We serve the veterans of Sumner, Bonney Lake and the surrounding area!
MEETING – will be held Wednesday, May 5th at 7 pm at the Hall. At this time we are holding one meeting, the first Wednesday of the month.
The City of Sumner is unable to authorize our traditional Memorial Day Program at the VFW Memorial at the Sumner Cemetery. We will be placing flags on the graves of all known veterans on Thursday, May 27, 2021. Please follow COVID guidelines, mask up and maintain a 6 foot distance from other participants.
The VFW and GFWC Valley Volunteers (the Sumner area women’s club) will be hosting the Cascade Regional Blood Services Mobile unit quarterly in 2021. At this time the dates are scheduled for: Wednesday, May 12; Thursday, August 12; and end the year with Veteran’s Day, Thursday, November 11. Sign up will be online.
THANK YOU FOR VITA’S USE OF THE POST 3070 VFW HALL DURING THE MONTHS OF FEBRUARY, MARCH & APRIL:
Mike – I would like to take the opportunity to express my sincerest gratitude to you for allowing us to be able to continue providing free tax assistance to our community through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. Due to COVID, our previous location at the Sumner Library was not available to us. As a result, we had to scramble to find another location. It was a fortunate day when we connected with you! The space allowed us to safely see clients by appointment as well as keep our volunteers away from direct contact with the clients. Initially, we were scheduled on Saturdays but it quickly became apparent by the number of calls we were getting there was a need to add another day – Sundays. Your willingness to work with us was greatly appreciated. (scheduled 10 Saturdays and 6 Sundays for an in-kind donation of $6,400)
It was a very successful season through the help of some awesome volunteers. We couldn’t have done it without each and every one of them. Below is a summary of the 2020 Tax Season
2020 Summary – Sumner Library VITA
Number of clients 371
Number of returns 450
Number of refunds 292
Total refund amount $652,406
Number balance due 45
Total balance due $42,355
Number of Volunteers 12
Total Volunteers Hours 689.25
Approximate savings to taxpayers $114,677
A special thank you to Thal Critchfield for his generous donation to the Sumner/Bonney Lake VFW Post 3070. With his help, and following a successful poppy sale, the Post will be able to pay the bills through the winter of 2020-2021.
CURRENT PROJECTS: Washington State Soldier’s Home in Orting – visits with the residents, filling the bird feeders; individual birthday cards for residents; host a quarterly blood drive at the Hall; collect flags for respectful disposal; collect eyeglasses for the Sumner Lions Club
We volunteer and support: Orting Soldiers Home, Host Blood Drive, USO, Sumner & Bonney Lake Food Banks, Literacy Program.
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At this time, Sumner/Bonney Lake Post 3070 does not have a trained service officer. We recommend you choose one organization to help you through the claims process. If there is more than one organization involved, your claim may take longer.
Washington State VFW Office & website: https://vfwwa.org/di/vfw/v2/default.asp 253-922-2114
American Lake Veteran’s Services information: VA Puget Sound Health Care System; https://www.pugetsound.va.gov
We will proactively contact Veterans to make appointments, so our policy of no walk-in patients outside of emergent care needs remains in place. If you have health care concerns, please first call us at 1-800-329-8387 or reach out to your primary care team. VA Puget Sound serves Veterans from a five-state area in the Pacific Northwest. We have two main divisions: American Lake and Seattle.
Disabled American Veterans information: http://davwa.org/
American Lake – DAV – Department Service Office Bldg. 16 — Room 103, 9600 Veterans Drive, Tacoma, WA 98493
253-583-1303
Due to the pandemic we cannot meet with you face-to-face because our service offices are closed in an effort to reduce the transmission risk of COVID-19 Coronavirus by social distancing. You can still reach a DAV National Service Officer by going to http://www.benefitsquestions.org and posting a message to the NSO office in your state.
TACOMA DAV Chapter #1; 1110 N. Stevens Street, Tacoma, WA 98406; 253-752-2970
Your Local DAV National Service Officer (NSO) will help you file a claim and stick with you all through the process, because no veteran should have to go at it alone. All services provided by DAV NSOs are free of charge.
Military members separating from active duty should talk to a Transition Service Officer.
AMVETS information: http://amvetswapost1.org/
5717 South Tyler Street, Tacoma, WA 98409 253-472-2822 ext. 2
The Service Office operates by APPOINTMENTS. Please contact the service office to schedule an appointment. One of the most visible services is our network of trained national service officers (NSOs) accredited by the Department of Veterans Affairs, at no charge to the veteran.
Visit our events page for more activities!