By Carley Schutz

Every person has a story. On Veterans Day, those stories were told in remembrance, gratitude, and grief. 

The third annual American Legion Auxiliary Foundation Veterans Day of Giving on Nov. 11 was a tremendous display of support. Three years ago, the Development Division at ALA National Headquarters developed this campaign with the hope to inspire storytelling among members and help grow the Veteran Projects Fund. We knew the key to success was giving our supporters the opportunity to honor a special person in their life. 

Honoring someone we love breathes air back into the sound of their name. It shows that the collection of letters on a piece of paper or digital forum was once a person you held dear. Today, those names are doing more than living on a page or screen; they are driving real change for today’s veterans and military families.

When you donated to the Veterans Day of Giving, not only did you get to see your loved one’s name again, but you also supported veterans and military families across the country. Your donation was allocated to the Veteran Projects Fund to be used to fund new, emergent needs to benefit veterans and military families in communities nationwide.  

With so many challenges plaguing our veterans today, the ALA Foundation is honored to be a part of the solution. For over 10 years, the Foundation has awarded grants up to $10,000 to ALA entities across the country to help fill gaps of care in their communities. ALA units, departments, and districts have partnered with organizations serving veterans in their neighborhoods and have applied for a Veteran Projects Fund grant to answer a call for help. 

The Foundation has funded grants for blanket warmers for veterans homes, a wheelchair bicycle and other adaptive sports equipment, transportation vehicles so veterans can go to a variety of appointments, washers and dryers, furniture to equip transitional living facilities, and a wide range of outdoor projects including a gazebo. 

The ALA Foundation is making sure the dollars you donate in honor of someone dear help veterans who served and those who are still serving get the quality of life they deserve. Every person honored on Veterans Day of Giving carries forward a legacy of service and compassion.

To those who donated, we thank you.

To those honored, we thank you.

To learn more about the Veteran Projects Fund, please visit www.ALAFoundation.org/grants. 

2025 Honorees:
AD3 Sue McLendon, U.S. Navy
Adrian O. Klaeysen
All veterans
All who served
Andrew Barylski Jr.
Bill Chief Johnson
Carl Bromberg
Clay Lofton
Clemens Schmidt and Thomas Burkhalter
Dad, Mike, Ray, Tim
Dale E. Richard
Dale Phillips
Daniel A. Ward
Darrell J. Emery
David A. Reed
Derick Baxter
Donald F Killian Sr.
Donald George Popadince ll
Donald Palmer Oliphant
Dr. Keith Boone
Dr. William Schamadan, Air Force
Earl L. Comstock
Earl McMahon, CMS (Retired)
Edward Wayne Cooley
Emmet Elwood Lockhart
G. Michael Long
Gary Stanton
Gregory J. Avis
Harold Bals
Harold Lee Johns, World War II Korea Vietnam
Hubert Gearld Fowler
James F. Hey
James Higuera
Jerome Kranig and Barbara Kranig
Joe Hernandez
John D. Helm
John Macchio
Ken Lowe, GMG3 U.S. Navy
Kenneth L. OBrien
Linus J. Bertke
Lowell Huber
Lt. Col. William J. Flynn
Major Darrel K. Johnson
Marty Wilson
Mary Archambault
Michael Mort
My late dad, Philip E. Racquet, Army WWII
Our veterans
Patrick J. Sullivan, USN
Perry Rowley
Ralph, Joyce, and John
Retired Staff Sgt. James “Ed” McClung
Richard Dzinbal
Richard L. Milton
Richard L. Parrish
Richard Wm Anderson
Richard Young
Robert Akright
Robert Danner
Robert F. Wallace
Robert H. Thompson
Robert L. Billig
Robert Melgard and Stanley Rapport
Robert S. Ellett
Robert Taylor
Robert Zavitz and Kenneth Baldwin
Rodel Wilson and Roland Vogel
Roger Brenneman
Rudy Kraemer
Sgt. William Patrick Rudd
Steve Isensee
Thomas Hanley
Tony Annesi and Richard Rowe
Troy Edwards, SMC U.S. Navy (Retired)
Velter James Barrow Jr.
Veterans
Walter Lyndsley
William F. Kmelius
William J. Cook
 
*Honoree names are from gifts received Oct. 28, 2025 to Nov. 13, 2025.