Veterans

VETERANS SIGN UP

FAQ
Online Application
Refer a Wounded Veteran

Our mission is to enable veterans of the United States Armed Forces recently wounded in combat operations to receive free lodgings donated by vacation homeowners.

If you are a veteran who has received the Purple Heart Medal in the Afghanistan or Iraq Campaigns, and wish to apply for our program, please fill out the form below, and a member of our staff will contact you as soon as possible.

From all of us, thank you for your service.

FAQ

What are the qualifications for eligibility?
As much as we appreciate all of the veterans who serve our country, as well as the veterans of our allies, constraints on homes available, funds, and staff necessitate that we limit our program to include only veterans of the United States Armed Services who are recipients of the Purple Heart Medal during the Afghanistan or Iraq Campaigns. All veterans must be well enough to travel to qualify for the program, and if discharged, must have proof of an Honorable Discharge.

What will my costs be?
The program provides veterans with free lodgings only. Veterans will be required to pay any refundable security deposits required by the vacation homeowners. Transportation costs, meals, and incidental costs are paid for by the individual veterans.

Can I reserve a holiday week?
Unfortunately, we cannot accept requests for holiday weeks. Because most of our home donors also rent their vacation homes, and therefore need the rental income that is usually generated during holiday weeks, we ask that you do not request to travel during the following holiday weeks: Spring/Easter break; Memorial Day weekend/week; Fourth of July week; Labor Day weekend/week; Thanksgiving weekend; and, Christmas and New Years weeks.

Am I guaranteed a vacation?
Vacations For Veterans is a charitable organization and operates to its maximum capacity, and therefore we cannot guarantee that each veteran will be offered a placement. We try to match the veteran’s needs and requests to the donor homes that we have available at the time.

How long is the stay?
Each veteran and his traveling party will receive one free week at a vacation home, based upon the homeowner’s rental week.

What happens if property damage occurs?
With regard to cleanliness and care, we expect the visiting family to respect the generosity of the vacation homeowner and care for the property as if it were their own. Each family is responsible for any damages that occur during their stay.

Can we bring the family pet?
Due to the increased possibility of damage due to a beloved family pet, Vacations For Veterans has a strict no pet policy in place. Special arrangements will be made for registered assistive animals.

Is proof of any kind required for eligibility?
Yes. You must prove that you have received the Purple Heart Medal in either the Afghanistan or Iraq Campaigns in order to qualify for our program.

If currently on active duty, we ask that you email, fax or mail the following documentation to us:

A copy of the page in your Service Record which denotes receipt of the Purple Heart Medal, or
A copy of the official letter that you received with Your Purple Heart Medal

If you have been discharged, we ask that you email, fax or mail the following documentation to us:

A copy of your DD 214 showing receipt of your Purple Heart Medal or
A copy of the official letter that you received with Your Purple Heart Medal

What does the application procedure consist of?
After submitting the Online Application Form, veterans fax or mail the remaining proper documents for acceptance to the program. Once the application is complete, we will contact the owners of the vacation homes chosen by the veterans. Once we have received approval by the homeowner, we will contact the veteran so that he or she may begin to make travel plans. We will at that time also give the veteran the pertinent contact information for the vacation home to enable them to finalize travel arrangements.

For any other questions, or if you are unsure if you qualify, please contact us at info@VacationsForVeterans.org

ONLINE APPLICATION FOR VETERANS

Your Account

Email (Email is login name)*

Password*

The information requested below will be shown on the website to the vacation home donors and timeshare donors.

Personal Information

First Name*

Last Name*

Rank*

Branch of Service*

Status*

Active duty

Discharged

Campaigns Served*

Operation Iraqi Freedom (Iraq)
Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan)

Please upload a photo of yourself and/or you and your family (maximum 2 images)* (Why do we require this? Vacation home donors through VFV are eager to thank our veterans for their honorable service to our country, and they'd like to see to whom they are offering their homes.)

Browse an image file

Please describe what a free vacation would mean to you and/or your family in a few sentences: *

Military Decorations*
Purple Heart *Required for this Program
Other medals and decorations
Give Details of Other Medals

Number of adults in your traveling party including you*

Number of children in your traveling party*

Do you have any special medical requirements that the vacation home donor should know about?*

Yes

If Yes, Give Details

This information below will be kept confidential and viewed only by Vacations For Veterans staff.

Current Address*

Address 2

City*

State*

Zip*

Email address where we can contact you*

(Home donors will see and reply to this email in regard to your requests for their vacation homes)

Alternate email address if any

Home Telephone*

Cellular Phone

Our mission is limited to helping Purple Heart Medal recipients from the Iraq and Afghanistan Campaigns only. Please submit the following information so that we can verify that you are a Purple Heart Medal recipient.

Verfication: This information will remain confidential.
STEP 1: Purple Heart Medal Documentation
Please email or fax a copy of either: A standard service record book page that records your Purple Heart Medal award or A copy of your DD 214 Email to: info@vacationsforveterans.org or Fax to 1-800-831-8803 *ONCE YOU HAVE EMAILED YOUR DOCUMENTS OR FAXED THEM TO US, WE WILL ACTIVATE YOUR ACCOUNT AND MAIL YOU A PASSWORD TO SEARCH THE VACATION HOME DATABASE. THIS STEP MUST BE COMPLETED TO GET A VACATION.
STEP 2: All supplied information is kept confidential and not used for any other purpose except verification of service.
Please list the full name of a fellow service member who can vouch for your service in the US Armed Forces:
Name*		required
Rank*	required	Branch of Service*	required
Email*	invalid	or Telephone Number*
Either Email or Phone Required.

Publicity

We occasionally get media interest in our program, and ask for help from veterans who are willing to share a little bit about the vacations that they take through Vacations For Veterans. This free publicity is a huge help to us because it attracts more vacation home donors, and, spreads the word to more veterans.

I am happy to help if asked

No thanks

Have you been on a vacation through VFV already? This won’t affect your eligibility.

Yes

Not yet

(If yes number of times)

Legal

I hereby state that I am medically fit for travel to a vacation home.

I hereby state that I earned the Purple Heart Medal, and understand that under the Stolen Valor Act it is now a Federal Offense, punishable by up to $5,000 fine and six months in jail (double that if the offense involves valor awards or the Purple Heart), to claim verbally or in writing to have received any military award that one did not.

By applying for the Vacations For Veterans services, I agree that neither Vacations For Veterans, LLC nor its' affiliates bear any responsibility of liability for any aspect or outcome of the arrangement.

By applying for the Vacations For Veterans services, I agree that neither the Vacation Homeowner of the home that I will occupy, timeshare owner, nor their affiliates, bear any responsibility of liability for any aspect or outcome of the arrangement.

I have read and agree to the Terms of Vacations For Veterans, LLC

Please Read: How To Use This Program

1. Once you have emailed or faxed your Purple Heart Medal documents to us, and we have verified your status, we will give you a password to access the home donor database. You will need to login to your account and then enter the password to search the vacation homes or timeshare resort offers.

2. You will search the vacation homes/timeshares and fill out the form to contact only ONE vacation homeowner or timeshare owner at a time. The owner will reply back to your personal email.

3. Once you send the contact form, you will not be able to contact another home donor until that first donor has replied yes or no. We set it up this way because we don’t want 10 home donors contacted when only one will be chosen by you: this would not make our home or timeshare donors happy, and they are what makes Vacations For Veterans possible.

4. When contacting donors, please keep in mind that most of them rent their homes, and therefore cannot give up rental income that they are more likely to get during peak holiday weeks like: Presidents Day week, spring break/Easter week, Memorial Day, July 4th week, Thanksgiving, or Christmas/New Year’s week. If you ask for a non-peak week, you are more likely to get a positive response.

5. Do not contact donors for any vacations less than 5 days. They cannot afford to forego a week’s worth of rental income for just a few days. Also, depending upon the number of veterans who continue to sign up for VFV, this program might be a �?one shot deal’ so enjoy a full week if you can!

6. Once a home donor reserves a week for you, they are giving up possible rental income for that week, so please do not cancel unless it is unavoidable to do so. If you must cancel, it is important to notify the home donor immediately so that they can put their home back on the rental market. Cancellation for no good reason results in forfeiture of participation in VFV.

7. Veterans are responsible for any and all damage to properties that they use, so please ensure that you leave the property in better condition that you found it as a consideration for your free stay.

8. Lastly, please follow up your stay with a thank you email or call to your home donors. It can be a short email, or a longer email with images from your trip. However much you wish to share will mean a lot to them-and that will also help our program continue to be successful.

I have read and understand how the VacationsForVeterans program works