James Madison VFW Post 2217

08/25/2026

SP4 Lee Roy Stiles Army
8 24 1949

08/24/2026

A1C Ivan Sandoval USAF
8 18 1997
🇺🇸

08/24/2026

VFW Post 11999 in Cloudcroft, New Mexico, supports service members and military families through community events, the annual Mountain Assault retreat and more.

08/24/2026

At VFW Auxiliary National Headquarters, we've received a number of questions about our Scholarships and Programs, one of which keeps coming up: "Why can't I find information about Illustrating America under Scholarships in MALTA or on the VFW Auxiliary website?"

The answer is... it's not a scholarship! Illustrating America is a contest for students in grades K-8. The top three National winners in each grade category (K-2, 3-5, 6-8) are each awarded a gift card, not a scholarship, and this contest was created in 2019-2020 by the then-National Youth Activities Ambassador, therefore, information about it can be found under Youth Activities.

We admit, this can be confusing - especially because both of our art scholarships have "contest" in the name, and because the VFW's Patriot's Pen is an "annual youth essay contest," according to their description, but we report all three of those under Scholarships, along with Continuing Education and the VFW Voice of Democracy.

But it may help to remember that Illustrating America is the only one of these contests that allows kindergarten through fifth graders to enter, and, unlike their teen and tween siblings, these kiddos aren't looking all the way ahead to college yet.

Find more about Illustrating America and our other Youth Activities initiatives and activities here: https://vfwauxiliary.org/what-we-do/youth-activities/

Find all you need to know about Scholarships here: https://vfwauxiliary.org/what-we-do/scholarships-2/

We hope this helps!

08/24/2026

08/24/2026

08/24/2026

LCpl Justin Dillingham USMC
8 4 1987 - 8 17 2013
🇺🇸

08/24/2026

(Ben)

08/24/2026

08/24/2026

We partner with Cabana to provide no-cost peer and mental health support for veterans, Guard and Reserve members, and their families.

The next session is Aug. 24 at noon: Finding Purpose — Reconnect with your strengths and move toward a life that fits your present self. Sign up to access support sessions at https://www.yourcabana.com/members/vdvs