Memorial Day offers Americans a time to honor those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom and liberty in this great nation, The United States of America. In the process of honoring the memory of those veterans and their families, we also pay tribute to the veterans who have served and are still living today. With that in mind, I would like to focus attention on certain organizations that reach out to assist members of the military and their family as they transition to civilian life.
Workforce Solutions
Workforce Solutions prides itself on helping veterans become “job ready” as they transition from military to civilian life. As recommended by the US Department of Labor, Workforce Solutions offers priority of service to former members of the military. For more information, check out Workforce Solutions’ Veteran Services page.
Veterans of Foreign Wars
Perhaps the oldest organization is The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). The VFW helps veterans with a disability as well as family members with compensation, pension, rehabilitation, and employment matters. The VFW is a federally chartered corporation formed in 1899 shortly after the Spanish-American War and is still thriving today, over 100 years later.
Disabled American Veterans
Disabled American Veterans (DAV) began operations in 1920 shortly after World War I. This organization was federally chartered by the U.S. Congress specifically for veterans who had sustained a disability, and helps family members as needs arise. Services offered include transition, disability, education, employment, and other assistance to its members.
Paralyzed Veterans of America
Another organization chartered by the U.S. Congress is the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA). The PVA deals with a wide range of issues and needs for veterans who have sustained a spinal cord injury or similar dysfunctions such as multiple sclerosis or ALS. That means the PVA can assist with quality healthcare, research, education, benefits and civil rights. One particular program PVA offers is PAVE: Paving Access for Veterans Employment, which provides personal career counseling to veteran members and their families.
Wounded Warrior Project
The Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) began operations shortly after September 11, 2001 with the goal of raising awareness of injured service members and to provide unique and direct programs and services to meet the needs of its members. In doing that, the WWP envisions members having success through mind, body, engagement and economic empowerment. Economic empowerment ensures members are neither unemployed or underemployed through training, education, and career development.
As the graphic to the right of this paragraph illustrates four members of the military saluting the United States flag, join me in honoring the brave men and women who have, as Abraham Lincoln once said, “laid so costly a sacrifice upon the alter of freedom.” Let us also salute the military men and women who are transitioning their skills and experience to benefit this great nation.
David Spears is a member of the Workforce Solutions Navigator team for the Texas Gulf Coast Region. Combining training and education to real world examples, David brings personal and professional experience with disabilities to the table in order to help job seekers with disabilities realize their potential. David has a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Business Administration with over 20 years of experience in the business world.
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