Veterans and Disabled persons Job Fair - Oct. 26, Cal State L.A...

Disabled Veterans' Outreach Program - DVOP at Fort Lee VA

Veterans to Entrepreneurs: How to Find Post-Service Success

Veterans to Entrepreneurs: How to Find Post-Service Success

Entrepreneurship has a long-standing popularity with military veterans: Nearly 50 percent of World War II veterans went on to own their own businesses, and 40 percent of Korean War veterans followed suit. While veterans today are still drawn to entrepreneurship, they’re starting businesses as a startlingly low rate: Only 4.5 percent of post-9/11 veterans own their own business. While the drop certainly isn’t unique to veterans — entrepreneurship in the US has plummeted since the 2008 financial crisis — vets in particular have been hit hard by the drop in small business creation. While military veterans make up 7.3 percent of the US population, as of 2014, they were creating only 5.6 percent of all new businesses.

Why the decline in veteran entrepreneurship? With the growing awareness of veterans’ health issues faced by combat veterans, such as PTSD and addiction, some industries may be hesitant to invest in people coming out of military service. Even though veterans are industrious, creative, and motivated employees, mental health stigma can negatively affect their employment prospects.

Moreover, while older veterans could gain skills in an industry and go on to open their own brick-and-mortar business, today’s veterans face stiff competition from mega-corporations that can more readily access financing and cover overhead and regulatory expenses. But that doesn’t mean that entrepreneurship isn’t still a wonderful option for modern veterans — it just means that starting a small business requires more creativity and innovation than it did in the past.

Military veterans do have significant benefits on their side:

●       70 percent of US citizens say they’re more likely to patronize a veteran-owned business than a business not owned by a veteran, a fact that veterans seeking to attract clientele to their emerging business can use to their advantage.

●       Veterans receive preferential treatment for government contracts if they register as a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business or a Veteran-Owned Small Business through the Vets First Verification Program.

●       Vets can access expedited small business loans with reduced guaranty fees through the Small Business Administration’s Express Loan Program.

●       There are countless entrepreneurial training and career-specific training programs designed just for veterans.

●       Many franchises discount franchise fees for US military veterans.

●       Veterans have the discipline and leadership skills necessary to thrive in the competitive small business market.

So how can veterans start a small business that can weather the challenging entrepreneurial economy?

●       Make the most of available resources. Enroll in training programs designed for veterans like the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities, connect with other veteran business owners in your community, and get involved in online networks like the National Marine Corps Business Network on LinkedIn.

●       Think carefully about what sort of business you’d like to start. Consulting work is a good route if you’re looking to obtain government contracts. You can also take advantage of the ever-expanding digital economy and start a business selling goods or services online, or find an opportunity to get outside, work with your hands, and boost your mental health. Research your market and ensure there’s a need for the good or service you hope to provide.

●       Take advantage of the GI Bill. You can apply your GI Bill benefits to college courses or on-the-job training to prepare yourself for a new career.

●       Don’t forget free online learning opportunities. Ongoing professional development is crucial for a long-lived business, but formal education can be costly. Make use of online courses through sites like Coursera, Khan Academy, and edX.

●       Develop a marketing strategy. No matter how good your business idea, you won’t succeed unless you can draw in customers. Engage potential clients online and in person, and showcase to your veteran status as a reason why customers should choose you over a competitor.

There’s no denying that finding a new career after the military can be difficult. Veterans face obstacles in the form of mental health stigma, lack of university-based higher education, and disabilities that affect daily living. But that doesn’t mean that veterans can’t be successful entrepreneurs — in fact, their ability to conquer obstacles and move forward at all costs makes veterans especially well-suited to a career in self-employment.

Image via Unsplash

Wounded Warrior Tennis Event - March 23rd - Yonkers, NY

Hands-on IT training for Job Seekers with a Disability - Information Session - Every Tuesday at 10:00 am in Glendale, CA

The Air Force Wounded Warrior( AFW2) CARE Event - Las Vegas, NV - March 2nd

Warrior CARE Event March 02, 2018

Good Morning,

The Air Force Wounded Warrior Program (AFW2), at San Antonio, Texas would like to invite you to attend our upcoming (FREE) CARE fair in Las Vegas, Nevada on Friday 2 March 2018 from 6pm-8pm at the Renaissance Las Vegas Hotel. A Care Fair is a career and resource fair to help transitioning Wounded Warriors CONNECT with organizations that offers: employment, scholarships/programs for school, Caregiver support, veteran resources & adaptive sports programs that they can get involved with that will help them recover with whatever disabilities or challenges they may be experiencing.  AFW2 brings Wounded Warriors (on orders) from all across the nation to one location to put on a weeklong CARE Event where we provide the opportunity for all of our warriors to attend our CARE Fair. During the week they will be participating in Employment Boot Camp, adaptive sports, and activities enhancing rehabilitation and reconditioning.   At each event we have anywhere from 100-180 Wounded Warriors and caregivers attend.

A little bit about our program, the Air Force Wounded Warrior Program is a congressionally funded, Department of Defense organization dedicated to assisting with the quality of life of Wounded and Ill Airmen both active duty and retired, throughout the Air Force and the nation. For a more in depth understanding on our program please check out the link below:

https://www.dvidshub.net/video/459097/wounded-warrior-camp-2015

Event Details

When: March 2, 2018

Where: Renaissance Las Vegas Hotel

            3400 Paradise Road

            Las Vegas, NV 89169

Set up promptly @ 4-5pm

Event: 6:00PM to 8:00PM

We encourage you to bring contact information, registration info, examples of your programs, products and or services. Many of these Warriors are newly injured and will have plenty of questions about your organizations.  This will be a great event to promote all the wonderful things your organization is doing as well as network directly with wounded warriors.

Please let us know if you would like to reserve a table and join us as we encourage and empower our finest Service Members and their Caregivers. 

Please RSVP NLT: 18 or 22 January

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact any coordinator and we will respond promptly.

Community Programs Coordinators

•           Tristan Aguinaga,

Office: (210) 565-2472

Email: Tristan.aguinaga.ctr@us.af.mil

Employment Readiness Coordinator

•           Michael Hubbard  

Office: (210) 565-0287

Email: Michael.hubbard.6.ctr@us.af.mil

           

V/r,

Air Force Wound Warrior Program (AFW2)

HQ, AFPC/DPFW 550 C St W, Suite 37.

JBSA - Randolph AFB, TX 78150

                       

Care beyond Duty

                       

"The information transmitted is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged material.  Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon, this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited.  If you received this in error, please contact the sender and delete the material from any computer."

                             

CSUS, Department of Physical Therapy, is holding an interdisciplinary clinic for amputees

The CSUS, Department of Physical Therapy, is holding an interdisciplinary clinic for amputees to receive holistic care.

If you are interested, please contact Toran MacLeod.

Toran D. MacLeod, PT, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Physical Therapy
California State University, Sacramento

toran.macleod@csus.edu
916-278-5445 (work phone)
916-278-6842 (fax)

Physical Address:
Sacramento State
Department of Physical Therapy - Folsom Hall
7667 Folsom Boulevard, Suite 1054
Sacramento, CA 95826

VERY IMPORTANT INFO for veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan

VERY IMPORTANT INFO for veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan

Support Veterans Exposed to Burn Pits Act, HR 1279

Representative Elizabeth Esty, ranking member of the Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Disability and Memorial Assistance, introduced H.R. 1279, the Helping Veterans Exposed to Burn Pits Act. The bill would establish a Center of Excellence in preventing, diagnosing, mitigating, treating and rehabilitating conditions related to veterans' exposure to burn pits during Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom.  The Center would be charged with using data from the registry to study whether exposure is associated with long-term health effects in veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan in addition to improving diagnosis and treatments for those exposed.

VA's website states that exposure to toxins found in the burn pits may be associated with skin, eye, respiratory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, or internal organ problems.  Exposure to burn pits is generally associated with short-term effects, such as eye irritation, acute respiratory symptoms, and skin itching or rashes.  However, according to a 2011 Institute of Medicine report, fine dust particles and pollution in Iraq and Afghanistan may actually be more responsible for respiratory illness claimed by veterans who served there.

DAV Resolution No. 237 supports improvement of care and benefits for veterans exposed to toxins and environmental hazards, including a rigorous research agenda to identify any associations between such exposures and adverse health outcomes.

Please write your elected officials and urge their co-sponsorship and support for passage of H.R. 1279.  Thank you for your continued efforts and participation in the DAV CAN (Commander's Action Network).

Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Site:

https://www.dav.org/can/?vvsrc=%2fActivities%3fid%3djtZiGr3aRmRcfPnI0N2Ip47jzHsT0xa4zrl3T1ZnGpA

Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team - Raley Field Sacramento game

Please join in the fun!

The Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball team returns to Raley Field! Join the Sacramento River Cats as they host the team on Saturday, May 6, 2017. Game is from 3:30pm to 5:30pm at Raley Field. Click here to purchase your tickets NOW! Select Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team, and enter the promo code WWAST.

https://oss.ticketmaster.com/aps/rivercats/EN/promotion/home

AF WOUNDED WARRIOR Presents - Southwest Region Warrior CARE Event-VEGAS (Nellis AFB,NV) (FEB 2017)

Air Force Wounded Warrior CARE event/Career and Resource Fair - Washington, DC NOVEMBER

Disabled Sports USA Eastern Sierra at Mammoth program offerings

Disabled Sports USA, Eastern Sierra at Mammoth is now accepting applications for their upcoming programs. 

Five Well-Paying Jobs For Job Seekers with Disabilities

Five Well-Paying Jobs For Job Seekers with Disabilities

If you’re one of the millions of Americans living with a disability, finding a job can be a stressful task, in part because there may be lingering doubts about your capabilities in the workforce. But being differently-abled simply means that you handle tasks in a different way, whether it’s because of your physical abilities or because you simply think outside the box. Fortunately, there are laws put in place for your protection when seeking out a job, ensuring that an employer cannot discriminate against you because of your disability, and there are several well-paying jobs out there that offer flexibility and the chance to shine doing something you enjoy.

Whether your differently-abled condition requires you to work from home with limited social interaction or is something purely physical, here are a handful of the best jobs to look for that also pay well.

Dog walking with Rover.com

For those living with emotional disabilities, working with animals can be highly fulfilling and can help form a bond that assists with critical thinking and empathy. Jobs such as dog-walking can offer a flexible schedule and the opportunity to earn quite a bit of cash, even on a part-time basis. Sites like Rover.com are extremely helpful in finding pet owners in need of a responsible caregiver, either as a dog-walker or boarder; simply sign up and let them pair you with a local animal owner, and they’ll even take care of the financial end of things.

Pharmacy technician

According to Forbes.com, jobs in the pharmacy industry are great for people living with disabilities because they may have insight into using certain medications, and they can be a wonderful asset for a pharmacy when it comes to helping a customer with similar conditions. It can be an especially fulfilling job for those who have lost a limb, such as a military veteran. While the average pay for a pharmacy technician or assistant varies greatly depending on which state you live in, you can expect to make anywhere from $30,000 - $40,000/year to start.

Computer support via Craigslist.org

There is always a need in the tech world for patient and skilled specialists who can help companies and their customers with any problems that arise, and many businesses require at least a partial staff to be on-call 24 hours a day. There are great opportunities with jobs like these, because as companies upgrade their software, there is always need for trained support specialists. Many businesses offer on-the-job training and some may allow employees with disabilities — such as the visually- or hearing impaired — to work from home. The median income for these types of jobs is around $51,000/year. Check out Craiglist.org for opportunities in your area.

Accounting

If you’re good with numbers, a career in accounting may be right for you. Many universities and community colleges offer two-year programs (many of which can be completed from home online) to become accredited, and if working for a firm isn’t right for you, self-employment is also an option. You can expect to make between $50,000 and $60,000/year with a job in this area.

Educator

Jobs in education can be hugely rewarding, and now that so many schools are offering their classes online, it’s easier than ever to find a teaching job that can be done from home or with software that allows anyone with a disability to engage with students. If you have experience with art, music, sports, or language, you might consider tutoring or coaching on your own time as well. Salaries in education vary widely, but if you find employment with a school you can probably expect around $40,000/year to start. Some special education teachers make up to $53,000 in a year.

Patricia Sarmiento loves swimming and running. She channels her love of fitness and wellness into blogging about health and health-related topics. She played sports in high school and college and continues to make living an active lifestyle a goal for her and her family. She lives with her husband, two children, and their shih tzu in Maryland.