Posts Tagged ‘Members’
Membership Renewal
In just a short 2-year period the DPVA Veterans and Military Families Caucus has played key roles in the past 2 election cycles. Our efforts were paramount in working towards getting President Obama the number of votes he needed to garner the nomination here in the Commonwealth. Last year, though the gubernatorial elections did not fare in our favor, we did have 3 outstanding sets of VMF policy that the candidates pushed as a top tier issue during their campaigns. Our ability to sign up 100′s of supporters in a quick amount of time proved our level of effectiveness and efficiency as a committee. And, more importantly showed the people of the Commonwealth, including our fellow Democrats, that the issues of veterans and their families are our issues: Democratic issues.
This year, with the assistance of good friends in and active with our committee, we wrote the DNC’s Veterans Candidate Platform. We have taken said platform and distributed it to our Congressional candidates: both incumbants and first time candidates. Our VMF platform is a key component of these races, and significantly, is now being used nationally. Nearly every race has a VMF “guru” advising its campaign. Again, this speaks volumes to all of your hardwork and dedication. Since our inception, we are, and continue to be, the example for all of the other states’ Democratic party offiliated VMFCs. I thank you for all that you do!
To help continue our stallwart work, please renew your membership here. If you are not yet an official member of the Veterans and Military Family Caucus, you too may click on the link to join. The membership fee is only $10/year, which mainly goes towards the upkeep of our website.
Thank you for your time! I look forward to our great work together.
Terron Sims
Chair, Veterans and Military Families Caucus
Democratic Party of Virginia
Connolly Cares About the Troops
Two of the key elements required of our elected representatives is to listen to constituents and act on their behalf. Congressman Connolly has done just that with his recently passed bill, the Helping
Active Duty Deployed Act, drafted to ease financial burdens on our military personnel.
When talking to people he represents (and Connolly does this a lot) he found that they had to pay many extra costs for financial obligations when they were deployed.
Congressman Connolly along with Virginia Congressmen Perriello and Nye drafted up a bill to help our warriors and it was passed in record time, in a bipartisan vote.
As a Vietnam veteran, I would have appreciated someone who cared so much about me in 1968. Thank you Congressman Connolly.
BRUCE ROEMMELT
Haymarket
Grace After Fire
One of our own VMFC members, Kayla Williams, is a member of the Board of Directors of the new “Grace After Fire”. Grace is designed to serve women veterans from all eras and branches of service (currently 1.8M), and is preparing to meet the high numbers of women (approximately 14 percent of the armed services) currently serving. Although women veterans represent less than 6 percent of veterans accessing VA healthcare, 71 percent of the women who do use the VA System have a mental health concern. Unfortunately, a challenge that can occur in offering VA services to women is providing accessible gender-responsive and trauma-informed care at all locations.
Grace is a virtual organization reaching across the nation, and is already engaging with women veterans still in theater as they prepare to come home. Grace’s Board of Directors is comprised of 80 percent veterans, managed by women veterans; and our Clinical Advisory Committee is comprised of 100 percent women trauma experts, researchers, and addiction specialists.
Learn more at www.graceafterfire.org