Auxiliary Merrick Unit 1282 Officers for 2023-2024

Auxiliary Meeting Schedule

The Auxiliary Executive Meeting takes place on the 1st Tuesday of  the Month at 7:45 p.m. online via zoom.

The Auxiliary General Membership Meeting take place on the 3rd Tuesday of the Month at 7:45 p.m. at the Post.

Mission Statement:

• To support the American Legion programs for veterans, young people, and community.
• To provide for today's needs while being advocates for a brighter future.
• To advance the understanding of patriotism and responsibility of citizenship.
• To promote individual integrity and family values.
• To ensure as volunteers, that Auxiliary members continue to be the leaders in all that is good in this nation today, tomorrow and for generations to come through serving others first and not self.

Membership Eligibility Details:

• A woman who is eligible for membership in The American Legion is also eligible to join the American Legion Auxiliary. (Woman veterans can join both organizations!)
• The mother, wife, daughter, sister, grand-daughter, great-grand-daughter, or grandmother of a current member of The American Legion.
• The mother, wife, daughter, sister, granddaughter, great-granddaughter or grandmother of a deceased veteran who served during any of the conflicts listed below.
• Step relatives are also eligible.

Membership Recruitment

The American Legion Auxiliary Unit 1282 is looking for new members to join them in supporting our troops, veterans, military personnel and community.

We want you!!!

New Faces, New Ideas to better our efforts in supporting our programs.

For more information, contact the Auxiliary Unit 1282 Membership Chairman, Sharon Williams at 516-208-5253.

Dates Of Eligibility:

Just In....

Congress and the White House agree to expand definition of war eras to include all who served since Dec. 7, 1941.

More than 1,600 members of the U.S. Armed Forces were killed or wounded in periods of time not designated as war eras since the end of World War II. The newly signed Let Everyone Get Involved in Opportunities for National Service Act of 2019 – The LEGION Act – honors those veterans, their spouses and descendants, extending membership eligibility in The American Legion Family to hundreds of thousands who had previously been excluded.

The LEGION Act offers American Legion membership eligibility to any U.S. military veteran who served at least one day of active military duty since Dec. 7, 1941, and was honorably discharged or is serving now. The act also affects membership in the American Legion Auxiliary and Sons of the American Legion, expanding eligibility for those groups, as well.

• World War I - April 6, 1917 to November 11, 1918
• World War II - December 7, 1941 to December 31, 1946
• U.S. Merchant Marine eligibility runs Dec. 7, 1941, to Aug. 16, 1945
• Korea - June 25, 1950 to January 31, 1955
• Vietnam - February 28, 1961 to May 7, 1975
• Lebanon and Grenada - August 24, 1982 to July 31, 1984
• Panama - December 20, 1989 to January 31, 1990
• Persian Gulf - August 2, 1990 to today - and continuing until cessation of hostilities as determined by the U.S.government; open eligibility thus applies to ALL current active-duty service members.

About the American Legion Auxiliary - Merrick Unit 1282

This is how we got started.  Former American Legion Merrick Post No. 1282 Commander, Philip L. Williams, applied for a Charter for us in 2007.  On April 12, 2008 the Charter was signed and we became a Unit.  We began with 11 members and now have 85 members.  Lucy Murphy was our first President and she held that position for 7 years. In 2013, Florence Hoffman assumed the role of President which lasted for 6 years until June of 2019, our currrent Auxiliary President is Laura Lahood.  Our Executive meeting is the first Monday of every month and our General Membership meeting is the third Tuesday of each month.

Our mission statement is the following:  In the spirit of service, not self, the mission of the American Legion Auxiliary is to support The American Legion and honor the sacrifice of those who serve by enhancing the lives of our veterans, military, and their families, both at home and abroad.  For God and Country, we advocate for veterans, educate our citizens, mentor youth, and promote patriotism, good citizenship, peace and security.

We have many Fundraisers.  We raise funds for Veterans through donations from our Poppy Fundraiser.  Various members of our unit set up a table via permission from local merchants at their place of business and give poppies to their patrons for donations to help support our Veterans.  We usually hold these poppy fundraisers near Veterans Day (November) and Memorial Day (May) of each year.  We also distribute poppies to our local residents for donations during the Merrick Fall Festival (Merrick Street Fair).  We also hold a “Crafts Fair” to raise money for Veterans once a year either during the Fall or Spring of that year.  At the Crafts Fair, Merchants can set up their merchandise for the public in our Post Hall.  The Unit also sets up a table at this Crafts Fair in which people can win various prizes from raffles that are purchased from them.  Our Unit also sponsors a “Wreaths Across America” Fundraiser, in which an individual can purchase a wreath from our members and these wreaths will be placed on the graves of Veterans at the Long Island National Cemeteries.

The Unit participates in Nassau County American Legion Auxiliary Activities, by sending a young woman (chosen from a local High School) to Girls State, which institutes knowledge of the American forms of government and the American Institutions, and a sense of pride and leadership in a young woman and a sense of desire to maintain our Democratic processes.  The Unit has participated in National Security programs such as: Operation Purple, Coupon Clipping and Care Packages for our Veterans.  Operation Purple allows children of deployed men and woman in the military to enjoy a free week of summer camp.  The Coupon Clipping program asks our Auxiliary members to cut food coupons for our military families to be sent to Commissaries Overseas.  The Care Packages Program involves the making up and sending of care packages to our troops abroad.  The Unit participates in the Instillation of Nassau County American Legion Auxiliary Officers, participates in the Nassau County Awards Ceremony, and various other Nassau Count Auxiliary Functions.  We attend the Department Visitation Dinners and we send a delegate to American Legion Auxiliary annual convention.

The Unit also helps the local Merrick Post No. 1282, American Legion, Veterans in various ways.  Many of our Auxiliary Members, husbands are Merrick Post No. 1282, American Legion, members.  We assist Merrick Post No. 1282 Veterans at their Saint Patrick’s Day Party, Veterans Day Repast and Christmas Parties and Post Installation Ceremonies.  We attend the Veterans Day Mass for Veterans and they participate in the “Post’s Law and Order Day Ceremony”.  We assist the Merrick Post No. 1282 Veterans, in their “Veterans Appreciation Barbecue\Luncheon”, in which a number of veterans from the Stony Brook and Northport Nursing Homes are invited to our Post for a Barbecue/Luncheon.  We assist in preparing a “Gift Bag” for these veterans and they help in various other activities at the day of this event ( August of each year).  We also host a party for the Merrick Post No. 1282 Veterans either for Valentine’s Day or before Thanksgiving.

Our Unit helps our Veterans and military personnel in many ways.  We help our Veterans in the Northport and Stony Brook Nursing Homes.  We deliver Valentine cards designed by elementary school children in our area to our Northport and Stony Brook Veterans at these Nursing Homes.  Auxiliary members during the Holidays, help Northport Veterans pick out gifts from the Northport Nursing Home’s Holiday Gift Shop for their loved ones and help wrap these gifts for them to be sent to their loved ones.  Auxiliary members have also accompanied Merrick Post No 1282 members on their annual trip to Northport to participate in the “A Day at the Races” at the Northport VA Nursing Home.  Our Unit has collected canned goods in front of a Stop and Shop Supermarket for Salvation Army Homeless Veterans in Northport.  Auxiliary members have aided Veterans at the Fall and Spring Stand downs which help Homeless Veterans.  These Stand downs are usually held at American Legion posts in Nassau County or at the Freeport Armory.  Auxiliary members provide Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner for local area Homeless Veterans at the Salvation Army Residence in West Hempstead.  We distribute knitted and crochet items from the women from “Loving Hands” to local area Veterans, these women knit and crochet items for charity.  We have donated funds to the United Service Organization (USO).  The Unit has sponsored a Blue Star Program which provides families who have a person serving in the armed forces (son, daughter, brother, sister, cousin, husband and wife etc.) with a Blue Star Banner upon request.  Our Unit members are involved with “Boots on the Ground, NY, Leaving no Veterans Behind” program, in which Auxiliary members have donated food, personal items and some small appliances to help Veterans and their families start over.  Our Auxiliary Unit has adopted a platoon (e.g. from Iraq or Afghanistan) and have sent supplies to them.  Merrick Unit 1282, Auxiliary members, participates in the Merrick’s Memorial Day Parade and Ceremony and they elect a poppy queen (usually a high school student) to participate in this parade.

The American Legion Auxiliary, Merrick Unit 1282, is involved in our local Community.  Our Unit hosted a party at the Post for children whose parents were serving in the military overseas.  The Unit has helped members of the Girl Scouts in achieving their “Gold Award Project”, has presented “Girl Scout of the Year Awards” to outstanding Girl Scouts and has hosted Halloween parties for our younger and older Girl Scouts.  The Auxiliary Unit has hosted a Poppy Poster, Poppy Hats, Poppy Centerpieces and Poppy Table Favors Contest.  The Unit has worked with the North Merrick Civic Association in their “Eggstravaganzer” at Fraser Park (March/April), helped in collecting supplies for children of military veterans (Back Pack Project), has collected toys for Ronald McDonald's House for children (January) and other functions for this organization.  Auxiliary is involved with a Reading program at Chatterton Elementary School and have helped Elementary Schools (e.g. Chatterton) collect supplies for military personnel serving overseas.  The Auxiliary Unit is also involved in Food Drives for local area veterans.  We have worked with the Merrick Kiwanis Club in providing school supplies for needy children.  We have helped the Scared Heart Parish Ministry collect closed used shoes for children of Santo Domingo.  Our Unit has partnered with the Nassau County American Legion, in serving lunch and refreshments at a party for ninety disabled children at the Saint Patrick’s Church School in Glen Cove.  Our Auxiliary Unit helps and aids children of the SCO family of Services.

The Auxiliary Merrick Unit 1282, members have comradeship/fun with their own members.  We celebrate a Unit member’s Birthday at our General Membership Meetings.  We sometime have theme parties at our General Membership meetings and/or refreshments are usually served at these meetings.  Auxiliary members are known to have Lunches with each other and we have an “end of the American Legion Auxiliary Calendar year dinner” for our members.  The Auxiliary Unit Historian collects information on the Auxiliary events and functions held during the year and put it in a scrap book.  We elect a “Unit Member of the Year” for the outstanding work a particular American Legion Auxiliary member has performed throughout the American Legion Auxiliary calendar year and honor that person at our Installation Ceremony.  We also honor other Auxiliary members at our Installation Ceremony for the outstanding work they have performed on their projects and committees they are assigned to.  The American Legion Auxiliary, Merrick Unit 1282, is a fun organization to belong to, not only for the work we perform with our Veterans and Community, but also with the comradeship of our fellow members and the friendships that develop from belonging to this organization.  As Past President Florence Hoffman puts it our organization is “The Little Mouse That Roared”.