Military families, both past and present, who need assistance this holiday season for a meal or a gift for a child have an opportunity with the Illinois AMVETS.
Ashley Murphy, Communications Director for Illinois AMVETS, says that applications are still open to Operation: Red Sleigh. Murphy says the program started in 2016 and its both for active-duty and veterans of the military who need help, with no income requirements.
Murphy says that local posts vary on how they help their local military community. She says AMVETS Post 100 in Jacksonville has varied each year on how they do the work for Operation Red Sleigh: “Post 100 there in Jacksonville is incredibly active in their community in lots of regards. So, they have done it both ways. So, they generally submit some families for the program. Then, in past years, they have helped purchase the gifts and provided meals, and those type of things and actually brought them to the families. Then, in other years, they have made a donation to the department, and then I facilitate gifts and meals. It kind of depends on the family if they are wanting to keep it more private, then facilitating through the state group is much easier for keeping it anonymous.”
Murphy says that the deadline for applications is Wednesday, November 8th and there are one of two ways to get them submitted: “The application is all online. If for some reason someone can’t do it online, there is a pdf on the website that you can print out but I would need to have it. I would suggest, in that instance, of dropping it off at the office in Springfield or emailing it directly to me once it is filled out, but we would prefer that people fill it out and submit it online.”
The Illinois AMVETS office is located at 2206 South Sixth Street in Springfield, which shares a building with Flag World. To download the application, visit ilamvets.org/ors.