American Veterans Hawaii

Our Mission
AMVETS Hawaii is dedicated to advocating for, supporting, and assisting all individuals who have honorably served in the United States Armed Forces—past, present, and future—along with their families. We strive to inform, inspire, and influence others to serve both in our military and civilian communities. Above all, we honor and remember the service and sacrifices of our Nation’s Veterans in defense of our country.

AMVETS Hawaii Service Foundation Corp, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) all-volunteer Veterans Service Organization (VSO), was established to manage and operate the AMVETS West Oahu Veterans Center and raise funds to support the programs and services of AMVETS Department of Hawaii and its Posts. The AMVETS Department and Posts in Hawaii operate under the 501(c)(19) status in coordination with the AMVETS National Headquarters in Lanham, Maryland.

Featured interview: Island Focus – Donovan Lazarus

Island Focus is a monthly, half-hour television series produced by ‘Ōlelo Community Media as a public service. The show highlights exclusive interviews with leaders from government, business, education, and community sectors, providing a platform for them to share their passions, discuss current developments, and reflect on the impact they’ve made. This particular episode was recorded at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl) and features Donovan A. Lazarus, State Commander of AMVETS Hawaii.

Over 90% of all donations received will directly fund our programs.

Programs:

Suicide Prevention and Awareness Program (VA, Cohen Veterans Network and Resurrecting Lives Foundation)
Adaptive Sports Program (Big Tire Bootcamp and Veterans Administration Pacific Islands Health Care System)
Warriors ‘Ohana Gardens Program (Landnam Warrior)
BioModulator Therapy Program (Senergy and Dr. Terry Shintani, MD, JD, MPH, KCSJ)
Elderly Veterans Care Program (AMVETS Ladies Auxiliary)
Employment Assistance Program (Job Search and Resume Building)
Financial Education and Home Buying Program (Harosky’s Homes)
Auto Internship and Transportation Service Program (Baba Rentals LLC)
ROTC/JROTC Program (Medals with Certificate Awards)
Scouting Program (Boys Scouts of America)
Softball Program (Cobras Softball Hawaii)
Basketball Program (Basketball Hawaii Youth Academy)
Community Service Program: American Samoan Weekly Church Services, Harosky Homes’ Bi-Weekly VA Seminars, VA Monthly Art Group Therapy Workshops, Hispanic Events Hawaii’ Annual Hispanic Festival and U.S.Vets’ Monthly Meetings, Miss Hawaii American Scholar Organization and B.R.A.V.E. Hawaii’s Workshops
Memorials and Commemorative Program: Preservations of the USS ARIZONA Memorial Marble Shrine Wall, National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific’s Carillon Memorial, Naval Air Station Barbers Point Memorial, Dr. John Henry Felix Monument, Ewa Battlefield, Ewa Battlefield Pearl Harbor Annual Commemoration Ceremony, West Loch Disaster Annual Commemoration Ceremony, Battle of Midway Annual Commemoration, Memorial Day Annual Commemoration Ceremony, Veteran’s Day Annual Celebration, Annual Suicide Preventative Awareness Summits and Run/Walk to Combat Suicides, and other contest and events.

Your generous donations will help to support our AMVETS Hawaii’s program initiatives to benefit our Veterans, transitioning Service members, and their families with needed support and assistance.

AMVETS good works in Hawaii includes…

AMVETS West Oahu Veterans Center
AMVETS Hawaii established the West Oahu Veterans Center as a dedicated space for our members and other Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs). It serves as a hub for workshops, training sessions, post meetings, and various activities that benefit Veterans, Service members, and their families. On August 15, 2020, AMVETS Hawaii secured a real estate agreement with the U.S. Navy, accepting the facility on an “As Is” basis. Since then, we have renovated Buildings 612 and 612A (totaling 3,030 sq. ft.), including a tennis court and two softball fields, all dedicated to supporting Veterans and VSOs.

Maui Disaster Relief
AMVETS Hawaii and its partners organized donation drives, collected, boxed, palletized, and shipped over one million pounds of essential items to those affected by the devastating wildfires in Maui.

BioModulator Program
Hawaii leads the ‘General Hank Stackpole Legacy Project for the Alleviation of Chronic Pain,’ utilizing BioModulator technology. This program, in place for over 10 years, provides relief to military patients, both active duty and Veterans, in addressing chronic pain and helping them reclaim their lives.

Keepers of the Naval Air Station Barbers Point Memorial at Kalaeloa Airport
In May 2021, AMVETS Hawaii completed the construction of the Naval Air Station Barbers Point Memorial at Kalaeloa Airport, under the leadership of AMVETS Hawaii State Commander Donovan A. Lazarus (U.S. Army, Ret.). This memorial honors Veterans of World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Gulf War, and all personnel stationed at the Naval Air Station from 1942 to 1999. The project was a collaboration between AMVETS Hawaii and the Hawaii Department of Transportation, as part of an MOU.

AMVETS Memorial Carillon Bell System at Punchbowl
The AMVETS Memorial Carillon Bell System at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl) is maintained by the AMVETS Service Foundation in accordance with an MOA between AMVETS and the cemetery. This “living” memorial serves as a reminder of the sacrifices made by those who fought for freedom, with bells that echo Thomas Jefferson’s words, “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.”

U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service Ewa Battlefield Grant at Kalaeloa
In September 2018, the National Park Service (NPS) awarded AMVETS Hawaii Service Foundation Corp a $63,000 grant under the Battlefield Preservation Assistance Program. The grant supports efforts to identify, evaluate, interpret, and protect historic battlefields and sites tied to wars fought on American soil.

Keepers of the USS Arizona Memorial Marble Shrine Wall at Pearl Harbor Visitor Center
AMVETS has proudly overseen the construction and maintenance of the USS Arizona Memorial Marble Shrine Wall, having built the original and replaced it three times. Most recently, AMVETS raised $350,000 to restore and rededicate the Memorial Wall on Veterans Day, November 11, 2014, in collaboration with the National Park Service.

Pearl Harbor Shoreside Dock Restoration Project at Pearl Harbor Visitor Center
AMVETS Past National Commander Regi Riley (2018-2019) selected the Shoreside Dock at Pearl Harbor as his signature project, successfully raising over $65,000 for its restoration in August 2019.

Honoring the Past, Inspiring the Future

– Preserve and Honor: Remembering the legacy of those who came before us.
– Educate and Inspire: Passing on this legacy to future generations.

It is our duty and solemn vow to never forget those who fought and died—from the birth of our nation to the brave men of the USS Arizona, and to our fallen comrades today. May they rest in peace, knowing they will never be forgotten.

President Lincoln once said that speeches and statues are not enough to repay the service of those who defend their country. A single day of remembrance cannot fully honor the sacrifices made by these veterans. We are able to choose freedom today because of the bravery of those men and women, whose fate, on those days, was chosen for them.

About AMVETS

AMVETS (American Veterans) is the nation’s most inclusive Congressionally-chartered veterans service organization, representing the interests of 20 million veterans. AMVETS is open to and fighting for all who honorably served in the United States military, including the Reserve and Guard. With more than 300,000 members nationwide, we are veterans serving veterans.

Help us make a difference…

Join us, now!

Note. AMVETS Hawaii is an all-volunteer nonprofit Veterans Service Organization (VSO).

Our Purpose:

AMVETS has been proudly serving American veterans for more than half a century. Founded by World War II veterans, the organization has grown to where, today, its membership enrolls veterans from all areas, Anyone who has honorably served in the United States Armed Forces after Sept. 15, 1940, to include those on active duty as well as in the Reserve Components. The purpose and goals of AMVETS, as spelled out in the organization’s 1947 congressional charter, still ring true today.

Among these aims are:

To preserve for ourselves and our posterity the great and basic truths and enduring principles upon which this nation was founded.
To maintain a continuing interest in the welfare and rehabilitation of disabled veterans and to establish facilities for the assistance of all veterans, to represent them in their claims before VA and other organizations.
To dedicate ourselves to the service and best interests of the community, state and nation to the end that our country shall be and remain forever a strong and free nation.
To encourage universal exercise of the voting franchise to the end that there shall be elected and maintained in public office men and women who hold such office as a public trust administered in the best interests of all people.
To advocate the development and means by which all Americans may become enlightened and informed citizens and this participate fully in the functions of democracy.

Note:

American Veterans or “AMVETS” formerly known as American Veterans of World War II, was founded by nine World War II veterans clubs in Kansas City, Missouri on Dec. 10, 1944.

Less than three years later, on July 23, 1947, President Harry S. Truman signed Public Law 216, making AMVETS the first World War II organization to be chartered by Congress.

Since then, the original charter has been amended several times to admit as members those who served in different eras. On 16 October 2002 the 107th Congress enacted Public Law 107-241 (H.R. 3214), an Act to amend the Charter of the AMVETS organization to “AMVETS (American Veterans)”. Today, membership in AMVETS is open to anyone who is currently serving, or who has honorably served in the U.S. Armed Forces from World War II to the present, to include the National Guard and Reserves.

AMVETS is an organization that benefit veterans of the United States Armed Forces. Internal Revenue Code section 7701(a)(15) defines “Armed Forces of the United States” to include all regular and reserve components of the uniformed services which are subject to the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the Navy, or the Secretary of the Air Force, and each term also includes the Coast Guard. AMVETS members are members of the United States Armed Forces, past or present.

AMVETS Hawaii Service Foundation Corp. is a 501(c)3, public, non-profit Veterans’ Service Organization (VSO)
AMVETS Department of Hawaii and Posts are 501(c)(19), non-profit, all-volunteer Veterans’ Service Organization (VSO)
Our members are Veterans and Active Duty Service members serving in the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marines, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Space Force, Coast Guard, Army National Guard and Reserve.

Company Main: (808) 888-0410

E-mail: admin@amvets-hawaii.org

AMVETS West Oahu Veterans Center: 808-888-0410

State Commander, President & CEO:

Donovan Andrew Lazarus (US Army, Retired)

Direct: (808) 382-6835

E-mail: donovan@amvets-hawaii.org

Adjutant & Service Officer:

William Rodriguez (US Navy, Retired)

Direct: (631) 219-1374

E-mail: william.r@amvets-hawaii.org

Physical Address: AMVETS West Oahu Veterans Center
5001 Iroquois Avenue
West Loch Annex, JBPHH, Building 612
Ewa Beach, Hawaii 96706

Mailing Address:

AMVETS Hawaii

PO Box 2865

Ewa Beach, Hawaii (USA) 96706

Phone: (808) 888-0410

Help Fund our new Veterans Center, now!

Click the “donate” button below to make a donation, today.

AmVets Hawaii Service Foundation Corp, EIN:83-0550908 is a 501(c)3 public, non-profit, Veterans Service Organization (VSO).

AMVETS Charities, Inc. participates in the Combined Federal Campaign through the Military, Veterans and Patriotic Services Organizations of America federation. Our Combined Federal number is of the 50,000 charities that participate in the CFC, only about 1500 – the members of Independent Charities of America and Local Independent Charities of America – will have the opportunity to display the “Best In America” seal of approval. AMVETS Charities, Inc. is proud to be one of those chosen few. This seal of approval is a service mark of Independent Charities of America and is used under license. AMVETS NSF is responsible for the content of any materials in which the Service Mark is used.

Our Purpose

To inspire a sense of responsibility in AMVETS members and develop leadership to preserve the American democratic way of life.
To help unify diverse groups in support of American democracy.
To train our youth to become engaged citizens, fully aware of the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship.
To collaborate with all recognized veterans organizations to advance the interests of veterans who have served or are serving in the U.S. Armed Forces during and since World War II.
To ensure the smooth transition of veterans into civilian life by protecting their rights while they are still in uniform.
To expedite and assist in the rehabilitation of veterans by providing employment services, educational opportunities, and counsel on insurance, housing, recreation, personal matters, hospitalization, and veterans’ benefits.
To act as a liaison between veterans and the government.
To foster fellowship among all American veterans who have served or are serving in the U.S. Armed Forces during and since World War II.
To remind the public that American veterans fought and served to preserve peace, liberty, and democracy for the nation.
To inform, influence, and inspire others to serve in both military and civilian communities.
To provide financial support and assistance to service members, veterans, and their families.
To support the preservation of historic sites, such as Ewa Battlefield, through financial assistance.
To help build and preserve memorials and monuments across Hawaii.
To honor and remember not only our World War II veterans who died at Pearl Harbor and Ewa Field, but also those who sacrificed their lives in sea battles and distant coral atolls—Coral Sea, Midway, Wake—whose names often go unrecognized, along with those who died in all other conflicts.

Honoring the Past, Inspiring the Future

– Preserve and Honor: Remembering the legacy of those who came before us.
– Educate and Inspire: Passing on this legacy to future generations.

About AMVETS

AMVETS (American Veterans) is the nation’s most inclusive Congressionally-chartered veterans service organization, representing the interests of 20 million veterans. AMVETS is open to and fighting for all who honorably served in the United States military, including the Reserve and Guard. With more than 300,00 members nationwide, we are veterans serving veterans.

AMVETS NATIONAL MISSION STATEMENT: To enhance and safeguard the entitlements for all American Veterans who have served honorably and to improve the quality of life for them, their families, and the communities where they live through leadership, advocacy and service.

Note: Our members are Veterans and Active Duty Servicemembers serving in the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marines, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Space Force, Coast Guard, Army National Guard and Reserve.

AMVETS Hawaii Service Foundation, (EIN: 83-0550908)
AMVETS Department of Hawaii, (EIN: 83-2518892)
AMVETS HI-0001, USS Arizona Post (EIN: 45-3643811)
AMVETS HI-0002, Kauai Post (EIN: 82-1938740)
AMVETS HI-0004, Pearl Harbor Post (EIN: 82-5513861)
AMVETS HI-0005, West Loch Post (EIN: 83-2332933)
AMVETS HI-0006, Ewa Battlefield Post
AMVETS HI-0007, Barbers Point Post
AMVETS Hawaii Pearl Harbor Riders (HI-0004)
AMVETS Ladies Auxiliary Hawaii (HI-0001)

IRS Tax Guide for Veterans’ Organizations