Throughout its 80 years of service to blind and now low vision veterans, BVA has been the beneficiary of hundreds of thousands of hours logged by countless volunteers, many of whom have been veterans themselves in service to one another as they practice the organization’s motto—blinded veterans helping blinded veterans. April is National Volunteer Month, celebrating the larger-than-life impact volunteers have had on United States history as they serve individuals, often one by one and one at a time. The 2025 theme for the month is Volunteers Makes Waves.
Usually unpaid and always underpaid in dollars and cents, volunteers generously donate a part of their lives to tasks that, although challenging and perhaps even inconvenient at the time, may bring the less tangible, intrinsic rewards and satisfaction.
National Volunteer Month became an extension to an already established National Volunteer Week that commenced in 1943 in Canada to pay tribute to the unwavering contributions of women during World War II who would collect supplies and help wounded service members. National Volunteer Week became official in the United States in 1974. It will be recognized this year during the week of April 20-26.
Highlighting National Volunteer Week this year in the veteran community will be a National Day of Service on April 23. The day is being promoted through “VetServe 2025,” a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) initiative to strengthen volunteer capacity across the nation.
VetServe 2025 is a celebration of service and a call to action aimed at encouraging the nation’s 19 million veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors to serve in their communities. It will also bring together volunteers, Veterans Service Organizations, community leaders, and VA staff in a synchronized day of service across all 50 states. Activities will include maintaining veterans’ memorials, organizing resource fairs, and providing home repairs for disabled veterans.
Additional ideas, information, and links relating to how and where to volunteer throughout April are available using VetServe 2025.
