One of the things I love most about DAV is how it’s built on relationships. We’re the type of people who are happy to roll up our sleeves and dive in to help one another during the tough parts of life. But we’re also quick to be there to connect with one another, share stories and find the humor in life. I can personally attest to how true this is. Our organization is a family unified by a common bond of service.

To me, this family atmosphere stays in line with DAV’s “service first” mindset. Our foremost goal is that we want to make sure veterans are taken care of and that they have the resources and guidance they need to live fulfilling post-military lives. This mindset extends beyond helping them access VA health care and disability benefits. It’s helping connect them with other veterans and volunteers in their communities. It’s making sure they can find meaningful employment. It’s amplifying our shared voice on Capitol Hill.

We can do all of this because of our membership. New members increase our numbers, making us more visible in our communities, and that allows us to serve more veterans locally. More members means veterans have a larger network to connect with. Strength in numbers also makes us more visible and powerful to lawmakers when we advocate for legislation important to those who have served.

As significant as these impacts can be, finding new members comes down to you, your relationships and your willingness to have one-on-one conversations with people. You should be regularly reaching out to fellow veterans to check in on them. Ask them how their claim is going. Ask if they need anything—like a ride to an appointment or help running an errand. Be a listening ear to someone who may just want to talk.

A side benefit to these interactions is that they are great natural segues into talking about membership and its advantages. When someone sees the value in what you provide as a DAV member, they are more open to becoming a part of our cause themselves.

If you need help with any of this, we’ve got you covered.

To help you grow your personal connections, we have hot lists of potential members in your community. Chapter and department leadership can submit requests for these lists from DAV National Headquarters. Take some time to go knock on some doors from that list and check in on your brothers and sisters.

To help explain eligibility and benefits of membership, you can share this video we created: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icPdAYl5-yg.  You can also visit www.dav.org/membership for more information.

And don’t forget, referrals get you points towards merchandise at the DAV Store.

Thank you for being a part of the DAV family. What you do is positively impacting the lives of veterans and their families every day, and there may be no better feeling than knowing that.