To every department, chapter, Auxiliary unit and friend of DAV who supported DAV Community Impact Day this past April, thank you.

It’s two words, but I want you to understand their weight.

Close to 1,000 people pledged their time to serve veterans on April 5, and from the conversations I’ve had and the stories, videos and photos we’ve received, I know many veterans’ lives were touched that day.

Because of you.

Here’s a sample of some of the impact we’ve seen:

Hawaii Chapter 1 in Honolulu did buddy checks, calling names on their roster to ask veterans how they were doing. Jacqueline Elisca was one of the members who volunteered and told us how appreciative the veterans she spoke to were to receive a call. She was even able to help one veteran with a Department of Veterans Affairs medical care concern by getting the information he needed.

Chapter 66 in Hammonton, New Jersey, gathered members, families, friends and people from their community to freshen up their meeting space, which has been serving veterans since 1955. Volunteer Terri Lazaaro said the group was laughing, singing and making memories as they cleaned spaces, made minor repairs and painted walls.

“We not only changed the look and feel of the hall,” Terri said, “but we strengthened the bond with our community and our veterans.”

Georgia Chapter 56 in Columbus collected and donated baby items like strollers, high chairs and diapers to the Robert S. Poydasheff VA Clinic for a baby shower for women veterans.

Massachusetts Chapter 122 in West Townsend hosted a pizza party for veterans living in a local veterans home. “We provided plenty of food,” DAV member Walter Mann said, “but more importantly, we provided a few hours of camaraderie to our fellow veterans. We found that talking with them about topics other than the military and getting to know about them just as a person really raises their spirits.”

Mann said that some members visit the home weekly, talking with or taking residents out to run errands or for lunch. Their next big event is a summer ice cream social.

DAV member D. Paul Martin, of Chapter 32 in Murphytown, West Virginia, with the help of his friend Jerry, regraded a rutted-out veteran’s driveway so that the DAV Transportation Network vehicle could get to the house. Until this repair was made, the veteran, who couldn’t walk down the driveway, wasn’t able to get to critical medical appointments.

Members of Chapter 66 and Auxiliary Unit 66, in Bolivar, Missouri, built a ramp for a veteran in their community.

Volunteer Richard Galster handed out free coffee and donuts to veterans visiting the Vietnam memorial in Canby, Oregon.

Members of Chapter 45 in Loxley, Alabama, held a bingo day for residents at the William F. Green State Veterans Home in nearby Bay Minette.

Florida Chapter 16 in Orlando did a cookout for residents at the Alwyn C. Cashe State Veterans’ Nursing Home.

We’ll share more stories and photos in the July/August issue of DAV Magazine.

We hope you’re as inspired by these events as we are. The creativity, care and thoughtfulness put into each one of these efforts represents the very best of who we are as an organization. They show, too, that it really doesn’t take a lot of time to make a significant impact in a veteran’s life; something as simple as picking up a phone and doing a buddy check can make a difference.

This is the second year we held DAV Community Impact Day, and by all accounts it was a success. Again, thank you. We’ll do it again.

But you don’t have to wait for Saturday, April 4, 2026, to get out and serve veterans in your community. The true intent behind DAV Community Impact Day is to spark a desire to find ways to volunteer throughout the year. Many of you do this now, and we just want to see that heart to serve continue to spread.

Volunteerforveterans.org is a great place to find those opportunities.