COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION TIPS FOR YOUR PARISH
Building Support to Recognize Greek-American Achievement

	Community Leaders on Church Steps

Implementing The Veterans Recognition Program

The first step is to form a committee by soliciting volunteers to work on the project. From this group a chairperson should be nominated to shepherd the process. In the case of Taxiarchae, the Veterans Committee is made up of both past and present members of the church.

To insure success, it is important that word get out about The Veterans Recognition Program. The parish priest could disseminate word of the program through announcements during the Sunday service. Other venues to consider are notices placed in the weekly church news bulletin and the monthly newsletter.

The next step should be to establish a list of eligible names of U.S. Armed Forces veterans who are either past or present members of the church. Excellent resources are the local and state veterans' services officers. Local agents should have lists of those individuals who were drafted, whereby state agents would have names of the enlisted personnel. Networking with past and present parishioners is also a valuable tool in working to establish the list of veterans.

Volunteers of The Veterans Recognition Program should develop a form so that pertinent information from the veteran or the veteran's family can be ascertained. Criteria should include: name, address, phone number, photograph of the veteran, place of birth, branch of service, rank/rate, campaigns or places served, units, ships, years of service, and honors. This form should appear in the monthly church bulletin for distribution and in a separate mailing.

From this form data will be gathered for a church plaque honoring the veterans, including those killed in action, and it can serve as the source for a veterans' album. The form will also aid in verifying those individuals to be honored. Verification of each veteran should be completed before names appear on a permanent plaque or in a commemorative album. The most efficient way of verification is the veteran's separation papers or DD214.

Perhaps the most important consideration is raising money to underwrite the project. Aside from soliciting donations when distributing the forms, we know that each committee will tailor a creative fundraising plan to fit its needs.