American Legion Auxiliary Texas Unit 33 President Christine Trahan joined the ALA in 1993 under the U.S. Marine Corps service of her husband. She was drawn to the work of her unit and how closely it followed the Auxiliary’s mission to serve veterans, military, and their families.

Now, almost 30 years later, Christine is proud to be a part of a community that continues to fulfill the needs of heroic servicemembers.

“It’s important to give to the ones who don’t have,” Christine said. “It’s just I’m blessed, and I want somebody else to be blessed also.”

That’s why all members of Texas Unit 33 step up in times of need, whether it’s buying sunglasses or goggles that were needed by servicemembers overseas, granting scholarships to military children, or even rebuilding a veteran’s house from the ground up after a devastating hurricane.

“We are a family, and the experience you feel in disaster situations when The American Legion Family gets together — it’s just overwhelming,” Christine said.

“Reaching the veterans — I mean it just makes your heart feel good that you’re helping this veteran, or their family members.”

Texas Unit 33 stepped up in a big way to fill a need for the American Legion Auxiliary Foundation during last year’s #GivingTuesday campaign. When Christine noticed the ALA Foundation was collecting donations at National Convention, she made a call to her unit’s executive board members and got approval right away to provide a matching gift to the ALA Foundation, so that individuals’ gifts would be doubled up to $3,000.

“In one of our unit meetings, we had about an hour of conversation about the Foundation and about #GivingTuesday and explained everything that it does,” Christine said. “And our unit decided – anything to support the Foundation because of what it can do – they were for it.”

They know that 100 percent of donations to the ALA Foundation go back to support veterans and their families through grants to ALA units and departments, or through other Auxiliary programs.

“It’s just the passion that the Foundation carries for our veterans, and then the way they help the units carry on programs because they don’t have the funding to get whatever they need,” Christine said.

“Anything that helps our veterans, that’s what we are giving for.”

Join Christine and Texas Unit 33 in supporting the American Legion Auxiliary Foundation this year for #GivingTuesday. Make your gift at www.ALAFoundation.org/GivingTuesday.