This organization is doing great things in the community by providing special teddy bears to the police department to give to children negatively affected by crime and violence. Sometimes, the first contact these children have is with police and emergency crews. The Because We Care teddy bears can help comfort children in very difficult times. The CVMA is dedicated to helping our fellow veterans, and this program not only helps our local veterans, it helps the community as a whole. And who knows, maybe those helped might be veterans themselves one day.

I've received numerous emails about joining and felt like I could save a bit of time answering the same questions here.

A common question is: "How do I join?"
The best way, in my opinion, is to print out the application and bring the required documentation with you to an event. That way, an officer can verify the paperwork (motorcycle license, insurance and registration is required for membership) and put a name with a face. Scheduled events, rides, meets and meetings are all excellent ways to get to know you and for you to see if the CVMA is right for you.

"How long will the application take to process?"
That is a difficult question to answer since there are so many variables. This organization is made up of volunteers who usually have full time jobs. Major events like Nationals can hold up the process significantly since the whole organization participates. The approval process isn't done at the chapter level, so we have little control over the timeline. Fortunately, the actual approval to be a member won't hinder you in the slightest from participating in events and rides. My membership took two months to be approved and my back patch took four...patience is key! We invite you to help our brother and sister Veterans regardless of the status of your membership or application. Remember, its about vets helping vets!

"I'm not a combat vet, but served honorably, can I still join?"
Yes! The full membership requires you to have served in combat, however there are Support and Auxiliary memberships available. There are limitations placed on each chapter in regards to Support membership numbers. In the end, a back patch shouldn't deter you if you want to help you fellow brothers and sisters, and that's the core of the organization.

I hope this helps answers some of the common questions people have.  Contact me through the website if you have any more questions, I'll do my best to answer them quickly.

"Coldwater"

An overworked Keebler and I were talking about the website and how it's been in need of some tweeking and updating, but he's been tasked out for many other things. So I've decided to step up and offer my services to help out my chapter! I've changed things a bit to get load times down and participation up by bringing more traffic to the site and getting the word out. The more we update, the more traffic that comes our way. The CVMA is growing at an extremely fast rate, but there is still a great many combat vets in the area that don't know enough about us. The more members, the more we can help our fellow vets!

~ Coldwater