Volunteers are needed for the Veterans Reading Brigade. The demand has been increasing and we now have too few volunteers. The concept is simple. Each reader is provided a book to read to a class of school children. Often the children enjoy asking questions about your military service. The book Read more…
It is good to see a homegrown association such as ours — one born of true, community need — get some recognition because they rarely do. LVMAC is an organization which often works behind the scenes. It does not replace or infringe on other organizations but instead tries to get Read more…
On 1 June 2016 the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert McDonald had granted “equitable relief to more than 24,000 Veterans following a national review of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) medical examinations conducted in connection with disability compensation claims processed between 2007 and 2015 … Equitable relief is a unique legal remedy that allows the Secretary to correct an injustice to a claimant where VA is not otherwise authorized to do so within the scope of the law.” (more…)
The Lehigh Valley Military Affairs Council’s annual “Salute to the Troops” dinner will be held on 13 May, starting at 6 p.m., at a new location this year: the Holiday Inn at 7736 Adrienne Drive in Breinigsville. Our member organizations are strongly encouraged to attend, but the event is open to any member of the community wishing the recognize the service of the current military and recently returned veterans. Now the the time to reserve your seat(s). We ask that you do this no later than 4 May. (more…)
Mr. Richard Moore, the Chairman of our Scholarship Committee, has asked we announce that the LVMAC scholarship application period starts on 1 February and ends 31 May 2016. Applications arriving after 31 May will not be considered. For details and application forms, click here. ### As of 29 January 2016
Robin Carmody, our Chair of the Veterans Reading Brigade, is calling for veterans to step forward and volunteer to read to elementary school students during school hours and/or after-school programs in the Allentown School District (We can use volunteers for other school districts as well.). (more…)
At a press conference on November 11 at Bethlehem’s City Council Chamber, President of LVMAC, Gerald Still, Retired Major General (USAF), announced the Healthcare in Our Community (HOC) alliance has remained strong and viable and has grown going into its fifth year. Still said, “The commitment of the CEOs of the participating organizations in this working alliance has been remarkable and necessary. Our sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, continue to return to an environment where there are no major military medical facilities close to home. It is absolutely critical that we continue to work with one another and the local VA to meet the short- and long-term needs of our military veterans.” (more…)
Just got out and maybe wondering if going back to school is for you — maybe even lacking a little self-confidence about being the right material for a school of higher learning? Not sure how to best use your educational benefits? Confused about the process or the next step? You’ve served in the military, one of the hardest environments in which to survive even if you did not go into combat — and you’ve done it … what most could not. Wonder why? The U.S. military is one of the best trainers and educators in the world, second to none.
So … why not then take advantage of some of the finest educators and subject matter experts in the state to learn about how to train for civilian employment using your military skills, the GI Bill and other benefits. Why not learn how to use every ounce of your benefits to your advantage and not someone else’s; why not learn from others who are and have just gone through the school on what to look out for, tips and traps. Why not learn about what jobs are in demand in the Lehigh Valley if you intend to remain here after schooling; why not get to know the schools and trade schools in the area; and why not just figure out — plain and simple — if school is the right fit for you? (more…)
On the morning of 14 November at Lehigh University’s Mountaintop Campus, the Lehigh Valley Military Affairs Council is hosting a special physician and advanced practitioner training symposium through its Healthcare in Our Community alliance – one of a series of events that week. It is possibly the first time nationally Read more…