VFW Post 350 hosts an open blues jam on Oct. 7, 2025 in Takoma Park, Md. The post has a band playing almost every night of October. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes)

WASHINGTON — Adam Evans, a retired Air Force master sergeant, said he receives more than a dozen emails each week from veterans groups clamoring for his membership. Evans, 55, does not bother to open the invitations.

“I’m not about to join a local post, drink stale beer and talk about stories from the past,” said Evans, who worked on intelligence systems and served for 20 years with deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Once popular gathering spots and community hubs, many local posts have fallen into disrepair or closed as participation from younger generations drops and shows scant signs of a turnaround.

Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans and other national groups are reporting long-term membership declines that pose a challenge to their survival. A core mission of these groups is providing free assistance to veterans with their benefit claims before the Department of Veterans Affairs.

But changing interests and negative stereotypes discourage younger generations from joining, according to leaders who are trying new initiatives to modernize their image and appeal to more veterans.

DAV membership fell below 1 million in 2024 for the first time in nearly 40 years. VFW is at 1.5 million members — about half of what it was 30 years ago at its peak. The American Legion, chartered by Congress in 1919, also has had a significant membership drop as members die and new generations do not replace them in the same numbers.

The overall veteran population is falling, which contributes to the decline. There are 18 million veterans in the U.S., but that number is projected to be 12 million by 2048, according to census figures.

Adams, of Maryland, admits he has little interest in joining a veterans organization. He carries an image of local posts as smoke-filled buildings where veterans go for cheap drinks and to swap war stories.

“I’m too busy with family and an active lifestyle to fall into that,” said Adams, who recently remarried and is planning a cross-country RV trip with his wife.

But some newer and smaller organizations that do not have brick-and-mortar social clubs are drawing interest with hands-on programs and services.

Wounded Warrior Project holds a “Soldier Ride,” a multiday cycling event. The organization, which serves post-911 active-duty troops and veterans, has seen registrations for its programs double since 2018. Wounded Warrior provides an alternative to traditional veterans social clubs with in-person events and peer-led support activities.  (Wounded Warrior Project)

At Wounded Warrior Project, which serves post-9/11 veterans and active-duty service troops, registration has doubled to 300,000 since 2018. The organization, established in 2003 by a Marine Corps veteran, provides a range of no-cost programs spanning health care, career assistance and emergency financial help to veterans and service members. 

Programs include healthy-living expos and outdoor events, such as road-cycling, snowboarding and skiing. Wounded Warrior Project does not have memberships or bricks-and-mortar social hubs.

“We help [veterans] feel a sense of purpose again. They may want to isolate and self-medicate when they come home. But we help get them out, get moving again and feel reconnected,” said retired Army Lt. Gen. Walter Piatt, chief executive officer at Wounded Warrior Project.

VFW Post 7272 in Bellingham, Mass., runs popular yoga classes for veterans and the general public to boost participation and increase revenues. The strategy has turned around flagging attendance that has shuttered other posts. Post 7272 also offers a weekly classic car show and annual barbecue cookoff that draws hundreds of people, according to the post. (VFW Post 7272)

Some of the nation’s oldest and largest veterans groups are updating their approach — growing their social media presence and providing activities geared for younger veterans. Some chapters are even offering yoga at local posts.

“The low price of the yoga classes makes it very affordable and covers the cost of professional cleaning of the carpet in the hall where the classes are conducted,” said Kevin Calnan, commander of VFW Post 7272 in Bellingham, Mass., which started the weekly classes four years ago.

Jim Hastings, a 78-year-old Marine Corps veteran and longtime trustee at Post 7272, said veteran turnout has gone up with the recent introduction of several community events, including classic car shows and an annual barbecue cookoff that drew more than 500 people last week. The initiatives have brought in more revenue, enabling the post to rehab the hall and rent the facility as public event space, he said.

VFW Post 350 hosts an open blues jam on Oct. 7, 2025 in Takoma Park, Md. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes)

VFW Post 350 in Maryland — known as Hell’s Bottom — books rock bands for late-night jam sessions that run for hours. On Friday it will welcome “local legend” Swampoodle for a fundraiser that supports disabled veterans in the Takoma Park community who need to rehab their home.

Carol Whitmore, the newly installed national commander-in-chief at VFW, said a major goal is to modernize the 125-year-old organization. Whitmore pointed to nontraditional activities at some VFW posts, including e-gaming leagues, art shows and yoga classes that welcome the public.

She said the VFW is changing along with the makeup of the veteran population.

“While the overall pool of veterans is smaller, VFW is seeing membership growth among women and people of color consistent with the changing face of the military,” said Whitmore, a retired Army master sergeant and the first woman to lead the organization.

VFW, DAV and some of the other large veterans groups are member driven. Members vote on leadership, guide decisions and help carry out the organization’s mission.

DAV’s national commander, Coleman Nee, is urging members to recruit their friends and neighbors who are veterans to join the 105-year-old organization. “New members aren’t hanging around our chapter meeting rooms waiting for us to ask them to join,” he said.

Disabled American Veterans also is reminding veterans of the advocacy work it does on Capitol Hill to support and protect for disability, health care coverage and transition assistance.

A handful of well-established veterans groups handle much of the advocacy work for veterans on Capitol Hill. DAV, VFW, American Legion, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Amvets and Vietnam Veterans of America are among them.

“Without a robust and active membership, DAV wouldn’t have had the capital needed to drive through the PACT Act,” Disabled American Veterans stated in a letter to members in December 2024. The PACT Act was landmark legislation granting veterans disability compensation for toxic exposures connected to military service that caused illnesses and injuries.

“VFW advocates fiercely for legislation that improves the lives of veterans,” Whitmore said.

But Evans said he would like to see these legacy veterans groups work more to explain their relevance and convey their mission to veterans.

“Many veterans groups I hear from say they influence policy for veterans. But what does that mean? They need to do a better job telling their story.”