She Serves 2011 Media Kit

VFW She Serves is seeking the thousands of women veterans with honorable service, a campaign medal for overseas service or hostile fire/imminent danger pay.

Approximately 45,000 troops – more than 5,000 of which are women – will return from Iraq by the end of this year. And it’s critical our country provide them with the specialized consideration they need and deserve upon their return home.

These women are making enormous sacrifices while serving their country with loyalty, integrity and pride. Women are the fastest growing population of veterans, yet sadly, being a member of a male-dominated military means when a woman returns from war she is not getting the attention and assistance that she needs and deserves.

This grim situation, affecting more than a million women veterans, is getting serious attention from the largest combat veteran service organization, the Veterans of Foreign Wars. In fact, it’s created a special web-driven outreach called She Serves. Dedicated to assisting female vets, the Veterans of Foreign Wars understands that women military members confront issues that their male counterparts do not.

The VFW has played a critical role on Capitol Hill for over a century, ensuring our servicemen and women receive the benefits they’ve rightfully earned. The organization is now making its good work even more accessible and more relevant to today’s Internet-savvy veterans.

The VFW’s She Serves outreach is targeting our country’s female veterans online, offering a virtual membership status that reaps the same discounts, benefits and perks as any traditional post membership. As members, women get the camaraderie, advocacy, connections, support and distinction they need and deserve. It is vital all servicewomen are aware of this opportunity.

Please contact Matt Claussen or Denise Hearden for more information.

Thank you, for your time and consideration.


Fact sources:

1. http://www.publichealth.va.gov/womenshealth/
2. http://www.infoplease.com/us/military/number-women-veterans.html
3. http://www.vfw.org/index.cfm?fa=vets.leveld&did=3742
4. http://www.womensenews.org/story/military/030322/1-7-us-military-personnel-iraq-female
5. http://www.oprah.com/world/Military-Women-Serving-in-Iraq-and-Afghanistan
6. http://www.facebook.com/VFWFans?v=info
7. http://www.vfw.org/index.cfm?fa=vets.leveld&did=3742

Noteworthy Facts

  • Women are the fastest growing population of veterans.  (1)
  • There are nearly 2 million female veterans in the U.S. today. (2)
  • Currently women make up 15 percent of the active duty force and approximately 23 percent of the reserve force. (3)
  • 1 in 7 US military personnel in Iraq is female. (4)
  • More women have been killed in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq than in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War combined. (5)
  • The Veterans of Foreign Wars is the nation’s largest combat veterans’ organization with 2.2 million members in 7,600 Posts worldwide. (6)
  • Women veterans are eligible for the same VA benefits as male veterans. (7)