{"id":20950,"date":"2025-04-02T17:06:35","date_gmt":"2025-04-02T21:06:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/?post_type=wfsu-news&#038;p=20950"},"modified":"2025-04-02T17:41:28","modified_gmt":"2025-04-02T21:41:28","slug":"the-florida-department-of-veterans-affairs-held-its-annual-military-appreciation-day-at-the-capitol","status":"publish","type":"wfsu-news","link":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wfsu-news\/the-florida-department-of-veterans-affairs-held-its-annual-military-appreciation-day-at-the-capitol\/","title":{"rendered":"The Florida Department of Veterans&#8217; Affairs held its annual Military Appreciation Day at the Capitol"},"content":{"rendered":"<!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('audio');<\/script><![endif]-->\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-20950-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/cpa.ds.npr.org\/s390\/audio\/2025\/04\/veteransday0402d.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/cpa.ds.npr.org\/s390\/audio\/2025\/04\/veteransday0402d.mp3\">https:\/\/cpa.ds.npr.org\/s390\/audio\/2025\/04\/veteransday0402d.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<ul>\n<li>Over a dozen groups came out to the Capitol building Wednesday for Veterans Appreciation Day. <\/li>\n<li>WFSU spoke with a few team members, to find out what they\u2019re doing to help.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT: <\/b><\/p>\n<p>As Florida lawmakers prepare to tally up their proposed budgets for the year, state veteran support groups are advocating out on the 3rd floor rotunda to make sure their funding requests are heard.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMoney is very limited,&#8221; said Nick Cannon, Director of Operations for the Wounded Veterans Relief Fund. &#8220;We\u2019re having to cut off our applications the first week of the month to ensure that we can help as many veterans as needed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wvrf.org\/financial-assistance\/\" class=\"Link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Wounded Veteran Relief Fund<\/a> is a veteran support group tasked with getting money out to eligible disabled vets throughout the state.<\/p>\n<p>WVRF&#8217;s Canon said on Wednesday that he\u2019s in Tallahassee to ask for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flhouse.gov\/api\/document\/apr?sessionid=105&amp;id=2080\" class=\"Link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">$250,000<\/a> to ensure the program can continue helping disabled vets catch up on outstanding bills and receive free dental treatment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn a time where the VA, unfortunately, doesn\u2019t cover 85% of our veterans through dental care, Wounded Veterans Relief Fund steps up and bridges that gap to make sure our veterans are proud of their smile.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><div class=\"Enh\" data-align-center>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p>Canon says the group\u2019s request has the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flsenate.gov\/PublishedContent\/Session\/FiscalYear\/FY2025-26\/LocalFundingInitiativeRequests\/FY2025-26_S1601.pdf\" class=\"Link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">support of lawmakers from both chambers<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>This comes as the state\u2019s Veterans Affairs Department looks to expand one of its veteran support programs called <a href=\"https:\/\/floridavets.org\/resources\/hope-florida\/\" class=\"Link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">&#8216;Pathway for Patriots.&#8217;<\/a> It was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wusf.org\/politics-issues\/2025-04-02\/desantis-first-lady-bolster-access-hope-florida-community-resources-program-statewide\" class=\"Link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">founded by First Lady Casey DeSantis in 2023. <\/a><\/p>\n<p>On Wednesday, Holly Bernardo introduced herself as the program\u2019s director.<\/p>\n<p><div class=\"Enh\" data-align-center>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI get to work with the best partners,&#8221; Bernado said. &#8220;These are all nonprofits faith-based communities and businesses that are supporting veterans.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We help with everything from employment, housing, to veterans accessing their earned benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There are over <a href=\"https:\/\/floridavets.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/3.28.25-Bill-Report.pdf\" class=\"Link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">40 different veteran-related bills<\/a> filed this session. Some are being taken up on the House and Senate floor. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2025 WFSU<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":20951,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","wds_primary_category":0},"categories":[],"tags":[1136,1135],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Florida Department of Veterans&#039; Affairs held its annual Military Appreciation Day at the Capitol - WFSU Local Routes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wfsu-news\/the-florida-department-of-veterans-affairs-held-its-annual-military-appreciation-day-at-the-capitol\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Florida Department of Veterans&#039; Affairs held its annual Military Appreciation Day at the Capitol - WFSU Local Routes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"State military service organizations are doing their part to support Florida\u2019s veterans.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wfsu-news\/the-florida-department-of-veterans-affairs-held-its-annual-military-appreciation-day-at-the-capitol\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"WFSU Local Routes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-02T21:41:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ap20316728064996-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wfsu-news\/the-florida-department-of-veterans-affairs-held-its-annual-military-appreciation-day-at-the-capitol\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wfsu-news\/the-florida-department-of-veterans-affairs-held-its-annual-military-appreciation-day-at-the-capitol\/\",\"name\":\"The Florida Department of Veterans' Affairs held its annual Military Appreciation Day at the Capitol - WFSU Local Routes\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-02T21:06:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-02T21:41:28+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wfsu-news\/the-florida-department-of-veterans-affairs-held-its-annual-military-appreciation-day-at-the-capitol\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wfsu-news\/the-florida-department-of-veterans-affairs-held-its-annual-military-appreciation-day-at-the-capitol\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wfsu-news\/the-florida-department-of-veterans-affairs-held-its-annual-military-appreciation-day-at-the-capitol\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Florida Department of Veterans&#8217; Affairs held its annual Military Appreciation Day at the Capitol\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/\",\"name\":\"WFSU Local Routes\",\"description\":\"Local stories from northern Florida and southern Georgia.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Florida Department of Veterans' Affairs held its annual Military Appreciation Day at the Capitol - WFSU Local Routes","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wfsu-news\/the-florida-department-of-veterans-affairs-held-its-annual-military-appreciation-day-at-the-capitol\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Florida Department of Veterans' Affairs held its annual Military Appreciation Day at the Capitol - WFSU Local Routes","og_description":"State military service organizations are doing their part to support Florida\u2019s veterans.","og_url":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wfsu-news\/the-florida-department-of-veterans-affairs-held-its-annual-military-appreciation-day-at-the-capitol\/","og_site_name":"WFSU Local Routes","article_modified_time":"2025-04-02T21:41:28+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1707,"url":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ap20316728064996-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wfsu-news\/the-florida-department-of-veterans-affairs-held-its-annual-military-appreciation-day-at-the-capitol\/","url":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wfsu-news\/the-florida-department-of-veterans-affairs-held-its-annual-military-appreciation-day-at-the-capitol\/","name":"The Florida Department of Veterans' Affairs held its annual Military Appreciation Day at the Capitol - WFSU Local Routes","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-04-02T21:06:35+00:00","dateModified":"2025-04-02T21:41:28+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wfsu-news\/the-florida-department-of-veterans-affairs-held-its-annual-military-appreciation-day-at-the-capitol\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wfsu-news\/the-florida-department-of-veterans-affairs-held-its-annual-military-appreciation-day-at-the-capitol\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wfsu-news\/the-florida-department-of-veterans-affairs-held-its-annual-military-appreciation-day-at-the-capitol\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Florida Department of Veterans&#8217; Affairs held its annual Military Appreciation Day at the Capitol"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/","name":"WFSU Local Routes","description":"Local stories from northern Florida and southern Georgia.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wfsu-news\/20950"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wfsu-news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/wfsu-news"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20950"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wfsu.org\/local-routes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}