(Revision Date: 17 Dec 2020)
Greetings from Nampa Chapter 13!
Our official meetings are held at 7 PM on the third Thursday of every month at the First Christian Church located at 619 12th Ave S.
Meetings last from one to two hours.
We also have informal gatherings for about an hour once or twice a month at a local McDonald's for coffee and camaraderie.
Many of our members and officers are (or have been) active in the Department.
We have several activities that we perform in support of our mission.
- We host a monthly Bingo Night at the VA Community Living Center/VA Nursing Home once a month from September through May. We provide light refreshments for participants and we award VA canteen chit books to the winners (and everyone wins!) Attendance varies between five and twenty-five, with four to eight volunteers from our chapter.
- We have a booth at the God and Country celebration at the Nampa Idaho Center, mostly as an outreach opportunity to hand out brochures and inform the community about our chapter and the DAV as a whole.
- We conduct a monthly Rest Area Coffee from March through November at the East- and West-bound rest areas just outside of Boise. This is managed by Glenn Heins, as both an outreach and chapter fund raiser. While we have a few avid supporters, we always welcome more volunteers. This can raise several hundred dollars on a good weekend and needs three to four volunteers for each location.
- We (and our Auxiliary) provide a majority of the volunteers for the Golden Corral’s annual Veteran’s Day fund raiser, collection donations, performing outreach, and providing information to veterans and the community.
- We participate in several patriotic celebrations, including events for Memorial Day, the Caldwell 4th of July Parade and the Mountain Home Air Force Appreciation Day.
- Our single largest event is the fall Forget-Me-Not Drive. We have tables outside Walmart, Albertsons, Fred Meyers, and Ridleys stores in the Nampa and Meridian areas. The Auxiliary typically joins us in this endeavor, and all funds stay in the local area. This takes the effort of many volunteers.
The chapter has a relief fund committee chaired by Michael Cash. This committee reviews requests and provides for veterans in need. We do not provide cash, but can pay utilities, rent, or gas cards. This benefit is limited to one time and has a maximum amount. We also offer emergency food "baskets", which are available to any needy veteran in the Nampa area and are not limited to a single request.
Our Chapter Service Officer provides a vital service to help veterans fill out VA paperwork and apply for disability compensation. This Officer is Michael Cash, and he has attended all the training courses and is fully qualified.
Another important service we support is the DAV Transportation Program. We have a dedicated Van Fund, which is used to purchase and donate a van to the VA to provide free transportation to veterans who have VA appointments. The area chapters all provide volunteer drivers who are literal life-savers to their fellow veterans. Drivers are recognized for their volunteer hours and miles driven. If you can help as a van driver and are in good health, please contact the VA HSC Office at 208-422-1000 x7555.
The Disabled American Veterans Organization is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a tax exempt organization under Title 26 United States Code, Section 501(c)(4) and contributions to the DAV are deductible under Title 26 USC 170(c)(3). Our chapter EIN is available on request.