The pandemic has put a crimp in our style over the last two years. Among its victims has been our annual banquet to recognize and celebrate our local servicemembers for their service to our community and the nation. This year, we think it safe to resume the “Salute to the Troops” Dinner, an event which is almost as old as LVMAC itself. The date has been set for May 6 starting at 6 p.m. at the Steel Club in Hellertown. (more…)
The Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, working with the Lehigh Valley Military Affairs Council and others, has created a Veterans and Military Affairs Council focused upon employment; e.g., helping local businesses to find returning military veterans, for they are known to have the makings for being reliable, first-rate employees.
The chamber has been conducting an initial, baseline survey to assess the current situation in the valley for these separating military servicemembers. It is soliciting responses from as many government agencies and businesses (for profit and nonprofit) which have employees in our Greater Lehigh Valley area as possible. The more organizations participating, the more accurate the assessment will be. (more…)
One of the more worthwhile national, military support organizations to have arrived on the scene since the second Gulf War is Operation Homefront. It focuses on those still serving and also those just discharging. While it cannot replace the value of certain, long-established, chartered veterans service organizations and their grassroots support activities (one would be ignorant to think so), it is definitely a value-for-the money organization which attempts to address some of the more pressing concerns of military families in often imaginative ways. (more…)
The Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, working with the Lehigh Valley Military Affairs Council and others, intends to create a formal Veterans and Military Affairs Council. More immediately, it is in the process of making a baseline assessment of those chamber of commerce initiatives most needed. It realizes it must get beyond anecdotal experiences to have informed efforts. Therefore, as part of the assessment, it must conduct a short survey to uncover what problems — if any — local employers are facing in finding, hiring and retaining veterans as employees. (more…)
### As of 27 September 2019
The Lehigh Valley Military Affairs Council (LVMAC) and the cities of Allentown and Bethlehem are again sponsoring events in May to honor our local military, veterans and their families. The Board of Directors cordially invites the members of our community and those still serving to participate in and provide support for these events: (more…)
A local Starbucks is sponsoring an Armed Forces Network event this Saturday, 2 March 2019. Tap on the thumbnail of the flyer for when and where.
It is difficult to know what to make of this event and its ultimate intentions — beyond a free cup of coffee and public relations — if you listen to the buzz, (more…)
This Christmas, Nazareth Life Church Ministries will be granting some Christmas wishes for local veterans, active military and their families. It will also hold a Christmas Party for them at the Blue’s event center in Bethlehem on December 20th between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. to express its appreciation for Read more…
One of our member organizations, the Lehigh Valley-Bucks Chapter of the American Red Cross, wants to re-establish its Services to the Armed Forces (SAF) program in Lehigh, Northampton and Bucks counties. As a first step, a special kind of volunteer, working with the regional project manager for the program, must be found.
What is the Red Cross’ SAF program in the first place? It is a longstanding program which supports our service members in the military by connecting them with their families during emergencies, providing them resilience training to deal with the challenges of deployment, and linking their families with local community resources. (more…)
[Editor’s Note: This is what is what used to be called a “late wire” before the days of high technology, but here it goes … hoping this reaches you, if it applies, in time.]
Growing up as a military child has both its advantages and difficulties; and the military services have always depended upon stable families to help ensure unit readiness. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that the Department of Defense’s Office of Military Community and Family Policy has partnered with Penn State University’s Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness to implement what is called the THRIVE Initiative in yet another effort to empower military parents as they nurture their children. (more…)