Temecula Veteran Honored Nationally for #StillServing

Temecula veteran, Livier J. (Livy) Lazaro is being honored for dedication to country and community in the VFW #StillServing campaign. The national Veterans of Foreign Wars #StillServing (vfw.org/stillserving) campaign recognizes veterans who continue to serve in their community after the military.

A US Army veteran who served in Iraq, Lazaro was recently elected to her second term as the first female commander in VFW Post 7420’s 67-year history. Lazaro leads her post in Barrio Logan in honoring all veterans but especially Hispanic American veterans whose stories of heroism have not been told nor acknowledged. Lazaro advocates to affect legislation and assistance to bring deported veterans back into the country they took an oath to protect. Lazaro has developed a Repatriated Veteran Mentorship Program to help veterans navigate life after deportation and ensure they receive their earned benefits and are feeling supported by their veteran community.

Lazaro says she is #StillServing because in the Army she was taught to take care of her fellow service members. After leaving the service she felt helpless, hopeless and voiceless until she found a treatment that worked. She now believes her experiences enable her to understand others who feel voiceless, like deported veterans and military sexual trauma victims, and has made it her new mission to give them voice.

VFW is pleased to honor Lazaro in the national VFW #StillServing campaign and invites all veterans to share their stories at vfw.org/stillserving.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) launched #StillServing, a campaign to highlight the many ways America’s veterans continue to serve in their local communities after transitioning from the military, in February 2020. What started as an awareness campaign has become a social movement as veterans across the country continue to step up to share stories of how they are still serving. More than 1,000 veterans’ stories have been shared through news coverage, website features and magazine and newsletter articles.

“Our original intent here was to recognize and showcase the important ongoing service of the lifeblood of our organization - our members, but the campaign quickly took hold and expanded well beyond the confines of our membership to veterans and advocates around the world,” said Tim Borland, VFW commander-in-chief. “The participation and interest this campaign has garnered has exceeded all expectations, and it continues to gain momentum.”

According to the 2021 Veterans Civic Health Index1, veterans average nearly 30 percent more volunteer hours per year and outpace civilians 15 percent in charitable donations. Additionally, nearly 40 percent more veterans belong to a group working on community issues and veterans are more like to be registered to vote (7 percent) and have recently voted (6 percent).

Since its launch, more than 2 million people have engaged with the campaign and it has gained the attention of individuals worldwide, recently earning a Grand Award at the 19th International Business Association for the highest marks of more than 3,700 nominations to the business awards.

12021 Veterans Civic Health Index