On the weeks show i share some powerful ideas from a story produced by Betsy Anderson and Jacqueline Gulledge, CNN On ways to help Veterans.

1. Give a veteran a ride

Medical care may be needed for some veterans for the rest of their lives. Disabled American Veterans provides free transportation to men and women who can’t travel to Veterans Affairs medical facilities on their own.

2. You can volunteer to d2. Donate frequent flier miles

The Fisher House Foundation has a network of homes on the grounds of military and VA hospitals around the country. These homes help family members be close during the hospitalization of a loved one for a combat injury, illness or disease. Fisher House operates theHero Miles Program, using donated frequent flier miles to bring family members to the bedside of injured service members. You can also volunteer or donate household items.

3. Sponsor a companion dog for veterans with PTSD

More than a third of all Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have or will experience post-traumatic stress disorder. And veterans of past wars are still dealing with the ghosts of their time in the service. Coping with PTSD can put stress on not just veterans but also their families and friends.

Puppies Behind Bars is a program in which prisoners train companion dogs for veterans with PTSD. Donors can sponsor a dog and receive updates on the dog’s training and life with its veteran.

(If you know a veteran dealing with PTSD, the VA offers the PTSD Coach Online to help veterans learn to manage symptoms, come up with ways to cope and find professional help.)

4. Help build a home for severely injured vets

Severely injured veterans often come home needing a place to live that better accommodates their physical disabilities. Building Homes for Heroes builds specially modified homes for veterans that help them live independently. These homes are provided at no cost to the veterans. The organization also provides financial planning services.

5. Keep veterans off the streets

In times of war, exhausted combat units were removed from the battlefield to “stand down” in a place of relative security to rest. The Department of Veterans Affairs’ Stand Down program is designed to help homeless veterans “combat” life on the streets. Stand Downs are usually one- to three-day events to provide food, shelter, clothing and health screenings to homeless and unemployed veterans. To find a Stand Down program in your community, contact your local VA hospital in the VA Medical Center Directory.

A phone call can also make difference in the life of a veteran who is homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Call 877-4AID-VET, or 877-424-3838, to be connected 24 hours a day, seven days a week with help at the VA.

6. Send a care package or a letter

Operation Gratitude has sent more than 1.5 million individually addressed care package to the military community. The packages are sent to current military members as well as veterans, wounded warriors and their caregivers. As more American troops return to civilian life, the Operation Gratitude veterans program has been growing. It also has a letter writing campaign encouraging everyone to write handwritten letters of gratitude to veterans.

7. Help them take flight

The Honor Flight Network helps veterans of the “greatest generation” make a free pilgrimage to the World War II Memorial on the National Mall in Washington. You can volunteer to escort these men and women on the flight to see this memorial. Honor Flight also helps terminally-ill veterans who served in any conflict visit memorials to those wars in Washington as well.

8. Share their stories

So many veterans’ stories have been left untold, but the Library of Congress is collecting the tales of veterans of every war with the Veterans History Project. If you are related to a veteran or know one who has a story to tell, the Library of Congress wants to hear it. Help veterans share their stories before it’s too late.

9. Say thank you

It’s simple, but it can make an impact. And so many veterans have never heard the words “thank you.” If you know a veteran or see someone in a military uniform, say something. It may make his or her day and yours.

Drive a van for those who need a lift.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo credit: AP

SALEM — With its radiant corona, shadows that appeared to shimmer across the ground and 360 degrees of twilight, Monday’s total solar eclipse awed millions of onlookers across the northwestern United States.

Some called it a mystical experience while others praised the power of science. Either way, the spectacle seemed to leave most pretty impressed.

“I was looking for the diamond ring and when that diamond ring came, I had tears in my eyes. I’ve read about it, but it was . indescribable,” said Julie Vigeland, a 73-year-old Portland, Oregon resident who watched from the Oregon State Fairgrounds in Salem. “It was a very primal experience, it really was. I’ve seen other really magnificent things but there is nothing, nothing like this.”

John Hays drove up from Bishop, California for the total eclipse in Salem and said the experience will stay with him forever. He watched from a deck overlooking the Willamette Valley and the foothills of the Coastal Range.

According to a recent story provided by the New York Post Wallstreet is winning again

Wall Street just had its most profitable quarter ever — fueled in part by the skimpy returns paid out on savings accounts.

US banks rang up record profits of $48.3 billion in the second quarter as the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes weren’t passed along to consumers, the FDIC said Tuesday.

The total bottom line profit marks a 10.7 percent rise from the same period last year — resulting in the biggest profit quarter in Wall Street history, an FDIC spokeswoman confirmed.

Banks have been clearing more profit as the Federal Reserve has hiked its benchmark rate four times since 2015.

The interest rate banks charge on loans is based on the Fed rate — meaning banks can charge a higher interest rate on loans after a Fed hike.

But banks are not raising the interest they pay on accounts — and they can pocket the difference.

JPMorgan Chase, the largest US bank, reported $26.5 billion in profit for the 12 months ended June 30. That’s the most profitable year for a company in the history of banking, according to Bloomberg.

Most other banks have seen their profits surge this year, as well as their stock price.

One glaring exception, Goldman Sachs, has seen its profits hit by bad bets on energy, according to reports.

Nevertheless, Goldman’s stock is still trading near all-time highs, thanks to optimism that the White House will pass a corporate tax reform bill.

Despite the ebullience at banks, not all is clear on the horizon, said FDIC Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg.

“While the quarterly results were largely positive, the operating environment for banks remains challenging,” Gruenberg said in a speech Tuesday, warning of risks to liquidity and the credit markets.

“These risks must be managed prudently for the industry to continue to grow on a long-run, sustainable path,” he added.
Bankers, however, seem more interested in keeping the spigot of money flowing. And that argument involves rolling back regulations.

JPMorgan boss Jamie Dimon has been the most vocal Wall Street executive when it comes to what he calls over-regulation.

According to  recent New York Post article based a survey from Bank of America. Millennials google themselves daily more than any other group. Read full story