$1 Million For Iowa Veterans So Far

I am so proud to tell you that today, the Iowa Lottery is sending nearly $1 million to the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund. It’s the lottery’s first transfer of proceeds to the fund, which directly benefits our state’s veterans and their families.

Last month, I blogged about the lottery’s new initiative to support veterans. The proceeds from an instant-scratch game (Stars & Stripes) and a pull-tab game (All American) already are dedicated to the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund, and we’ll come out with another set of games dedicated to veterans’ causes in January. And in each fiscal year going forward, we’ll have another four games to benefit veterans.

Today, the lottery will transfer $992,772.81 to the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund. That’s the proceeds total from the sale of veterans-benefit lottery tickets during the first quarter of FY 2009. We anticipate we’ll raise between $2 million and $3 million for veterans this year.

Thank you for all you have done to help us ensure a stable, ongoing source of revenue to help our veterans!

The Iowa Veterans Trust Fund was created to assist qualified veterans in paying for expenses such as:

• Travel expenses for wounded veterans directly related to follow-up medical care;
• Job training or college tuition assistance;
• Unemployment assistance during a period of unemployment due to prolonged physical or mental illness or disability resulting from military service;
• Benefits for a child or children of a disabled or deceased veteran following September 11, 2001;
• Individual or family counseling programs;
• And family and children support groups and honor guard reimbursement.

To learn more about the Veterans Trust Fund, visit www.iowava.org.