For thousands of veterans who depend on health-care facilities operated by the De-partment of Veterans Affairs, it’s all too easy to lose touch with the outside world.

Many older veterans, often with no place to go, live out their days in VA domiciliaries. That’s where hometown volunteers can help. They are the ones who provide the necessary link back to the community.

Playing cards with the lonely or watching television with the disabled greatly can im-prove the lives of these veteran patients.

Established in 1946 to care for America’s veterans while they are in VA facilities, Veterans Affairs Volunteer Service is the largest volunteer program in the federal government and is supported by more than 350 organizations, including AMVETS, one of the nation’s foremost veteran’s service membership organizations.

To find out more, visit the VA Voluntary Service Web site at

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