Pillar IV CHILDREN & YOUTH

American Legion Post #48
P. O. Box 323
820 South Alamama Street
Chesnee, SC 29323

Pillar IV: CHILDREN & YOUTH

   The American Legion's Children & Youth pillar is guided by three main objectives: strengthen the family unit, support organizations that help children in need, and provide communities with well-rounded programs to provide hope and opportunity for young people facing difficult challenges.

    One program within this pillar is Temporary Financial Assistance. This program provides funds to veterans and military service members' families who are struggling and have minor children at home.

    For example, when health problems forced a Vietnam War veteran and his wife to quit their jobs, they still had to care for their five children at home. A local American Legion post in Washington State raised funds to help out and provided money through Temporary Financial Assistance.

    After a fire at an apartment complex in New Hampshire left the families of five active-duty service members homeless, The American Legion stepped in with $500 in TFA funds for each family.

    The American Legion provides temporary cash grants to hundreds of families in need each year. Local posts make requests for funds from the TFA program, which annually distributes more than $500,000 to help families.
www.legion.org/financialassistance

FAMILY SUPPORT NETWORK
    Established during Operation Desert Storm, this program connects American Legion members with families struggling at home when loved ones are called to military duty. The program takes many shapes. Legion volunteers provide child-care services, yard work, car repairs or other forms of personal help. A dedicated hotline800-504-4098 - is available for families looking for assistance.
www.legion.org/fsn

CHILD WELFARE FOUNDATION
    Nonprofit organizations that reach out to help young people in need are supported through American Legion Child Welfare Foundation grants. The foundation provides grants to enhance communications for groups that tackle problems ranging from childhood neglect to substance abuse.
www.legion.org/childwelfare

SOCIAL ISSUES
    The American Legion opposes attempts to weaken U.S. laws governing the production and distribution of pornographic materials and takes a zero-tolerance stance on sexual exploitation of children. The Legion also works with local programs, law-enforcement officials and schools to prevent substance abuse among young people in their communities. Other issues of Legion concern include Halloween safety, suicide prevention, support for children of deployed troops, and control over excessive use of violence in the entertainment media.

DID YOU KNOW?
In 2012, the legion's Child Welfare foundation awarded more than $730,000 to 20 nonprofit groups who care for the well-being of American youth.