Help us pass the Buddy Check Act

Dear American Legion Family Members and Friends,

There is no better time than right now to encourage your members of Congress to approve The American Legion-supported bipartisan legislation for a Buddy Check National Week of Calling. Here’s how you can contact your representative.

As you know, The American Legion pioneered the Buddy Check concept under Past National Commander Brett Reistad. When we began these wellness checks the intent was for American Legion posts to conduct them twice a year — around American Legion Birthday and Veterans Day.

The initiative demonstrated immediate success. Soon the Buddy Check program transitioned to year round, allowing posts to conduct these whenever it made the most sense on the local level.

And throughout the pandemic, we have seen how important it is to check on our veterans. Posts have used Buddy Checks to help get prescription refills to veterans stuck at home. Others have connected with isolated veterans missing their comrades. In other cases, posts have delivered food, personal protective equipment and other resources to veterans after learning about their needs during a wellness check-in.

The U.S. Senate has approved legislation that would make this a national program. Now, let’s prod the U.S. House to follow suit. If our representatives don’t act before Congress recesses next month, it could be at least three months before they consider this legislation again. Or it could be dropped altogether.

We cannot let this legislation linger in Congress. Follow this link to join me in reaching out to congressional representatives to voice our support for this legislation. With a week dedicated to Buddy Checks across America, we will be able to reach even more veterans and save even more lives.

For God and Country.