5864 are often filled with music, but it's not always the roar of a band on a Friday night.

Once a month, soothing sounds fill the post as veterans lay on massage tables and undergo Healing Touch energy therapy. For veterans like Britton Shoellhorn, it provides much-needed mental and physical relief.

But many people who've never stepped foot inside the post don't know it offers these services.

"We've done everything from highway cleanup to doing rallies to support people that are either wounded in the community or veterans in the community," Shoellhorn says. "Every day it seems we're helping someone out."

That's a message VFW and American Legion posts across the state are trying to get out as they struggle to attract new, younger members – these aren't just organizations for your grandparents.

That's the perception that we've ran into a lot is that it's a lot of old, white men, drinking and smoking inside of a legion post.


"That's the perception that we've ran into a lot is that it's a lot of old, white men, drinking and smoking inside of a legion post," says Will Henry, assistant department adjutant for the American Legion Department of Indiana.

The VFW's roots date back to 1899, when veterans of the Spanish American War started local groups to help fight for veteran benefits and rights.

And the American Legion got its start in 1919 when World War I veterans came together and formed an organization dedicated to serving veterans and their communities.

That remains the Legion's mission today and it's one of the reasons Will Henry joined a post after serving in Afghanistan and Kuwait.

He now works for the Legion and is spearheading efforts to get younger veterans involved.

"There's a lot of veterans over the last 14 or 15 years that have been deploying steadily," Henry says. "The importance for those people to become members is they support an organization that supports them."

Henry spends a lot of time on his computer, reaching out to that population using Facebook and Twitter – even paying for targeted ads on social media.

"Really the organization when I came on board was behind," he says. "They were probably five seven years behind where we needed to be as far as communication goes."

Posts Have Trouble Adjusting To New Generation



Posts across the state are struggling to adapt to new technologies and new generations of veterans, too.

American Legion Post 18 in Bloomington is the largest in the state. But Iraq and Afghanistan veterans only make up about 3Â percent of its membership.

"Their involvement is tough to get because they're still building their lives after getting out of the military, working on jobs and raising families," says Post Commander Richard Dunbar. "And, in today's world mom and dad both have a job and the kids are so much more involved. And, it's really hard to have the time until you're in your mid to late 50s."

The post's made some changes over the years to attract more young members – shifting to focus more on its community involvement.

Every Saturday, the Legion hosts a pancake benefit for different non-profit groups in the area.

Veterans spend all morning in the kitchen, cranking out hundreds of pancakes and about 60 pounds of bacon.

"We do quite a bit for the community," says Post Adjutant James May "We donated $138,000 just to different charities. That's youth sports, to Shalom Center, to Community Kitchen."

But, Dunbar admits being active in the community isn't necessarily enough to attract new members.

He says something as simple as getting more modern bands to play on weekends could help appeal to more young veterans.

"We can't be afraid to change a little," he says. "Our Legion's changed a lot from being the good old boys sitting around the bar in a smoke-filled bar to being more open to the community."

Membership in both the Legion and VFW is on the decline nationwide, but it tends to be cyclical.

40 percent of our organization is 70 years and older. And that could be a big hit for us over the next two or three years.

-William 'Buzz' Weberding, VFW State Commander



The largest portion of members are from the Vietnam era, but the hope is that as Afghanistan and Iraq war veterans get older and settle down, more of them will join.

They'll have to in order for the organizations to survive.

"40 percent of our organization is 70 years and older," says VFW State Commander William 'Buzz' Weberding. "And, that could be a big hit for us over the next two or three years."

The VFW says its national membership has declined by about 500,000 people over the past ten years.

The organization's national spokesperson says the country is losing WW II veterans at an average rate of 550 per day. The challenge is signing up new members at a rate that offsets that loss.

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