Happy New Year!!
The first meeting of CVO in 2018 will be held on Wednesday, January 17th at 7 PM in the 2nd floor Conference Room of the Jesse Brown VA Hospital at 820 S Damen Ave in Chicago. Arrive early if you are interested in the committees and catching up on what CVO is doing; members of the Executive Committee will be there by 6 PM.
The agenda is really exciting! We’re going to start with a presentation by veteran activist Aaron Hughes on the Right to Heal Campaign. Then we are going have Bill Luna back to make another presentation on Latino veterans. We will also be giving out coupons for free haircuts at the Hair Cuttery.
In case of inclement weather, be sure to call us at 773-243-2335 to get the latest meeting information.
As usual, parking will be validated and pizza will be served!
See you on the 17th!
The Right to Heal VA Campaign (RTH) is calling on all veterans that care about saving the VA to join us tomorrow at a hearing on VA privatization and why it is not the solution. At the hearing we will make a call to action and announce an informational picket and press conference at Federal Plaza on Friday. Details below.
Call to Action & Workers’ Rights Board Hearing
Where: Conference Room, Second Floor, Damen Building
Jesse Brown VA, 820 S Damen Ave, Chicago, IL 60612
When: 4:30PM | Thursday, May 17, 2018
RSVP by mailing Right to Heal <RightToHealVA@gmail.com> or join the event on Facebook
On May 17th, join us as the Right to Heal Campaign announces a call to action and next steps in the fight to unite veterans and VA workers to save the VA and fight back against privatization. After the announcement the Workers’ Rights Board will hold a hearing to discuss what VA privatization would mean for veterans. The hearing will feature experts in the field of VA care, veterans speaking to their experience of using both the VA and the private sector, and VA employees who have dedicated their lives to serving veterans.
Save The VA Press Conference and Informational Picket
Where: Federal Center and Plaza, 219 S Dearborn St, Chicago, Illinois 60603
When: 10AM | Friday, May 18, 2018
RSVP by mailing Right to Heal <RightToHealVA@gmail.com> or join the event on Facebook
The Save The VA Coalition and the Right To Heal VA Campaign will be holding an emergency press conference and informational picket to oppose H.R. 5674. The bill backed by the Trump adminstration and the Koch front group, Concerned Veterans of America would expand private healthcare vouchers at the expense of the VA healthcare system and give unprecedented powers to the VA secretary to make drastic changes, including authority to outsource/privatize services of VA healthcare without oversight or congressional approval.
With the firing of VA Secretary David Shulkin for not advancing a privatization agenda quickly enough and with continued disarray within the Trump administration in finding a replacement for Shulkin, we believe it is the worst possible time to give Trump such powers to change VA healthcare. We will be demanding that Senator Duckworth and Durbin hold the line against these terrible bills and vote no on these bills and other efforts to privatize the VA.
RSVP by emailing Right to Heal <RightToHealVA@gmail.com> or join the events on Facebook Right to Heal Hearing at the Jesse Brown VA & Save the VA Press Conference at Federal Plaza.
Veterans & VA Workers
United to Save the VA!
Reminder: The next meeting of CVO will be on Zoom at 7 PM on THIS Wednesday, May 20th.
CVO is online! CVO – like all organizations should – is protecting its members in this period of home sheltering and social distancing. We will continue to meet and work for veterans and their families! We are doing this by continuing to meet in ways that utilize the technology available to carry out the CVO mission: The Coalition of Veterans Organizations is a group of individuals and member organizations whose purpose is to advocate for and educate veterans and the public on issues that impact veterans and their families.
We hope you will take the time to attend this meeting. There are no transportation difficulties, so the time for the meeting is only the time you will be online. Seeing each other face to face using the video feature gives the meeting a personal feel and makes what we’re doing real. Please give it a shot.
The agenda will include a presentation and discussion of our ongoing homeless work. Board Members LaTanya Gamblin and Cmdr. Frank Thompson have been visiting homeless encampments and providing food, masks and gloves.
We will also have nominations for the CVO Executive Committee. Elections will be held at the June meeting (Wednesday, June 17th). The current Executive Committee will recommend nominations and nominations from the floor will be accepted.
Needless to say, we won’t have refreshments at the meeting, but the good news is you can bring your own! Enjoy the comfort of your home while meeting with CVO!!
Here’s the information on Zoom:
For new users, Zoom is a video-conferencing software that is easy to use and very reliable. Members can also call in from their phones without video. We are aware of the recent security concerns and have taken steps to ensure the security of the meeting, including implementation of a password to enter the meeting and having a trained host for the meeting that can enforce appropriate standards of conduct for all attendees.
To join, just click on the following on your computer, your smart phone or your tablet. All you need is an Internet connection:
Join URL: https://zoom.us/j/6857448800?pwd=K1V6eHRha2R4Y25rbXBybzl2MlNOdz09
The first time, it will ask you to download Zoom. Allow this or join on your browser. Join with video.
If you prefer to only use the telephone, call one of these numbers and when asked, put in the Meeting ID and password followed by the #.
1-312-626-6799 or 1-346-248-7799 Meeting ID: 685 744 8800 Password: 357489
If you want to use the Zoom App, you can download it from www.zoom.us on your computer or from the App Store on your phone or tablet. To join the meeting, select “Join” and put in the Meeting ID and password above.
See you on Wednesday, May 20th at 7!! Be well and be safe!!
Reminder: The next meeting of CVO will be on Zoom at 7 PM on THIS Wednesday, May 20th.
CVO is online! CVO – like all organizations should – is protecting its members in this period of home sheltering and social distancing. We will continue to meet and work for veterans and their families! We are doing this by continuing to meet in ways that utilize the technology available to carry out the CVO mission: The Coalition of Veterans Organizations is a group of individuals and member organizations whose purpose is to advocate for and educate veterans and the public on issues that impact veterans and their families.
We hope you will take the time to attend this meeting. There are no transportation difficulties, so the time for the meeting is only the time you will be online. Seeing each other face to face using the video feature gives the meeting a personal feel and makes what we’re doing real. Please give it a shot.
The agenda will include a presentation and discussion of our ongoing homeless work. Board Members LaTanya Gamblin and Cmdr. Frank Thompson have been visiting homeless encampments and providing food, masks and gloves.
We will also have nominations for the CVO Executive Committee. Elections will be held at the June meeting (Wednesday, June 17th). The current Executive Committee will recommend nominations and nominations from the floor will be accepted.
Needless to say, we won’t have refreshments at the meeting, but the good news is you can bring your own! Enjoy the comfort of your home while meeting with CVO!!
Here’s the information on Zoom:
For new users, Zoom is a video-conferencing software that is easy to use and very reliable. Members can also call in from their phones without video. We are aware of the recent security concerns and have taken steps to ensure the security of the meeting, including implementation of a password to enter the meeting and having a trained host for the meeting that can enforce appropriate standards of conduct for all attendees.
To join, just click on the following on your computer, your smart phone or your tablet. All you need is an Internet connection:
Join URL: https://zoom.us/j/6857448800?pwd=K1V6eHRha2R4Y25rbXBybzl2MlNOdz09
The first time, it will ask you to download Zoom. Allow this or join on your browser. Join with video.
If you prefer to only use the telephone, call one of these numbers and when asked, put in the Meeting ID and password followed by the #.
1-312-626-6799 or 1-346-248-7799 Meeting ID: 685 744 8800 Password: 357489
If you want to use the Zoom App, you can download it from www.zoom.us on your computer or from the App Store on your phone or tablet. To join the meeting, select “Join” and put in the Meeting ID and password above.
See you on Wednesday, May 20th at 7!! Be well and be safe!!
The next meeting of CVO will be on Zoom on this coming Wednesday, June 17th at 7 PM. Information for connecting on Zoom is below.
This is the election meeting! We will hold elections for the CVO Executive Committee.
We will also have a discussion and presentation of Illinois Joining Forces, an important veterans coalition in Illinois that CVO is a member of. In a related discussion, we will discuss recruiting volunteers for our CVO Committees.
Additionally, we will soon be facing the possibility that the Jesse Brown VA will allow us to have face-to-face (f2f) meetings in the not-too-distant future. If so, we will discuss how we might go to hybrid meetings that will allow people to show up at the VA or connect and participate via Zoom.
Getting into Zoom: To join, just click on the following on your computer, your smart phone or your tablet. All you need is an Internet connection:
Join URL: https://zoom.us/j/6857448800?pwd=K1V6eHRha2R4Y25rbXBybzl2MlNOdz09
The first time, it will ask you to download Zoom. Allow this or join on your browser. Join with video.
If you prefer to only use the telephone, call one of these numbers and when asked, put in the Meeting ID and password followed by the #.
1-312-626-6799 or 1-346-248-7799
Meeting ID: 685 744 8800
Password: 357489
If you want to use the Zoom App, you can download it from www.zoom.us on your computer or from the App Store on your phone or tablet. To join the meeting, select “Join” and put in the Meeting ID and password above.
See you on Wednesday, June 17th at 7!! Be well and be safe!!
The next meeting of the Coalition of Veterans Organizations will be held on Zoom on Wednesday, April 21st from 7 to 9 PM Central / 8-10 PM Eastern.
This is an Election Meeting and elections to the CVO Executive Committee will be held.
We will have a presentation by Mr. Gerald Yamada, President, Japanese American Veterans Association (JAVA), on the history and role of Japanese American Veterans. Join us for this important and interesting presentation!
Other agenda items will include updates on working to achieve Dental Care for All Veterans and the associated bill HR 914 and other CVO activities.
Registration is required to attend this Meeting.
Registration will be open the week of the meeting.
Save the Date!
The next meeting of CVO will be on Zoom at 7 PM on Wednesday, May 19th.
Registration is required to attend this meeting.
We will post the agenda—with key presentation points—as soon as it becomes available.
CVO is online! CVO – like all organizations should – is protecting its members in this period of home sheltering and social distancing. We will continue to meet and work for veterans and their families! We are doing this by continuing to meet in ways that utilize the technology available to carry out the CVO mission: The Coalition of Veterans Organizations is a group of individuals and member organizations whose purpose is to advocate for and educate veterans and the public on issues that impact veterans and their families.
The next meeting of CVO will be on Zoom on this coming Wednesday, June 16th at 7 PM. Information for connecting on Zoom is below.
Registration is required to attend this meeting.
We will post the agenda—with key presentation points—as soon as it becomes available.
CVO is online! CVO – like all organizations should – is protecting its members in this period of home sheltering and social distancing. We will continue to meet and work for veterans and their families! We are doing this by continuing to meet in ways that utilize the technology available to carry out the CVO mission: The Coalition of Veterans Organizations is a group of individuals and member organizations whose purpose is to advocate for and educate veterans and the public on issues that impact veterans and their families.
The next meeting of CVO will be on Zoom on this coming Wednesday, March 15th at 7 PM.
At our March 15 meeting, we will be taking nominations for the CVO Board, with the election to take place at the April 19 meeting, our official Annual Meeting. Those to be nominated need to be members in good standing (i. e., paid up dues) and either be present to accept the nomination, or email me that you will accept a nomination. You can nominate yourself. We expect to get an update on the status of the VACCC from their Supt., Elizabeth Soto.
The meeting agenda can be found here
The March 2023 Veterans Affairs Committee Report is posted here.
The American Inst. of Dental Public Health is coordinating efforts to educate our congressmen/senators on the need for dental care through the VA on March 27-28, with people in DC and for the rest of us to participate virtually. Below is their Veteran Virtual Day of Action Guide. Please look it over.
VETERAN VIRTUAL DAY OF ACTION GUIDE.pdf
We request participation, not only from CVO members, but also from the members of their respective organizations. After all, getting the members of our constituent organizations to work on common issues/projects is the reason why CVO was founded.
The meeting will be held on Zoom on Wednesday, March 15 from 7-9 p.m. CT / 8-10 p.m. ET / 5-7 p.m. PT.