Noteboom The Law Firm

Help-A-Vet Phone-A-Thon Raises Veteran Awareness

June 9, 2010 - Despite knowing benefits are out there to help them, many veterans are completely ignorant as to their eligibility for the benefits available. More than that, they are also in the dark as to how to claim their benefits. The "Help-A-Vet Phone-A-Thon" is a veteran's enrollment plan that started last March in Syracuse.

There are 126,000 veterans spread over 13 counties within the Syracuse Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center's service area. There are potentially tens of thousands of veterans unaware of what health care is available to them and in what capacity. It is this dire situation that drove Michael Otis, a Desert Storm combat veteran, to develop this enrollment plan.

The enrollment plan couples the VA with local media to alert as many veterans as possible to the benefits of enrolling in the VA. Both the VA and the stations benefitted from the plan. The VA reached approximately 500,000 people in the greater Syracuse viewing area, which included a two week promotional campaign and a PSA played more than 200 times. The station was able to sell sponsorships, therefore negating the cost of the VA's airtime. 

When the event finally aired, there was much focus on how the health care at VA medical centers is state-of-the-art. It also put out information on what type of health care programs are available for veterans through the VA. The program's success led to it potentially being picked up in 17 new markets.

Otis just isn't ready to go nationwide yet; not until he meets his goal. Before he considers taking the program nationwide, he wants to enroll 10,000 veterans in 12 months. Otis will continue to work as long as there is interest in the program and every veteran is given the health care they deserve.

The "Help-A-Vet Phone-A-Thon" lasted 12 hours. In that time, the phone bank received 657 phone calls, which resulted in 467 enrollment requests from veterans.