A Community of Volunteers Serving Veterans, Military, and their Families
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April: Month of the Military Child and Purple Up! Day | |
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Military children face unique challenges and make sacrifices. To recognize this, April is designated as the Month of the Military Child (#MOMC).
Purple Up! Day — April 15 — is part of the monthlong celebration. To show support for military children and raise awareness about their sacrifices, people wear purple on this special day. Purple symbolizes a combination of the colors of each branch of the U.S. military: Army green, Navy blue, Air Force blue, Marine red, and Coast Guard blue.
As a major supporter and advocate for veterans, the military, and their families for more than a century, the American Legion Auxiliary appreciates and celebrates these children who give up so much as their servicemember parents work to protect and defend America, its people, and its principles. Thousands of ALA members and other members of The American Legion Family participate in Purple Up! Day.
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New webinar offering: National Poppy Day® in your community | |
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The Friday before Memorial Day is National Poppy Day (May 24 this year). All American Legion Family members are encouraged to participate in activities in their communities.
The poppy was adopted as our memorial flower in the early 1920s, and the tradition of distributing red crepe paper poppies in exchange for donations continues.
Join us in this webinar to get ideas on how you can organize local National Poppy Day events and activities.
You will learn:
- History and purpose of National Poppy Day
- Ideas for activities and events
- How to publicize National Poppy Day locally
➡️ Reserve your spot for this webinar on April 18 at noon ET.
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Exciting news for ALA Juniors | |
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We are thrilled to announce another expansion to the national Junior Member of the Year (JMOY) program. This year, instead of a single JMOY, we have created five division JMOYs — one for each ALA division — and added a scholarship for each division JMOY award recipient.
A division Junior Member of the Year and their chaperone will now be authorized to travel to the national Junior meeting in their respective division. This is a further way to reward our Junior members who are actively participating in the American Legion Auxiliary’s mission of serving veterans, military, and their families.
Any ALA Junior in good standing who is at least in eighth grade or an eighth-grade equivalent and was a Junior member at the start of the current ALA administrative year is eligible to be nominated. Nominations may come from any member, unit, or department and should detail the Junior nominee’s ALA participation and activities during the past year. Document with photographs, screenshots, and other evidence of the Junior’s ALA participation and activities.
ALA Juniors who attended a national Junior meeting during the 2023-2024 ALA administrative year and were planning to run for honorary national Junior division vice president now have the opportunity to be nominated for JMOY.
For more information, click here or email JuniorActivities@ALAforVeterans.org.
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Recognizing your achievements | |
Every year, we honor the best of the best during the National President’s Award for Excellence presentation on the National Convention stage! We know your unit/department is doing great work and we want an opportunity to celebrate you in New Orleans! This year, there will be up to five unit winners and one department winner — all will have demonstrated exceptional work in at least three of our mission outreach programs. One winner will also receive the Legion Family Unity Award for demonstrating efforts to increase awareness about the military veteran suicide epidemic.
Don’t delay — apply today!
Find a full list of awards here.
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What does this mean for you? If you currently receive greeting cards, labels, wall calendars, and notepads from the American Legion Auxiliary or the American Legion Auxiliary Foundation, you will not receive any more mailings after May 14, 2024. As we move forward, the ALA is committed to ensuring a seamless transition in our fundraising activities. We are actively exploring new partnerships that align with our mission and values. This change will lead to enhanced fundraising initiatives that better serve our community. |  | |
Lands’ End Business is your one-stop shop for high quality clothing and merchandise that can be branded with the ALA or ALA Foundation emblem. ALA members can shop in a custom storefront and can use promotions offered through Lands’ End Business. Everything in this custom ALA store is made to last and designed to keep you comfortable and looking your best all day long.
Starting April 20, enjoy $3 logos and free shipping on orders over $75. Use promo code EL3FS75 at checkout through May 3.

Shop now!
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Looking for an article from a past issue of Auxiliary magazine? You can find copies dating back to 2010 at www.ALAforVeterans.org/magazine. For older issues, contact history@ALAforVeterans.org.
Do you know of a member, unit, department, etc., deserving of an award? Award nominations for the 2023-2024 administrative year are due June 1. The awards for each committee can be found under the committee’s page here.
Did you know ALA Academy Live webinars are recorded and available online? Here is how you can access past webinars:
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Go to the ALA Academy. *Note: You will need to log in to the website using your ALA member username and password.
- Select “Launch Academy.”
- A new tab/window will launch. If you don’t have a username for the ALA Academy, you will need to create one.
- Select the webinar you want to watch and happy learning!
Has your membership expired? You can still renew for 2024 and continue serving veterans, military, and their families. You can renew your membership in three easy ways: online, phone, or mail. Go to www.ALAforVeterans.org, call (317) 569-4570, or mail in your renewal notice.

Follow @ALAforVeterans on Instagram! Familiar with our social media accounts on Facebook but want to branch out? We’re on Instagram too! Join us for fun, unique, and mission-related content you won’t see anywhere else. Just search for @ALAforVeterans.
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Request to join our official ALA program and committee groups on Facebook | |
Discover what your fellow ALA members are saying in the committee Facebook groups! These easy-to-access forums provide an arena for organic discussion about your local programs or services and present the opportunity to cultivate brand awareness. Find the list of groups here.
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The much anticipated documentary filmed during a session of ALA Missouri Girls State premiered on the big screen and is now available on AppleTV+.
American Legion Auxiliary members and ALA Girls State alumnae know how transformative, educational, and inspirational the ALA Girls State program is. Now, everyone will have the opportunity to get a glimpse inside one to witness it for themselves. Read more.
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For about five years, ALA Department of California member Christine Evans and ALA Unit 180 have had a great connection with Fort Irwin and the elementary school there. Evans’ passion is the Auxiliary’s Children & Youth program and wanting to get more involved in that area at the unit level, so she reached out to her contact at the school to see if there might be any children the unit could nominate for the Good Deed Award. That’s when Evans found out about the school tours. Learn more. | |
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April – Month of the Military Child
April 9 – National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day
April 15 – Purple Up! Day for Military Children
April 18 – ALA Academy Live Lunch & Learn: Celebrating National Poppy Day in Your Communities
April 21-27 – National Volunteer Week
April 22 – Earth Day
April 27 – American Legion Family Day
April 30 – National Military Brats Day
May – Military Appreciation Month
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What advice would you give to fellow ALA members thinking about becoming a VAVS volunteer? | |
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“Give it a chance to be a volunteer. There are so many avenues you can go to be a volunteer. You sometimes will come into the hospital unhappy, and as soon as you walk in the door, you will see how important you are to the VA.”
- Donna Ray, Ohio
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Legion Family Day is April 27
The American Legion Family is encouraged to host events at their post homes every year on the last Saturday of April. It serves as an opportunity to open the doors to members of the community to learn more about our mission and who we are. This is also a great opportunity to bring awareness to the Be the One mission to reduce the rate of veteran suicide.
This day was created through Resolution No. 7 accepted at the 2022 American Legion National Convention.
New Be the One resources for members
The American Legion is aiming to reduce the rate of veteran suicide through its Be the One mission, as well as build more awareness about the issue and identify solutions to help a veteran in crisis.
The American Legion’s newly updated Be the One website is full of information to help Legion Family and community members take part in this mission to save lives.
New Be the One items under the Resources and Media tab:
- Frequently asked questions
- Sample media advisory and press release
- Sample speech
- Social media graphics
- Table banner
- Videos
- Virtual training
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Legion Family Merchandise
Show your support by buying from
American Legion Flag & Emblem Sales.
Shop now
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The American Legion Legislative Center
The ALA supports the legislative agenda of The American Legion.
Get involved.
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In the spirit of Service Not Self, the mission of the American Legion Auxiliary is to support The American Legion and honor the sacrifice of those who serve by enhancing the lives of our veterans, military, and their families, both at home and abroad. For God and country, we advocate for veterans, educate our citizens, mentor youth, and promote patriotism, good citizenship, peace, and security.
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