MILWAUKEE (May 15, 2008) - Thanks to a $1 million pledge from the
Harley-Davidson Foundation, the 2008 Harley’s Heroes™ Tour to support the
Disabled American Veterans (DAV) and its Mobile Service Office program will make
stops at Harley-Davidson dealerships around the country from May through
November. This is the second year of the Harley’s Heroes™ tour. The mission of
Harley’s Heroes™ is to provide access to benefits for all veterans and show
appreciation for their service and sacrifice to our country.
The tour provides benefits counseling to veterans who have service-connected
disabilities but may never have filed a benefits claim. The Mobile Service
Office units will appear at various dealer events recognizing veterans and will
be staffed by highly trained DAV National Service Officers, all of them wartime
disabled veterans.
In 2007, the inaugural tour produced great results. More than 180
Harley-Davidson dealers hosted events serving more than 7,000 veterans.
“Harley’s Heroes™ continues to connect veterans to the benefits they are
entitled to receive, and we are proud to join our Harley-Davidson dealers in
supporting the men and women who have served our country,” said Gail Lione,
President of the Harley-Davidson Foundation.
Many veterans who need the free help the DAV will provide through Harley’s
Heroes™ are among the 1.4 million service men and women who have fought in Iraq
and Afghanistan. According to data released by the Department of Veterans
Affairs, 25 percent of those veterans have already filed claims for
benefits.
“In the truest sense of our mission to build better lives for disabled
veterans, Harley’s Heroes™ will enable the DAV to reach a greater number of
veterans and their families.” said Arthur H. Wilson, National Adjutant of the
1.4 million-member DAV. “Many of our youngest veterans are unaware of the
benefits they have earned. Informing those veterans of their rights will be a
most important task of the DAV during the 2008 Harley’s Heroes™ Tour.”
For an up-to-date list of Harley’s Heroes™ Tour stops or for more information
please visit www.harleysheroes.org.
About the Harley-Davidson Foundation
The Harley-Davidson
Foundation, Inc. was established in 1993. Harley-Davidson, Inc. utilizes this
non-profit organization to support the communities in which the Company has
facilities. The majority of the Foundation's investments are in the areas of
education and community revitalization with funds also supporting programs in
arts and culture, health, the environment, and national veterans initiatives.
For more information, visit www.harley-davidson.com.
About Disabled American Veterans
The 1.3 million-member Disabled
American Veterans, a non-profit organization founded in 1920 and chartered by
the U.S. Congress in1932, represents this nation’s disabled veterans. It is
dedicated to a single purpose: building better lives for our nation’s disabled
veterans and their families. For more information, visit the organization’s Web
site www.DAV.org.
