In conjunction with President Obama’s “Winning the Future” initiative.
Official Bio, Press Announcement, & Personal Contribution to the White House Blog:
”MOMENTUM: Passing the Baton of Service” by T.J. Breeden.
“On Thursday, May 24th, the White House Office of Public Engagement honored eleven individuals within the veterans’ community; those who served in Vietnam as well as those whose organizations support veterans’ advancement; who are Champions of Change. These individuals have shown continued support for efforts to end veterans’ homelessness, boost veterans’ employment, treat problems with substance abuse, and develop treatment programs for those dealing with PTSD.”
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TJ Breeden is being recognized as a Champion of Change for his dedication to service and his continued support for efforts to boost employment among veterans.
On behalf of eMerging Entrepreneurs, Inc., I am honored to have been selected for the White House’s “Champions of Change” project, as part of President Obama’s “Winning the Future” initiative. It is a tremendous commendation to have simply been nominated, let alone to be awarded the distinction of being recognized alongside so many worthy individuals who have committed themselves to being of service to the welfare of others. I am perhaps most excited about the prospect of joining forces with others of like-minded purpose in advocacy of those who have sacrificed so much in defense of our country.
Even still, the contributions that our organization attempts to make in support of our veterans cannot bare comparison to the level of sacrifice that our service-members, reservists, and their families make every day on behalf of our freedom. Thus, I am humbled by this opportunity to share our work in an effort to galvanize support for our returning men and women in uniform, as they attempt to navigate through the difficult process of transitioning from active duty, to civilian life.
eMerging Entrepreneurs, Inc. is a North Carolina based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides Small Business Training and Entrepreneurial Developmental services to military and minority communities. We operate strictly as a grassroots organization; partnering with state & federal agencies, chambers of commerce, and military installations in an effort to provide training & resource services to underserved entrepreneurial communities. The focus of our program comes in response to growing bipartisan, legislative efforts by the Obama Administration and members of Congress (i.e. the “Vow to Hire Heroes Act”as well as “The American Jobs Act”) to spearhead job growth and economic stimulation amongst returning veterans, amidst what many consider the harshest period of joblessness and socio-economic decline of this generation. These troubling conditions called our organization into action, and in support of these initiatives (as well as the President’s recently-signed Executive Order supporting the educational ambitions of our men and women in uniform), our firm (in partnership with New Century Planning) boldly took it upon ourselves to coordinate an ambitious, one-day career fair catered specifically to the professional needs and interests of not only our service-members, but their families as well.
Click here to read the rest.
“President Obama signs Executive Order Supporting Service Members, Veterans, Military Spouses, and Their Families.”
Article by Brad Cooper, Executive Director of Joining Forces
4/27/2012
www.whitehouse.gov/
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…Benefiting the Educational Interests of our Men and Women in Uniform.
The President and First Lady traveled to Fort Stewart to meet with soldiers and families — and to sign an Executive Order (EO) that will positively impact the educational benefits and opportunities for our nation’s heroes and their families — for a long time to come.
At Fort Stewart, the President renewed his commitment to fully fund the post-9/11 GI Bill. With that bill — and the Tuition Assistance program — more than 550,000 veterans and 325,000 service members pursued education last year. Additionally, nearly 38,000 military spouses used their Military Spouse Career Advancement Account (MyCAA) benefit to advance their education.
In short, the EO is designed to combat unscrupulous practices used by schools to gain access to the military/veteran education benefits; it protects the full range of military/veteran education benefits programs, including Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits, the Tuition Assistance program, and MyCAA; and, its provisions focus on ensuring students have the proper information, support, and protections they need to make informed decisions about their educational options.
Click here to read the entire article.
With Momentum 2012, we hope to assist in administering the kinds of programs that allow our service members to gain access to the types of resources, information, and tools that will advance the educational & professional interests.
Syracuse University
Institute for Veterans and Military Families
Case Study: “The Business Case for Hiring Veterans”
In association with JP Morgan Chase
March 5, 2012
1: VETERANS ARE ENTREPRENEURIAL
Academic research focused on the attributes characteristic of successful innovators and entrepreneurs highlights that high-performing entrepreneurs have in common strong self-efficacy, a high need for achievement, are comfortable with autonomy and uncertainty, and make effective decisions in the face of dynamic environments. Across multiple studies, research illustrates that these same attributes are generally characteristic of military service members and veterans. For example, research focused on the current all-volunteer force suggests that those who are drawn to military service are individuals with a high need for achievement (selfselection). Further, military training and socialization processes have been demonstrated to instill high levels of self-efficacy, trust, and a strong sense/comfort with autonomy and dynamic decision-making processes. These attributes, as they are linked to entrepreneurship and an entrepreneurial mindset among military veterans, have been consistently demonstrated in practice. According to multiple studies commissioned by the U.S. Small Business Administration and others, military veterans are twice more likely than non-veterans to pursue business ownership after leaving service, and the five-year success rate of ventures owned by veterans is significantly higher than the national average.
2: VETERANS ASSUME HIGH LEVELS OF TRUST
The ability to trust co-workers and superiors has been consistently highlighted in organizational behavior literature as a significant predictor of high-performing teams, organizational cohesion and morale, and effective governance systems. Research studies focused on both military personnel and veterans indicate that the military service experience engenders a strong propensity toward an inherent trust and faith in co-workers, and also a strong propensity toward trust in organizational leadership. In turn, the academic literature broadly supports the finding that organizations where trust between co-workers–and between employees and leadership–is strong, organizational performance is enhanced.
3: VETERANS ARE ADEPT AT SKILLS TRANSFER ACROSS CONTEXTS/TASKS
The ability to recognize and act on opportunities to transfer skills learned in a specific context, to a disparate context, represents a valuable organizational resource. Several studies focused on skills transfer have highlighted that military service members and veterans are particularly skilled in this ability. Research has attributed this finding to the fact that military training most often includes contingency and scenario-based pedagogy, and as a result service members and veterans develop cognitive heuristics that readily facilitate knowledge/skills transfer between disparate tasks and situations.
Click here to read the entire study.
President Obama unveils veterans jobs proposal.
Article by Alex Mooney, CNN White House Producer.
February 3, 2012.
“President Barack Obama unveiled a new $5 billion veterans jobs plan Friday that the administration says will put thousands of men and women who once wore their country’s uniform back to work.”
”The new Veterans Jobs Corps initiative, first mentioned in the president’s State of the Union address last week, involves partnerships with the Veterans Administration and the Interior Department, as well as state and local law enforcement agencies.”
”Under the blueprint, the administration will award $166 million in grant money to communities that show a preference for hiring post-9/11 veterans for new law enforcement positions. In addition, $320 million in grant money will be awarded to various fire departments who pledge to hire and train new veterans.”
—The unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans is 11.1%, nearly 3 percentage points higher than the country’s overall unemployment rate.
Read the entire article at CNN.com
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