American Legion Service Programs

About our Programs and Services

American Legion Harford Post 39 supports various programs and services that not only provide benefits to our local community in Bel Air and throughout Harford County, but at the national level as well.

Since its inception by Congress in 1919, The American Legion, with help from local posts like ours, has delivered substantial improvements for veterans, families and communities. The Legion ushered in the modern VA. The Legion drafted and drove home passage of the GI Bill and the Post-9/11 GI Bill. The Legion has brought into existence dozens of health-care benefits for veterans and programs designed to provide civilian careers after discharge.

The Legion works every day on behalf of U.S. servicemen and women. It is recognized as a leader in transition assistance from military to civilian life, providing resources for careers, education, child care and more. The American Legion is active every day. Our members work together to support our local communities, focusing on services classified under the organization’s four pillars: Veterans Affairs & Rehabilitation; National Security; Americanism; and Children & Youth.

Family and Youth

  • Baseball
    • More than 100,000 young athletes compete for nearly 5,000 American Legion Baseball teams each year. Some of these baseball players go on to play professionally, including more than 60 who have been enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.
  • Boys State / Boys Nation
    • Young men throughout the country learn firsthand how government works during American Legion Boys State and American Legion Boys Nation. From each Boys State program, two delegates are selected to attend Boys Nation in Washington, D.C., where they form a mock federal Senate and meet with top officials in the nation’s capital.
  • Oratorical Contest
    • The American Legion High School Oratorical Scholarship Program gives thousands of  young people the opportunity to hone their speaking skills and learn about the U.S. Constitution. Competitions at the local and state levels lead up to the National American
      Legion High School Oratorical Contest in Indianapolis, where top finishers are awarded more than $138,000 in scholarships.
  • Scholarships
    • At the national, state and local levels, The American Legion provides access to dozens of scholarships and education programs. The American Legion established the Legacy Scholarship to help children of military personnel who lost their lives on duty on or after 9/11. The scholarship has been broadened so that children of 9/11 veterans with a combined VA disability rating of 50 percent or higher are also eligible.
  • Scouting
    • American Legion posts nationwide sponsor more than 2,500 Scouting units and provide  thousands of dollars in scholarships. Here at Harford Post 39, we sponsor  Cub Scout Pack 830. The Legion offers a national scholarship for Eagle Scout of the Year, and the Square Knot Award for Legionnaires who work for the Scouting programs in their communities.
  • Junior Shooting Sports
    • American Legion youth air-rifle teams compete throughout the country for a possible berth in the National Junior Shooting Sports championships at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., each year.
  • Youth Cadet Law Enforcement
    • American Legion departments conduct a week-long American Legion Youth Cadet Law  Enforcement Program for rising high school seniors that educates them about law  enforcement and instills a newfound respect for law officials.
  • Children & Youth
    • 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.
  • Family Support Network
    • This program connects American Legion members with families struggling at home when loved ones are called to military duty. Legion volunteers provide child-care services, yard work, car repairs or other forms of personal help. A dedicated hotline – 800-504-4098, is available for families looking for assistance.
  • Temporary Financial Assistance
    • This program provides funds to veterans and military service-members’ families who are struggling and have  minor children at home. The American Legion provides  temporary cash grants to hundreds of families in need  each year. Posts make requests for funds from the TFA  program, which annually distributes more than  $500,000 to help families.

Community

  • Legion Riders
    • There are more than 1,500 American Legion Riders chapters across the nation. American Legion Riders support their communities with local fundraising events as well as being  the primary force behind the annual Legacy Scholarship Fund. Riders raise awareness and collect donations during the annual American Legion Legacy Ride, which has helped raise more than $10 million for the scholarship fund. Additionally, Riders members  perform a number of services for Legion-supported causes and provide support at military funerals.
  • Operation Comfort Warriors
    • This program provides wounded service-members with rehabilitation equipment for physical therapy and entertainment in the form of special clothing, electronics, sports equipment,  music and more. One hundred percent of donations to OCW  go toward gifts for injured servicemen and women.
  • National Emergency Fund
    • The National Emergency Fund has provided more than $8 million in direct financial  assistance to American Legion Family members and posts affected by natural disasters in recent years. The donations have enabled Legion Family members to rebuild their homes and their lives.
  • Legion College
    • The American Legion National College enhances knowledge and appreciation of The American Legion, and teaches the core values and contributions of the organization, its Auxiliary, Sons of The American Legion and many subordinate programs. The National Legion College prepares young Legionnaires for leadership positions in posts, districts, counties, and departments through education, development, and motivation. The curriculum challenges student leaders to think critically and creatively about issues confronting the Legion.
  • Homeless Veterans
    • The American Legion provides support for homeless veterans. Legion posts throughout  the country build shelters or provide financial and volunteer support. At the national  level, the Legion works with VA to raise awareness and allocate funds to help reverse the problem.
  • Volunteering
    • Legionnaires donate around 1 million hours of service a year at veterans health-care facilities, working through the VA Volunteer Services program. These volunteer hours save the federal government at least $18.5 million a year and connect Legionnaires with veteran patients and their families.
  • Amateur Radio Club
    • American Legion posts and Ham Radio Club volunteers set the tone for preparing for natural disasters. In many communities, American Legion posts serve as civil-defense shelters and havens of relief in the event of catastrophe or attack on U.S. soil. Ham radio operators can relay messages when other communication systems are down.
  • Walk For Veterans
    • Our version of “marching for a cause”, most Americans have  genuine appreciation for veterans and desire to help them.  They just don’t know how. By joining us at our walks, they can  help raise public awareness about a variety of veterans issues. We walk to bring attention to those who struggle daily with  hardships related to traumatic brain injury or PTSD. We walk  because we know that VA reform will happen only when Americans  hold elected officials accountable and demand veterans be treated with the respect they’ve earned. We walk to remind  employers that the best way to thank a veteran is to hire one. We walk because we believe recent defense cuts have been  dangerously irresponsible and threaten to send our military into harm’s way without the proper training and resources.
  • Wreaths across America
    • Each December on National Wreaths Across America Day, our mission to Remember, Honor and Teach is carried out by coordinating wreath-laying ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery, as well as over 1,400 additional locations in all 50 U.S. states, at sea, and abroad. For our part, Harford Post 39 starts our Wreaths across America ceremony with a presentation of service wreaths (Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines, Merchant Marines, Navy and POW/MIA) at the Town of Bel Air War Memorial, concluding with the laying of wreaths on veterans’ grave sites at Bel Air Memorial Gardens.

Services

  • Final Respects
    • The Legion fulfills a sacred duty by honoring the memories of U.S. veterans after their deaths. Legion honor guards salute their fallen comrades at funeral services throughout the country every day. Legion Riders provide motorcycle escorts and security at services for veterans. The Legion also works with the National Cemetery Administration, Arlington National Cemetery and the American Battle Monuments Commission to ensure respect and honor are bestowed upon veterans.
  • Benefits Center
    • The Legion works one-on-one with veterans to ensure they receive proper benefits.  Accredited American Legion service officers are specially trained to provide free expert assistance to veterans and their families. The majority of service officer work involves claims for VA disability benefits, but these compassionate professionals also provide information, referrals and resources on education, employment and business, death benefits and other topics.
  • Career Center
    • The American Legion conducts, promotes and supports hundreds of veterans job fairs and career events nationwide each year. Thousands of veterans land jobs because of these efforts. Meanwhile, the Legion helps place hundreds of other veterans in  job-training programs every year. Working veteran-to-veteran with The American Legion Small Business Task Force, along with the Small Business Administration, Department of Labor, VA and corporate associates, the Legion helps veterans understand the federal contracting process and offers personal guidance for career-seeking veterans.
  • Education Center
    • This program assists active duty service-members, reservists and veterans with educational assistance such as how to use the Post-9/11 GI Bill, The Montgomery GI Bill, The Montgomery GI Bill-Selected Reserve, Reserve Educational Assistance Program, and other education related financial assistance related to higher education.
  • Health Center
    • For all health related issues, whether you need assistance applying, or have questions, someone is available 24/7 to help you.
  • Troop and Family Support
    • From financial assistance, comfort items, or just need someone to talk to when your loved one is deployed.
  • USAA Financial Services
    • The American Legion and USAA have teamed up to connect the nation’s largest veterans  service organization with the nation’s top-ranked insurance and financial services  company. Legion members now have access to the full range of financial and insurance services and a separate credit card. For every USAA membership originating through the dedicated Legion-USAA website (www.usaa.com/legion) or by a special toll-free phone line – 877- 699-2654 – Legion programs receive a financial donation from USAA.

The American Legion’s National Security Policy

The American Legion believes national security must be maintained to fulfill the mandate for a strong national defense. As stated in the Preamble, “FOR GOD AND COUNTRY WE ASSOCIATE OURSELVES TOGETHER FOR THE FOLLOWING PURPOSES: To uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America… To safeguard and transmit to posterity the principles of justice, freedom and democracy.”

The Legion is an organization of veterans who fought for freedoms, which they are dedicated to keeping and preserving. As one of the Four Pillars it was founded on, the Legion believes national security is upheld by keeping a well-funded Department of Defense, a good quality of life for troops and a sensible transition between service and separation.

The American Legion’s positions on national defense, homeland security, border control and military support are all part of the long-held Legion value that the key to peace and world stability is a strong, well-resourced defense.

In order to protect America, troops and their families must have support. The American Legion plays a vital role in supporting the men and women who risk their lives to protect our freedoms. American Legion posts throughout the nation adopt military units, deliver care packages, provide emotional support for families of deployed service-members and welcome the troops home.

Specific examples of their efforts include arranging transportation to reunite soldiers with their families for the holidays and organizing fundraisers to buy phone cards for use in combat zones. Such assistance doesn’t end when service-members return home.

At U.S. military installations across the country – including Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland, Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas, and Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Wash. – Legion staff members help troops work through the medical discharge process and provide representation before medical examination boards to reconcile disability ratings.