Founded in 1946 by the Federal Government, the VA Center for Development and Civic Engagement (CDCE) program assists veteran patients through volunteer work in community-based volunteer programs, hospital wards, nursing homes, VA Medical Centers, and veteran outreach centers.
CDCE is the organizing force that brings compassionate Americans into veterans’ health facilities to improve veterans’ lives.
JWV’s first National Representative was officially certified in 1946 to the National CDCE Advisory Committee, which meets annually to coordinate and discuss obstacles like getting more volunteers. Volunteering offers an opportunity and a challenge to the Jewish War Veteran to put into practice the admonition, “I am my brother’s keeper.”
Purpose:
To fulfill our mission to help all veterans by volunteering at VA facilities.
How to Get Involved:
Contact the CDCE office at your local VA facility: https://www.volunteer.va.gov
- Contact the CDCE Chairman in your Post or Department.
Meet a CDCE Volunteer
JWV Post 605 sponsors the annual Holiday Gifts for Vets (HGV) Program, which provided about 400 gift bags to hospitalized veterans at the VA facilities in Kansas City, MO and Leavenworth, KS last year. The HGV Program is funded by cash and in-kind donations from individuals and Post 605 fundraising.
Each bag contains about 18 items including a sweatshirt, t-shirt, woolen cap, 2 pairs of socks, shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrush, shaving cream, tissues, water bottle, backpack, drink coozie, paperback book and thank you cards from a 4th grade class.
The Post assembles and delivers these bags to the VA facilities on Dec. 14th and 21st, and the VA staff immediately distributes these to the patients and residents. Post 605 has been running the HGV Program since 2003, and continues to be amazed at the response from the veterans who receive these packages.
