Colorado trusts keeps transportation network rolling.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Each day Transportation Network weave their way through the bustling traffic of our nation's cities and towns or glide down the open roads of rural America. Their scheduled routes are set by 181 Hospital Service Coordinators (HSCs) to deliver sick and disabled veterans to their VA medical appointments and return them home again.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The living network of hundreds of vans and more than 9,000 volunteer drivers is viable thanks to the generous support of the DAV Colorado Trust, which helps fund both HSCs and Transportation Network vans.

"Since we created the Colorado Trust 10 years ago, we have awarded $13.8 million in grants to needy Departments and Chapters," said National Adjutant Arthur H. Wilson. "The contributions of the Colorado Trust are even more important as we serve the needs of disabled veterans of the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan."

So far, 200,000 of the 1.4 million service members deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan have sought treatment at VA medical centers. Some 5.8 million veterans are treated at VA facilities each year.

"There is already a great demand for VA health care and consequently the need for our Transportation Network and the HSCs," said Wilson. "The DAV is ensuring that this new generation of disabled veterans obtains their earned health care benefits, even if it is difficult for them to reach a VA medical center."

Since the Colorado Trust was founded in 1996, nearly $13.4 million has been granted to HSC and Transportation Network programs.

The remaining $426,000 has been awarded to support Chapter and Department service programs which have directly benefited veterans.

The network of volunteer drivers last year logged 28.3 million miles to transport sick and disabled veterans. In all, 756,000 veterans used Transportation Network vans last year. It is the HSCs who receive transportation requests from veterans, schedule the drivers and make sure those veterans are picked up in a timely manner.

Created in 1996, the Trust was created as a "restricted fund" within the DAV National Service Foundation--meaning the funds are limited to programs of service to veterans and their families. The funds contributed to the Colorado Trust by Departments, Chapters and individual members are primarily used in the National Service and Voluntary Service Programs and distributed to needy Chapters and Departments.

The Trust got its name when the Department of Colorado donated $500,000 to help establish the fund. By the end of the first year, the fund totaled more than $1.1 million. Over the last decade, the contributions of Chapters and Departments have given life to new programs to build better lives for disabled veterans and their families. Without that crucial support, many programs would never have been more than an idea.

To increase the effect of donations, the DAV National Organization matches every dollar donated by a Chapter or Department. These efforts keep funds growing until they are granted to Chapters and Departments to provide needed services.

"The Colorado Trust is one of DAV's most successful support programs to assist disabled veterans, providing opportunities for Chapters and Departments to be more innovative and creative in developing new service programs, as well as helping expand current services," said Adjutant Wilson. "As a component of the National Service Foundation, the Colorado Trust provides a vehicle through which Departments and Chapters with excess resources can help fund other Departments and Chapters that have significant needs for service programs but few resources.

"We are always ready to encourage new programs of service," said Adjutant Wilson. "We encourage Departments and Chapters to examine the needs of disabled veterans in their states and communities and develop ideas to meet those needs creatively and effectively. Chapters and Departments who lack resources and funding for these programs should consider applying for a grant from The Colorado Trust."

"The Colorado Trust is a remarkable service instrument," he said. "It has been successfully used to build better lives for tens of thousands of disabled veterans. The purpose of the Trust is perpetuating and growing, and we look to our Chapters and Departments to ensure that the needs of our newest generation of veterans are quickly and adequately met."

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]