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WASHINGTON D.C. (January 14, 2008) - During the early days of
World War II, the Bowler's Victory League completed its first
project of purchasing two medical evacuation planes to bring
wounded troops home.
Some 66 years later, the organization's name is slightly
different, but the organization's mission is still very much the
same.
"The Bowlers to Veterans Link was founded in 1942 as the
Bowler's Victory Legion to support the men returning from the
battlefields of Europe," said Elizabeth Montanya, a spokeswoman for
the group. "(Since then), BVL has provided the extras not funded by
the government to our active-duty and veteran servicemen and women
to help brighten their days."
To date, the group has raised nearly $36 million to purchase
recreational equipment as well as to support therapeutic programs
and services, she said.
"Currently, among (the organization's) many efforts, we are
sending portable carpet bowling lanes and equipment to men and
women on active duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as hundreds
of other locales around the globe," Montanya said. "The (kit),
packaged in a nylon carrying bag, can be set up in a few minutes'
time, whenever a break in the schedule permits."
The kits include a 26-foot-long red, white and blue carpet
bowling lane, a 5-pound rubberized bowling ball, and lightweight
plastic bowling pins. More than 500 kits already have been shipped,
Montanya said.
Stateside, Bowlers to Veterans Link also offers tickets to
museum and theater performances, and supports gardening and pet
therapy programs.
It also is a longtime sponsor of four major recreation events
each year that affect thousands of veterans -- the Golden Age
Games, the Winter Sports Clinic, the Creative Arts Festival and the
Wheelchair Games, according to the group's Web site.
Bowlers to Veterans Link is a supporter of America Supports You,
a Defense Department program connecting citizens and corporations
with military personnel and their families serving at home and
abroad.
The affiliation holds promise for the group on several fronts.
"We are looking forward to getting a better handle on other
programs that are under way and to perhaps find partners to
continue our efforts and, subsequently, expand programming,"
Montanya said.
Editor's Note: To find out about more individuals,
groups and organizations that are helping support the troops,
visit www.AmericaSupportsYou.mil. America
Supports You directly connects military members to the support of
the America people and offers a tool to the general public in their
quest to find meaningful ways to support the military
community.
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