Legionnaires shares seven ways to get engaged at the local level to save a life.
Members of the John E. Jacobs American Legion Post 68 in Leland, N.C., formed a Be the One committee to support a top priority of the Legion. John Hacker, the veteran suicide awareness project leader for Post 68, shares how to form an active Be the One committee at the post level.
Identify three people who are interested to be on the committee.
Task the committee members to use resources from betheone.org like the customizable and printable brochures.
Make a list of service providers to reach out and talk to that can help a veteran in need (e.g., food pantries, organization’s that help with paying bills). Ask the service providers how the post can support them. “We need to be able to reach out to them and ask what they do and what can we do to help them,” Hacker said. “And talk to them about Be the One, suicide awareness.”
Look for monthly events in the community to promote and talk about Be the One. Hacker said that Post 68 sets up a table during the local law enforcement welcoming program. “There's a lot of things that go on in the community where people are looking for people to fill tables, and you can be there and talk about suicide awareness. Every event at Post 68 we set up a table for suicide awareness. Ask yourself, ‘can we be there? Should we be there?’ You'll be surprised how many times, ‘Yes, you should be there.’ You just go out there and put the table up.”
Visit the local Chamber of Commerce for local event information. Hacker said the Chamber of Commerce has been a great resource to identify events to set up a Be the One table at. “Yes, we want to get members, but we also want to make a difference in the community and Be the One certainly helps that. I’ve had more people at the Chamber come up to me and say, ‘Thank you for everything you're doing.’ That's what Be the One is all about is making a difference, saving a life.”
Network with people to support Be the One. Hacker does a lot of networking in the community, including attending the monthly Chamber of Commerce networking luncheon. As a result, he met John Altman from Lamar Advertising Company who gave Hacker a one-year Be the One billboard promotion for a discounted price of $500. The billboard was on Highway 17 going to Myrtle Beach. “It's all about networking and talking to people, and I probably spend maybe an hour a day calling people or talking to them about things. They like to be part of something that we're moving the needle on, as I say.”
Carry the Be the One message. Post 68’s Be the One Committee created business cards featuring Be the One branding with a QR code that directs to the posts Be the One specific website. And Hacker has a Be the One car magnet.
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