Responding to the trend of an aging veterans population as well as changes in health care delivery, the Bowlers to Veterans Link recently donated more than $700,000 to the growing number of Vet Centers and State Veterans Homes around the country, as well as the nation's 173 VA Medical Centers.
The response to the contributions has been overwhelming—letters and calls of thanks are pouring in from veterans around the country.
BVL Executive Director Helene Phillips explains: "We've recognized for some time that our needy veterans population is shifting-many World War II veterans are aging out of the traditional VA Hospital structure, and the majority of our Vietnam era veterans are being served via the Vet Centers system. Consequently, the BVL board concluded that we needed to make these changes in our contributions to maintain BVL's commitment to best serve veterans."
The scope of the BVL programming extends well beyond the grants, as they are made in addition to a number of extremely popular ongoing programs that BVL has funded for years. These include "Learn to Bowl" clinics; support of the four national veterans competitions—the Golden Age Games, the Winter Sports Clinic, the Creative Arts Festival, and the Veterans Wheelchair Games; tours of the highly-praised entertainment troupe "Re-Creation"; coordination and sponsorship of the annual VA/BVL National Veterans Bowling Tournament; and much more.
"We are so thankful that the BVL has chosen to support our veterans with such a generous contribution," remarked State Veterans Home Executive Director Sam McVay. "Our State Homes are overwhelmed by the kindness of America's bowlers—your dedication to our veterans not only this year but in every year since BVL's founding in 1942 is truly an expression of caring, concern, and commitment to those brave men and women who have served our country. May God bless BVL."
The direct cash grants provide veterans care programs with desperately needed funds to improve the quality of life for America's veterans. Through BVL national offices, grants are made utilizing a carefully developed construct to insure the funds are appropriately disbursed. In addition, policies are in place for tracking, oversight, and adherence to the highest standard accounting procedures. These guidelines are designed to insure that no veteran is forgotten—especially as changes in VA health care delivery often mean that patients are moved to out-of-state VA Hospitals for on-going care.