DONATIONS: AMVETS Workplace Giving Campaign

©Tonee Lawrence

AMVETS Workplace Giving Campaign is an empowering giving program for individuals to donate through their employer.

Why should your company participate?
By participating in the AMVETS Workplace Giving, companies can help build a community of support within the office. In addition, facilitating this program can also help build morale and cultivate team building among employees. The program allows for less overhead therefore providing a greater impact assisting our nation's brave servicemen and women.

100% of cash donations go directly to veteran services

How does Illinois AMVETS continue to assist Illinois veterans?

• Illinois AMVETS Veterans' Service Representatives have assisted thousands of veterans by helping them to secure $36 million in new VA benefits annually. Concurrently, this is $100-120 million of reoccurring benefits to Illinois veterans and their families each year.
• The Illinois AMVETS Service Foundation has granted $4 million for a new 15,000 square foot state of the art facility at the Marion VA Medical Center in Marion, Illinois. This new facility will house centers for mental health, prosthetics, vocational and occupational rehabilitation, as well as an aqua therapy pool, resource center and job training and placement for all veterans.
• The Illinois AMVETS Service Foundation donated $2.5 million to Catholic Charities of Chicago for the St. Leo Campus for Veterans. The St. Leo Residence houses 141 veterans who were once homeless. This residence provides a safe place for veterans to live both independently and affordably while they are integrated back into society. Veterans can enjoy peace and tranquility as provided by the Illinois AMVETS Memorial Garden, as well. There are approximately 18,000 homeless veterans' in Chicago every night.
• The Illinois AMVETS Service Foundation has provided over 20,000 Fire Retardant Safety Tactical shirts, with a value of $1.7 million, to the men and women serving our county in Iraq and Afghanistan. Accompanying each shirt was a phone card to help our soldiers keep in touch with their families and loved ones back home. Since the program's inception, the Illinois AMVETS phone cards have provided approximately 6 million minutes of calling time for our troops.
• Each year approximately $63,000 is dedicated to the USO of Illinois. $25,000 is to fund the Illinois AMVETS Emergency Relief Fund; these funds are used for military families in need of emergency assistance. An additional $40,000 a year is provided to the USO of Illinois to fund regular operating expenses at the four Illinois USO locations.
• The Illinois AMVETS Service Foundation granted $3.6 million to create the Illinois AMVETS Reactivation Center at the Hines VA Hospital, where veterans receive rehabilitative services to enable them to return to routine normal daily living activities.
• Illinois AMVETS Service Foundation has partnered with the U of I to develop a diabetes research program; this initiative is in response to the latest statistics that an estimated 500,000 veterans are affected by Type II diabetes. Each year, $50,000 is provided to fund this diabetes research.
• Since 2005, over $700,000 has been given in scholarships to high school seniors; children of veterans are shown a preference in being awarded these scholarships.

If you would like to learn about AMVETS Workplace Giving, please contact the Crystal Blakeman, Programs Director at 217-528-4713 or email at Crystal@ilamvets.org.