"The VFW continues to be the nation's strongest voice for veterans and the catalyst for change in improving veteran's benefits."
Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9851 located in Hendersonville,Tennessee truly lives up to the the VFW Mottoof Honoring the Dead by helping the Living.
Besides fulfilling the nationwide VFW Programs the Post has developed numerous local programs supporting Veterans and our community.
Three of these are described below:
Operation Spearhead - Recognizing and Supporting all of the men and women and their immediate families who are serving on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States of America from the Hendersonville and surrounding communities. The Post has established a Wall of Honor which displays, under the various services, all the names and current rank of these individuals. The Goal is not only support them but their families with whatever personal needs they may be need of whether financial, physical or mental.
Besides Sending Our Soldiers Food and Necessitiesthat they may need,Spearhead members and the Boosters have also taken up many other collections at the request of our soldiers to aid in their humanitarian projects. We have helped units refurbish schools in Iraq by sending many boxes of school supplies, sent the Iraqi kids shoes, socks and small toys and sent a large collection of toiletries to an orphanage that one of our soldiers was stationed near in Kosovo. We have sent countless boxes to help our soldiers help the locals where they are deployed.
As one of our guys aptly put it:
These little items (like rubber balls and pens) allow the soldiers to take those few seconds and be human. When we hand out these seemingly worthless trinkets to the kids and their families, it influences people's minds. "Hey, the Americans might not be bad after all".
Operation ReEmploy - Assisting all job seeking laid-off, terminated, downsized or job changing county resident (candidates) with employers The program assists these candidates to ascertain their personal appraisal of their current skills and talents, help with the creation of their resume, introduces them with businesses though direct contact or advertising on the Post website. The Post facilitates with group and individual discussions providing moral support as well as fine tuning their interview and presentation skills.
Along with assisting the candidates the Post assists businesses by make the facility available for job fairs and employee need listings.
Needy Veterans Food Pantry - Newest program developed to assist needy Veterans, their families, and Active Duty families opening the Post Food Pantry weekly supplying them wit food and supplies that may be needed. Weekly the Post receives food from local food distributor, stores items whether dry, refrigerated or freezer goods for distribution. Needy individuals are required to fill out the Post application, supply required ID information and given time to pick up items the may require.
