LOS LUNAS—Unknown to many Valencia County residents, the Los Lunas Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 9676 is one of the most active posts in New Mexico.
This group of 100 foreign war veterans, after serving in the U.S. military, are now involved in many community service programs and projects such as Veterans Outreach, student scholarships, such as Voice of Democracy and Patriot Pen, youth education, troop support, visiting veterans on hospice at their homes or in hospitals, teaching Boy Scouts patriotism and proper flag etiquette, assisting veterans with compensation claims and other veterans benefits, distribution of holiday food boxes, and Color Guard and Honor Guard services, to mention of few.
“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic meeting restrictions and social-distancing requirements, the Daniel D. Fernandez VFW Post 9676, like many Valencia County fraternal organizations, is struggling,” said Jack Lovato, the post’s quartermaster. “The restrictions have resulted in the post not being able offer many of its community services or to engage any of its normal fundraising activities, such as participation in the annual L.I.V.E – Believe in Heroes Memorial Run, or its annual Memorial Day and Veterans Day Buddy Poppy distributions. There are some New Mexico VFW posts that are in jeopardy of having to close their doors.”
To avert this outcome for the local organization and to ensure that it is able to continue to provide community services to Valencia County residents, VFW Post 9676 decided to launch a website and invite businesses, organizations and individuals to either become VFW website sponsors (for $300 per year) or to simply make a cash donation to the post.
Cash donations can be made directly on the post’s new website at vfw9676.org.
In addition to ensuring the post’s survival, several benefits to becoming a VFW website sponsor are:
• It demonstrates to the local community that your business or organization supports veterans,
• It promotes the image of your business or organization and has the potential to increase revenue through advertising on the post’s website,
• It will make your business or organization more visible to post members, to local residents and to other businesses and organizations in the community,
• The cost is affordable and tax deductible, since the VFW is a non-profit organization. Both cash donations and website sponsorship dollars are tax deductible.
When you become a website sponsor, the post will place your logo and link on its website, which allows anyone visiting the website to connect directly to the site sponsors website with a single mouse click.
“Since VFW Post 9676 is one of the most active VFW posts in New Mexico, we believe that this is a great advertising opportunity for any business that supports veterans,” Lovato said.
To make a cash donation, visit the post’s website at vfw9676.org. To become a website sponsor call Quartermaster/Webmaster Jack Lovato at 550-4076.
The Valencia County News-Bulletin is a locally owned and operated community newspaper, dedicated to serving Valencia County since 1910 through the highest journalistic and professional business standards. The VCNB is published weekly on Thursdays, including holidays both in print and online.
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April 18, 2024
