Helping Meet the Most Urgent Needs of Veterans
"We thank God for NAAV and its supporters for helping us avoid foreclosure and homelessness. We are eternally grateful and blessed for their support and efforts.” -- Laura Nottingham
Sometimes, just being there for someone can make all the difference. Constance Burns experienced the power of being there during a visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in 2005.
Burns met a young man who had lost both legs in Afghanistan. When she asked if he wanted to talk, he broke down in tears. He said he did want to talk but felt that no one was interested in what he and his fellow injured veterans had experienced.
“Life is going on all around us,” he told Burns. “People are talking and laughing as if everything is ok. Well, it’s not ok for me.”
This is the moment Burns, a retired Defense Department employee, decided to do something for at least some of the two million veterans who have returned from combat in Afghanistan and Iraq.
She started the National Association of American Veterans (NAAV) as a vehicle for organizing volunteers like her who could be there for veterans, helping them meet their needs, whether it be simply listening to them or helping in concrete ways.
NAAV’s more than 30 volunteers respond to more than 14,000 calls for help every year. “When people come to us,” Burns says, “it is as a last resort. We must make things happen for them.”
Here are some of the things that NAAV has made happen for veterans in need in just a few months in 2024:
- In Jamestown, TN, disabled Gulf War Army veteran Jeff Nottingham and his family were about to lose their home to foreclosure. Burns reached out to the bank and paid more than $2,000 so they could avoid foreclosure. “We thank God for NAAV and its supporters for helping us avoid foreclosure and homelessness,” said Laura Nottingham. “We are eternally grateful and blessed for their support and efforts.”
- In San Antonio, TX, disabled Army veteran Abel Perales and his family was about to have their electricity cut off in the middle of August during intense heat. NAAV paid off what they owed. “We are very thankful and grateful for your support and professional assistance,” Perales said.
- In Mississippi, the daughter of the late Army Sgt Major Louis Lindsey reached out to Burns and NAAV for help with getting information about her father’s headstone and acquiring his certificates of honorable service from the White House. “I am extremely grateful for Constance’s expertise,” said Lillie Lindsey. “I appreciate her compassion, thoughtfulness and kindness.
These stories demonstrate the wide range of help and expertise that NAAV’s volunteers provide. This includes helping veterans navigate the bureaucracy so that they get benefits they deserve, or finding money to allow a veteran to pay an overdue utility bill, or bringing an isolated veteran a care package of food and other necessities, so they know that people care about them.
Sometimes NAAV helps with family issues: connecting a veteran and his family with marriage or family counseling is one example. NAAV also helps veterans and their families find a job or career counseling, affordable housing, a lawyer, respite care, resources to allow a family to travel to be with their injured veteran -- whatever it takes. The goal is to meet the specific needs of individual veterans.
NAAV’s volunteers have more than 60 years of experience working inside the military or the federal government, so they know how to make things happen. They know who to call and what help is available.
The volunteers help veterans wherever they are, even in rural areas far from VA centers. Burns and her volunteers spend countless hours on the phone, talking to veterans and their families as well as people who can help.
Plus, because NAAV relies on volunteers, its overhead is tiny: just 1.8%. Donations directly help struggling veterans.
The Combined Federal Campaign is one of NAAV’s most important sources of support. Its CFC number is 85065. “The generosity of federal employees and members of the military are what helps keep us going,” Burns states.
View the charity page:
Sometimes, just being there for someone can make all the difference. Constance Burns experienced the power of being there during a visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in 2005.
Burns met a young man who had lost both legs in Afghanistan. When she asked if he wanted to talk, he broke down in tears. He said he did want to talk but felt that no one was interested in what he and his fellow injured veterans had experienced.
“Life is going on all around us,” he told Burns. “People are talking and laughing as if everything is ok. Well, it’s not ok for me.”
This is the moment Burns, a retired Defense Department employee, decided to do something for at least some of the two million veterans who have returned from combat in Afghanistan and Iraq.
She started the National Association of American Veterans (NAAV) as a vehicle for organizing volunteers like her who could be there for veterans, helping them meet their needs, whether it be simply listening to them or helping in concrete ways.
NAAV’s more than 30 volunteers respond to more than 14,000 calls for help every year. “When people come to us,” Burns says, “it is as a last resort. We must make things happen for them.”
Here are some of the things that NAAV has made happen for veterans in need in just a few months in 2024:
- In Jamestown, TN, disabled Gulf War Army veteran Jeff Nottingham and his family were about to lose their home to foreclosure. Burns reached out to the bank and paid more than $2,000 so they could avoid foreclosure. “We thank God for NAAV and its supporters for helping us avoid foreclosure and homelessness,” said Laura Nottingham. “We are eternally grateful and blessed for their support and efforts.”
- In San Antonio, TX, disabled Army veteran Abel Perales and his family was about to have their electricity cut off in the middle of August during intense heat. NAAV paid off what they owed. “We are very thankful and grateful for your support and professional assistance,” Perales said.
- In Mississippi, the daughter of the late Army Sgt Major Louis Lindsey reached out to Burns and NAAV for help with getting information about her father’s headstone and acquiring his certificates of honorable service from the White House. “I am extremely grateful for Constance’s expertise,” said Lillie Lindsey. “I appreciate her compassion, thoughtfulness and kindness.
These stories demonstrate the wide range of help and expertise that NAAV’s volunteers provide. This includes helping veterans navigate the bureaucracy so that they get benefits they deserve, or finding money to allow a veteran to pay an overdue utility bill, or bringing an isolated veteran a care package of food and other necessities, so they know that people care about them.
Sometimes NAAV helps with family issues: connecting a veteran and his family with marriage or family counseling is one example. NAAV also helps veterans and their families find a job or career counseling, affordable housing, a lawyer, respite care, resources to allow a family to travel to be with their injured veteran -- whatever it takes. The goal is to meet the specific needs of individual veterans.
NAAV’s volunteers have more than 60 years of experience working inside the military or the federal government, so they know how to make things happen. They know who to call and what help is available.
The volunteers help veterans wherever they are, even in rural areas far from VA centers. Burns and her volunteers spend countless hours on the phone, talking to veterans and their families as well as people who can help.
Plus, because NAAV relies on volunteers, its overhead is tiny: just 1.8%. Donations directly help struggling veterans.
The Combined Federal Campaign is one of NAAV’s most important sources of support. Its CFC number is 85065. “The generosity of federal employees and members of the military are what helps keep us going,” Burns states.
View the charity page: