Belleville American Legion & Sons donate to veterans program

American Legion Post 105 and Sons of the American Legion (SAL) Squadron 105 recently donated $1,000 each to the Department and Detachment of NJ Commanders Projects, which benefit veterans programs locally and throughout the state.

Each year, the American Legion Department of New Jersey, the American Legion’s state-level organization, hosts a Commanders Project, which is a joint effort between the Legion, the American Legion Auxiliary and the Sons of the American Legion, to raise money for various projects throughout the state.

With the American Legion being deeply rooted in one of its “Four Pillars,” focusing on veterans affairs and rehabilitation, these annual projects go a long way toward making a difference in the lives of thousands of New Jersey’s military and veterans each year.

In a letter to the American Legion Family throughout New Jersey, Department Commander Daniel Dunn, an Air Force veteran, wrote “… I have chosen a Department Project which focuses on the Veterans in need and Suicide Awareness, which I feel goes hand-in-hand. Working together with our Legion Family, we will be able to accomplish a lot of great things not only improving the lives of Veterans but saving them as well.”

The statewide 2021-2022 project goal was set at $128,000 and it’s been surpassed.

“This project is what we do as an American Legion Family, helping veterans in need,” SAL Detachment of NJ Commander Henry Hasselhan said in a mailing to his squadrons of Sons.

Specific programs within the Commanders Project, in addition to funding for homeless veterans and suicide awareness programs for vets, includes among other goals purchasing service dogs for veterans, funding for Hoboken Post 107’s veterans housing and technology supplies for residents of the Menlo Park Veterans Home — making it possible for those who are visually impaired make phone calls.

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