VA REOPENS EDUCATION CALL CENTERS FIVE DAYS A WEEK AND ANNOUNCES NEW GI BILL ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN
This week the Veterans Administration has announced that its education call center will resume taking calls five days a week. In December of last year, amid a growing backlog of education benefit claims, the VA reassigned call center personnel to assist in processing claims on Thursdays and Fridays. Since November, when call volume hit its all time peak of 1.26 million calls, the call center has seen a decline in calls of 42 percent. READ MORE »
NATIONAL MILITARY FAMILY ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES LOCATIONS OF 2010 OPERATION PURPLE SUMMER CAMPS
The National Military Family Association has announced the locations of this summer’s Operation Purple summer camps. The program, now its seventh summer, was developed by NMFA to support military children dealing with the stresses of war. This summer the camps will host children at 68 locations across 32 states and two overseas locations in Germany and Guam. Individual camp information will be made available when registration begins March 15.
DoD PARTNERSHIP OFFERS FREE ONLINE TUTORING TO MILITARY FAMILIES
Based on the Army and Marine Corps’ success with Tutor.com, the Department of Defense (DoD) is making the online tutoring service available beginning in January 2010 as a benefit to all active duty military service members, reservists, National Guard personnel on active duty in a deployed status, DoD civilians in a deployed status, and their dependents.
IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN VETERANS OF AMERICA STORM THE HILL THIS WEEK
IAVA’s Storm the Hill event began today and will run through the week. As part of this event, IAVA has sent two dozen veterans to Washington DC to speak directly to congress. This year IAVA’s top legislative priority is reforming what it calls the outdated VA disability claims process.
MOBILIZE.ORG ANNOUNCES GRANT TO REWARD MILLENNIAL VETERANS AND INVEST IN THEIR IDEAS
Mobilize.org is an organization striving to address local and national issues facing the Millennial generation – those born after 1975. Of the 2 million armed service personnel who have served in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, over 1.25 million are Millennials. Recognizing this fact, Mobilize.org in partnership with the Goldhirsh Foundation, MTV, the McCormick Foundation and ServiceNation has announced a competition to award grants totaling $25,000 for veteran-led projects that address the needs of the returning Millennial veterans.
CAREGIVING STRAINS FAMILIES OF VETERANS WITH SEVERE INJURIES – USA TODAY
By Mary Brophy Marcus, USA TODAYThe thing is, “Kamm” is 21. He suffered a traumatic brain injury, shattered bones and burns on 25% of his body in Afghanistan in May 2008, which left him in a wheelchair, unable to speak and in chronic pain.
Leslie moved from Pennsylvania to her son’s home in Riverview, Fla., to care for him after he spent months at a military hospital in San Antonio. READ MORE »
WHITE HOUSE SEEKS $125 BILLION FOR VETERANS IN 2011
WASHINGTON – To expand health care to a record-number of Veterans, reduce the number of homeless Veterans and process a dramatically increased number of new disability compensation claims, the White House has announced a proposed $125 billion budget next year for the Department of Veterans Affairs. The $125 billion budget request, which has to be approved by Congress, includes $60.3 billion for discretionary spending (mostly health care) and $64.7 billion in mandatory funding (mostly for disability compensation and pensions).
VA TO BEGIN RECOVERY OF POST 9/11 GI-BILL ADVANCED PAYMENTS
In a press release issued January 23, 2010 the VA announced that it would begin recovery of advanced payments made to education benefit recipients during the fall 2009 semester. “The advance payments were a huge success and helped thousands of student Veterans during the first days of the historic Post-9/11 GI Bill focus on studies and not their finances,” said Keith Wilson, Director of Education Services at VA. “Now, we can get to the business of closing the books on advance payments and focus on supporting Veterans for the spring semester.”
