‘We’re waiting in the trenches’: Veterans of Foreign Wars offering grants to help service members in need

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - Service members were able to breathe a sigh of relief after receiving a paycheck that almost didn’t come today.

That relief may only be temporary because there is not guarantee that they will get their next paycheck if the government shutdown goes past November 1, 2025.

The pay scale for active-duty service members isn’t very much so any interruption in pay can have a huge impact

According to goarmy.com, a private in the Army makes just over $25k a year and a staff sergeant with 8 years of service is making just over $53k a year.

Retired Army veteran John Valentine says that is hard to budget.

“The military you earn just enough to get by and if anything happens to your paycheck or a bad thing happens to your car, you have to get a loan because you don’t make enough money to put enough money aside,” said Valentine, the founder of Operations Phantom Support.

After retiring in 2010, he spent several years running a nonprofit called Operation Phantom Support to help fight that struggle.

“We did things at the nonprofit to help subsidize cost,” said Valentine. “Meaning, we had a food pantry, so you weren’t spending as much at the grocery store. We could get free birthday cakes, Christmas toys, backpacks for school.”

A lack of funding forced most of those programs to stop but there is still help out there.

The VFW at the state and national level are offering grants to help any active duty service member that needs it.

“VFW Unmet Needs, that’s one of our national ones that’s funded by membership, Burger King, and Sport Clips,” said Willie Keller, Commander of VFW Post 12209, located on Fort Hood. “They have different grants so you can actually go online and apply for that one. We also have 2 here in the state of Texas. Texas VFW Foundation is funded by the members and the Texas Lottery Commission as well.”

All VFW grant programs are designed to help active-duty service members in need of financial assistance and some, like the Financial Assistance for Service Members Program, can offer grants up $2,500 dollars.

“Those are grants and not just me at the VFW, you can get to any VFW in the state of Texas and every commander has the know how to go make it happen for you,” said Keller.

These programs are not tied to the current Government shutdown, but they are preparing just in case.

“We hope the service members do get paid but VFW, were standing in the trenches, ready to assist,” said Keller.

The national VFW is also working on a temporary grant program that can help provide grants of $500 if service members are not paid on the 1st.

All of these grants are designed to help active-duty service members as well as folks serving in reserve capacities, like the National Guard and Amry Reserves, that are currently called to duty.

If you are in active-duty and need financial help, reach out to your local VFW and they can help you through the process.

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