The Virginia-based MOAA chapter prides itself in how quickly it responds to veterans who need support, along with how every dollar the chapter receives from The MOAA Foundation's Community Outreach Grants goes straight to supporting veterans.

'There's a lot of help for veterans, but in most cases, there's a lot of paperwork, and it takes weeks or months ... . That's not good enough.'

About a decade ago, when Col. Howard Schue, USAF (Ret), was chapter president, they partnered with Community Lutheran Church in Sterling, Va., to help local veterans.

"There's a lot of help for veterans, but in most cases, there's a lot of paperwork, and it takes weeks or months," Schue said. "If a veteran is going to have his electricity turned off or his car repossessed next week, that's not good enough."

The chapter and church work together to provide funds and immediate help for veterans. The chapter also motivated the county to hire a full-time veteran support person, said Schue, who is the director of the chapter's Loudoun Veterans and Family Support program.

"We have gotten all the county veteran support organizations to come together in an organization called the Loudoun County Community Veterans Engagement Board, and we all work together in coordination with the county to provide whatever immediate help a veteran needs," Schue said, adding that the bulk of that is through financial assistance.

One example was a Marine Corps veteran who was evicted from his apartment while he was in the hospital because the landlord wanted to renovate the apartment complex. The chapter was able to help that veteran through the money received from donations and grants like Community Outreach Grants from The MOAA Foundation.

The chapter also helped a veteran with post-traumatic stress receive a service dog.

The chapter put together funds toward the service dog, and several veterans service organizations contributed the rest of the money.

"We were able to respond to what looked like an impossible chore," Schue said.

"There's a lot of help for veterans, but in most cases, there's a lot of paperwork, and it takes weeks or months ... . That's not good enough."