By Contributing Editor Blair Drake

From providing assistance to homeless veterans and supporting art rehab therapy programs for servicemembers and their families to sending care packages to deployed troops and giving school supplies to military children, MOAA chapters throughout the U.S. are giving back to their local military communities.

To help fund and acknowledge these high-impact, local community programs, The MOAA Foundation is awarding $87,485 in grants to 33 MOAA affiliates through its Community Outreach Grant program.

This is the foundation’s fifth grant cycle. To date, it has awarded over 100 grants totaling more than $350,000. The foundation also is awarding more than $25,000 in additional funds to 17 chapters (indicted with * below) that support COVID-19-specific efforts.

[RELATED: MOAA Chapter Continues Work to Support Veterans Struggling During the Pandemic] 

This year’s grant recipients are

• Alabama Council of Chapters
• Alamo (Texas) Chapter
• Arizona Chapter
• *Cape Canaveral (Fla.) Chapter
• Clearwater (Fla.) Chapter
• *El Paso (Texas) Chapter
• *Falcons Landing (Va.) Chapter
• *Grand Canyon (Ariz.) Chapter
• *Grand Strand (S.C.) Chapter
• Greater Baton Rouge Area (La.) Chapter
• *Greater Dallas & North Texas Chapter
• Greater St. Louis (Mo.) Chapter
• Historic Mayport (Fla.) Chapter
• *Indian River (Fla.) Chapter
• Lee Coast (Fla.) Chapter
• *Luke (Ariz.) Chapter
• *New River (N.C.) Chapter
• *Northwest Florida Chapter
• Old Capitol Area (Ga.) Chapter
• *Olympia Area (Wash.) Chapter
• *Olympic Peninsula (Wash.) Chapter
• Sarasota (Fla.) Chapter
• *South Central Florida
• Southeast Idaho Chapter
• *Southeastern North Carolina Chapter
• Southeastern Wisconsin Chapter
• Southwest Florida Chapter
• *Southwest Virginia Chapter
• St. Petersburg Area (Fla.) Chapter
• Tampa (Fla.) Chapter
• *Treasure Coast (Fla.) Chapter
• *Tucson (Ariz.) Chapter
• Western North Carolina Chapter

To be eligible to receive a grant, councils or chapters must meet basic administration requirements and be actively involved in the delivery of community services in one of 10 areas of critical family need: housing, food assistance, employment, health (including behavioral health), family support, community reintegration, financial assistance, legal assistance, transportation, and emergency relief.

“Each year, we continue to be impressed by the caliber of applications,” said Amanda Centers, MOAA vice president of Development. “This year’s recipients are supporting programs in their communities that have a real, lasting impact on the military community. We are proud to have The MOAA Foundation support their efforts.”

Blair Drake is a contributing editor for MOAA and lives in Souderton, Pa. She previously served on the editorial team of Military Officer magazine for nine years.