Independence Day and our July 11th Intake Event

As we move closer to our Independence Day Celebrations, many of us will be enjoying the freedoms that our veterans have fought and died for to keep everyone in our country safe. I would like to say Thank You to all who served in the military of this United States of America. During your Independence celebration please think about where we might be if it were not for the sacrifices our veterans and their families made. All our volunteers are wishing everyone a Happy 4th of July. Happy Birthday, America!

As many of you already know on July 11th we will hold an intake event both in-person and online to help veterans and surviving spouses with their claims for VA benefits. We plan to accept as many veterans as possible on that day. The number of veterans who are asking for our help continues to grow every day. Currently, we are processing as many of them as our volunteers can accommodate daily. We are continually looking for caring people to join our volunteers in helping us make a difference in the lives of veterans and their families. We have one of the best training programs that can teach anyone how to assist veterans and their families to apply for VA benefits.

One of the things we track each week is the number of veterans who received a 100% rating for their service-connected disabilities. Last week there were twelve veterans who received a 100% disability rating. These veterans will receive the Oklahoma State Tax exemption on their primary

residence along with sales tax exemption on their purchases. Those veterans who are not retired military have an opportunity to file for Champ-VA medical insurance for their dependents.

39 veterans were approved for disability benefits ranging from a ten percent rating to a ninety percent rating for their service-connected disabilities. Two surviving spouses of veterans were approved for DIC benefits based on their veteran death being caused by a service-connected disability or one that was presumptive to their military service.

I believe that being a volunteer with our organization is not only good for veterans and surviving spouses it is also the best therapy for you. We do change lives every time our volunteers help one of the people who have served in our country’s military. Volunteer applications are available HERE for your convenience.

Training is available online or in-person on a weekly basis. Since going digital, our volunteers can work from anywhere or at our location at 1233 West Lindsay in Norman, OK. Help us give back to the heroes who fought to give us our freedoms.

We are open to active clients:

Mon: 9 AM-12

Tue: 9 AM-12

Wed: 9 AM-12

Thur: 9 AM-12

Fri: By appointment

To donate to our Foundation, you can click the red button on this email or mail a check to Dale K. Graham Veterans Foundation, 1233 West Lindsay, Norman, OK, 73069.

Next Intake Event on July 11th

For those of you who have not visited us at our new location in Norman at 1233

West Lindsey Street, I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to stop by

for a quick look. We have added several features that I know many of you will enjoy. One of which is our refreshment area that is now available for our visitors. I believe we will be able to help assist many more veterans with their claims for VA benefits at our larger location.

Veterans and Surviving spouses can stop by Monday thru Friday to upload their

records and evidence to our intake system. Our staff will be available to assist with this process. As we continue to add more volunteers, we will be able to assist more veterans with their applications for VA benefits.

I’m sure we don’t have to tell you what the economy has done to our veterans who are unemployed or under-employed. I receive calls and emails daily from people who are asking for help. Some of them have been retired for several years and now they cannot afford the basic necessities. I talked to a surviving spouse last week who was age 75 that was looking for a job to supplement her social security check. We will do everything possible to help these people through these tough times. If needed, we have other organizations to refer people to for other types of basic needs that we cannot help them with. Even though we do everything possible for veterans and their families, I know there are other types of assistance that are available from other organizations. We give our clients that information on who can help them with their needs. I do not believe any single organization can assist veterans and their families with all their needs.

Last week we were able to assist twelve veterans to receive a one hundred percent

rating for their service-connected disabilities. These men and women’s lives will be changed by the monies they will receive from VA. There were fifty-two veterans who received disability ratings from ten to ninety percent for their service-connected disabilities. We are happy to have been of service.

Our next veteran intake event is scheduled on July 11 for new claims. Please visit our

Facebook page and website for details.

For those of you who do not have any open VA claims one can be started by calling VA at 1-800-827-1000 and telling the agent that you want to start a claim. This will give a veteran or surviving a start date for benefits and will give them one year to submit a fully developed claim. Volunteer applications are available on our website at dkgvf.org

We are a 501c-3 Non-Profit organization and there is never a charge for the services we provide to veterans and their families. We also accept donations of wheelchairs and other types of handicap equipment that can be given to other veterans or their families. Other items that we accept are cars, trucks, motorcycles, or items that can be given to veterans or sold to raise funds. All donations to our Foundation are tax-deductible, including things like wheelchairs, stamps, and envelopes.

I believe that being a volunteer with our organization is not only good for veterans and surviving spouses it is also the best therapy for you. We do change lives every time our volunteers help one of the people who have served in our country’s military. Volunteer applications are available HERE for your convenience. Training is available online or in-person on a weekly basis. Since going digital, our volunteers can work from anywhere or at our location at 1233 West Lindsay in Norman, OK. Help us give back to the heroes who fought to give us our freedoms.

We are open to active clients:

Mon: 9 AM-12

Tue: 9 AM-12

Wed: 9 AM-12

Thur: 9 AM-12

To donate to our Foundation, you can click the red button on this email or mail a check to Dale K. Graham Veterans Foundation, 1233 West Lindsay, Norman, OK, 73069.

Weekly Update

Today I wanted to pass along some useful information for any veterans who are considering filing a new claim for VA benefits or to increase their ratings. This is for only veterans that do not have any open claims for benefits. Vets can call 1-800-827-1000 and tell the VCA agent you would like to start a claim. This will establish a start date of that month for benefits and will give the veteran one year to submit a Fully Developed Claim to the Department of Veterans Affairs. By doing this, the veteran start date is when they make that call and if benefits are approved, they will receive retroactive payments back to that date. This will be beneficial to the veterans who are waiting for our next intake event. This also applies to surviving spouses who plan to file for VA benefits.

We have begun tracking the number of veterans and surviving spouses we have assisted in receiving the VA benefits. Ten veterans received a one hundred percent rating for their service-connected disabilities last week. These men and women will receive a combined annual payment of $436,000 per year. They will also be eligible for the Oklahoma State Sales Tax exemption, Property Tax exemption on their primary residence along with reduced auto-tag cost and Fishing and Hunting License. There are other benefits such as Commissary privilege and more.

We were able to help 44 veterans receive VA disability ratings from ten percent to 90 percent for their service-connected disabilities. This group of veterans will receive a combined annual benefit of $600,000.

We assisted three surviving spouses to receive DIC benefits based on their veteran’s service-connected death being the primary or contributing to their death. They will receive an annual combined amount of $55,000. These surviving spouses will also receive the reduced auto-tag benefit from our state.

We are partnering with Tinker Federal Credit Union to host a 2 part financial literacy series at our Foundation. The goal is to educate and empower veterans until all have the financial stability they and their families deserve. If you have questions about the VA home loan or saving/investing please register for the seminars below. Limited seating is available.

-Friday, May 27th: Detailed VA Home Loan Workshop

https://airtable.com/shr0dJPOQSRl6Wuc8

-Friday, July 22nd: Saving & Investing Workshop

https://airtable.com/shrxGiDVxHZzekGj