Under the motto ‘Veterans Strengthening America,’ the American Legion’s mission is to enhance the well-being of not only America’s veterans, but also their families, military, and communities through the devotion of helpfulness and advancing that vision to future generations. Locally, the Monmouth American Legion supports a variety of programs that mentor the youth, explains Finance Officer Cheri Stanton:
“We have Boys State, that is for anybody that is a junior in high school, going to be a senior. They go down to Eastern Illinois University for a week and lives on the college campus, learns about goverenment, and just how to get along with people like they were going to college. It kind of gives them a prep time. We have Girls State that does the same thing and then we have another group, the Youth Police Academy. They learn about different things that law enforcement officers do. These are three main programs that we sponsor in the summertime for the youth.”
Every Saturday from 11 to 1 pm, the Monmouth American Legion hosts their Hamburger Fry, which helps to support the local youth programs.
