Veterans Service Partnership A National Program of Trout Unlimited A Veterans Outreach Program of Pennsylvania Council of Trout Unlimited Presented By: Jim Lanning, PATU VSP Coordinator Ernest Demastus, PATU VSP Operations Zac Salada, PATU VSP Operations 1
Today's program is an orientation on how to start or enhance a TU Veteran Service • Partnership Program within the Pennsylvania Council of Trout Unlimited. The VSP team will always be available to you for consultation and support. • Please fell free to contact Ernest DeMastus, Zac Salada or Jim Lanning via the PATU VSP • Facebook site. Many of our PATU Chapters have VSP’s of one sort or another. Some PATU Chapters • want to start a VSP. We are here to support the PATU Chapters as they conduct their Chapter Veterans • Service Program or Healing Waters Program. 2
Please use the printed Power Point to take notes and to jot down questions you may • have. Please take a copy of the exemplar handouts. • All of the forms and formats are available to you electronically courtesy of the PATU • Leadership Team. The TU & PATU websites have a Veterans Service Partnership section to provide help • and guidance. We use the PATU VSP Facebook page to communicate and share information with each other throughout the year. Utilize these online resources for further reference: • http://www.patrout.org/programs • http://www.patrout.org/vsp • https://www.facebook.com/PATU.org/ • 3 http://www.tu.org/conservation/outreach-education/veterans-service-partnership •
The Veterans Service Partnership is an initiative of Trout Unlimited whose • purpose is to connect your Chapter members, veterans, and active duty military and their families to our community through angling and conservation education and activities. We are a family fishing program for all veterans, active duty, National Guard & • Reserve Armed Forces of the United States of America. We do the “local” VSP veteran family fishing & mentoring. • TU provides the national & international fly fishing destinations and program • through participation by our VSP Chapters. Sometimes we locals are the national destination. • 4
VSP Streamside Mentors, Veterans & Family Members Meeting on Spring Creek, Bellefonte PA 5
Off to Magic Waters, Chile – Thank You, Trout Unlimited 6
PATU Chapter VSP Streamside Mentors are dedicated to serving the men • and women who have served in the United States Armed Services. It is our belief that military members have earned this community service • and support through their service to our nation and our community. We serve those who served in any branch of service and in any era • without charge or obligation 7
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• The Department of Defense has estimated over 1 million service members have & will be transitioning from military to civilian life in the next few years. Today there are more than 21 million vets within the US. • The Centre County Veterans Affairs Office estimates between 9,500 to 10,000 veterans • reside in the Centre Region. Check in with the County VA Director in each County you serve to determine your actual • numbers. Leave a flyer too and have them post it in a public place in their office and on their computer cases. • Every community, regardless of size, has a population of veterans that can benefit from our VSP Program. Go to www.census.gov/topics/population/veterans.html for your chapter, area, region and • state veteran demographics. 9
Our mentoring and guidance include introductions to professional and skill • specific employment oppurtunities. Our emphasis is on family and community in a beautiful, peaceful, and • welcoming environment. Family is defined broadly as any relative nexus to the veteran. • 10
•Our Veterans Service Partnership program co-exists and supports many traditional TU Chapter programs and initiatives. •We should always invite our colleagues & partners within TU programs to join us and to make all of our programs available to each other and PA veterans. It is a simple matter of adding addressees to our communications in and out of the chapter. •Chapter program leaders, long time and new members make great instructors and mentors. •Often a non-member will come to you and ask to join your VSP for the purposes of learning how to fly fish and becoming a streamside mentor. •PFBC offers a Fishing Skills Instructor and an advanced fly fishing skills course if you would like a higher level of education and access to their equipment. 11
VSP Team Members and Veterans Fisherman’s Paradise in Bellefonte, PA 12
It is easy to find, recruit and train folks who provide administrative, • operations, and logistics support for your chapter VSP program. Folks will always volunteer to help out and you will gain membership and participation in many of our Chapter programs. Many of us try to do too many of the program functions alone and • this limits the effectiveness and outreach of your program. Delegate duties and responsibilities and have the teams select their leadership just like the pirates of old did. It Works! PATU VSP will support the establishment of your Chapter VSP • program and provide continuing support along the way. Have fun. 13
Chapter VSP program provides streamside and career mentoring, conservation • education and community conservation and recreation activities using the skills and abilities of our membership and supporters. Our “hook” is teaching the veterans & families how to improve their fishing skills • and knowledge of the watershed while enjoying the peace, safety and serenity of our watershed. Our “hook-ups” include mentoring and guidance provided upon request of the • veteran. Our emphasis is on family and community in a beautiful, peaceful, and • welcoming environment. Family is broadly defined as any relative with a nexus to the veteran. • 15
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• VSP programs can be a one and done, a seasonal program held bi- weekly, quarterly, monthly, or any other combination of times, locations and activities that your chapter can support with existing personnel, budget, and site constraints. • We enjoy the cooperation and assistance of PFBC, DCNR, state, regional and local conservation and outdoor organizations, industry, business, and public. You can partner with anyone. • Most Chapter VSP program costs are less than $100.00 a month including licensing, supplies & consumables, exclusive of equipment, supply, cash and food contributions you will receive. 17
Our talented streamside mentors and instructors teach fishing skills, conservation, riparian, and • streamside construction techniques. Instruction, education, and mentoring are provided at all levels of expertise and to all age groups. • All equipment, supplies and consumables are provided, free of charge. • As an example some programs and fishing begins at 1:00 pm on the second and fourth Sundays of • the month March through November. January through mid March indoor programs are provided. You pick time, date & frequency based on resources and location. We find folks will drive an hour to come see us unless they are on a three day weekend or vacation • and then they drive even further. No reservations (a heads up is nice though). No barriers. Just a safe, peaceful and enjoyable time by • all. 18
• Streamside fishing usually goes until dusk. Your tear down is usually in the dark. The vets and streamside mentors are usually assigned on a one on one basis. • If there are children coming to your program please be sure to get your required • clearances. We have a TU & PA child protection program method in place and are working to ease access and availability through the legislative process. No alcohol is served at our VSP program. Some of our vets are medicated or are • currently self medicating. TU risk management guidelines and some of our state locations prohibit alcohol consumption on site or during the program. 19
Outreach • Your outreach efforts are critical to the success of your VSP program. Post flyers, pamphlets, electronic media at public buildings, public occupancies, & as many commercial • locations as you can. We will give you more location ideas now. Use all press, free outdoor news media, Facebook, email, social networking, flyers, three folds, and • electronic methods to get you message out. Examples are in your packet. Your old guys may not use email or social media but they will see your flyer at the barbershop, at City Hall, or at the fly shop. Make sure to post at senior centers, assisted living, VFW, American Legion Posts. Assign VSP team folks to active duty, Guard/Reserve and veteran outreach as a primary duty. They will • always be thinking of ways to gain program visibility. Re-check from time to time to make sure your stuff is still up and current. If you can get into Trout, your Outdoor newspapers, or any other publication do so. • • The PATU Newsletter & Constant Contact will let you reach each other and us but you have to do outreach to do more than ask the congregation & choir if they want to participate. You will get always get two or three participants for each contact. 20
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