The Holiday Spirit Shines from Within - All Year Long

I wish you all the very best for a joyous and festive holiday season! If you are fortunate enough to gather with family and friends, I hope that you will live in the moment of it all – something we all realized is so very important after the events of the last two years. Let us savor the experience of joining with those we love to recreate the traditions of holidays past, while making happy new memories. Merry Christmas, and to those of you who celebrate in other faiths, Happy Holidays.

I also hope that you will reflect on your American citizenship as one of your greatest blessings over the course of coming days. Engaged DAR members know that the warmth and meaning of the season don't end when the tree is removed and the holiday lights are taken down. If you truly give the best of yourself to our vibrant mission, then you know that you shine from within through your involvement with DAR all year long. I know of no other organization that offers women a better platform for expressing their love of country than ours; and the end result lifts up others in the very best of the American spirit.

- We’re proud to honor our nation’s active duty military through our work with the DAR Project Patriot Committee to support those who place their lives in danger to protect our own. Whether that support comes in the form of care packages, financial contributions, holiday cards or efforts to raise appreciation for our nation’s military members, it comes from the heart. As the first Blue Star Mother to serve as President General, I thank you for this work in particular.

- We improve educational outcomes for thousands of young people annually through our support of the DAR School and Community Classroom committees. In addition, when local, state and national scholarships are totaled, we extend more than $1 million annually to make dreams come true for students who might otherwise be unable to afford higher education through the DAR Scholarship Committee. Add the impact of Junior American Citizens and the Children of the American Revolution, and you begin to appreciate the work that we accomplish to raise the leaders of tomorrow. Additionally, thousands of new readers, for many of whom English is a second language, benefit from the important and rewarding work of our Literacy Committee. 

In addition to these committees, we also, of course, support a great deal of Patriotic work, such as respect for the Flag of the United States of America, awareness of the U.S. Constitution (specifically, during Constitution Week) and the importance of Good Citizens. Our work in Historic Preservation funds community grants, supports our DAR Museum and captures thousands of genealogical records for posterity. Want to know more about our far-reaching impact? Review the Service to America’s 2020 report to Continental Congress.

As 2021 approaches its close, the Service to America tally on our members’ website had captured about 2.7 million hours of community service by our members during the last year. But we know that thousands, if not millions, more hours are donated each year by our generous members than are reported. So please, after you have feasted and finished the holiday clean up, please add a new year’s resolution to your list: inputting your own volunteer hours into our worldwide tally. The deadline is February 1^st. Help us to illustrate the wide-ranging impact that we make through our service work – it not only helps us to demonstrate to the general public the vibrancy of our mission but also helps us to attract new members to help carry forward our important work.

DAR members shine from within all year long. Thank you for carrying the light of the holiday season to benefit our fellow Americans 365 days a year. You won’t find it wrapped and tied up with a bow underneath your tree on Christmas morning, but your dedication to our mission is surely among the greatest of gifts this season. I thank you for all that you give and do to demonstrate “goodwill toward men.” Merry Christmas from our House (Beautiful!) to yours!