Wells Fargo, Goodrich convene firms with military ties to raise money for returning vets
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- The public is also invited to participate in the effort to help the Charlotte Veterans Employment Initiative.Checks can be mailed to CPCC Foundation, PO Box 35009, Charlotte, 28235 (payable to CPCC Foundation, note "Veteran's Employment Initiative" in memo section)Online gifts can be made at cpccfoundation.com
Representatives of Charlotte's business, education and nonprofit communities announced today they are joining forces on a ground-breaking effort to help returning veterans get back into the workforce.
The initiative, called a first for the nation, seeks to raise $1 million by Memorial Day to provide scholarships, professional certification and career planning and placement for veterans through Central Piedmont Community College and its Veterans Resource Center.
Organizers also intend to create a Charlotte Roundtable of business leaders to meet six times a year to address barriers and best approaches for veteran employment in the region, which has an unemployment rate of more than 10 percent for veterans.
The kick-off came during a early morning meeting at One Wells Fargo Tower that brought together 30 local companies with ties to the military, either through staff or contracts.
Wells Fargo Foundation and Goodrich Corporation have formed a consortium to lead the campaign, and announced Wednesday they were kicking things off with a joint $350,000 donation.
"Most of us believe a soldier returns from Iraq or Afghanistan, and has all these services and the VA shows them how to maneuver through those services...But we realize that doesn't happen," Kendall Alley of Wells Fargo told the gathering.
"It then becomes the responsibility of the community to move in and help connect the pieces...We do an incredible job preparing people to serve for us around the world. We need to do a better job of bringing them back."
The initiative plans to use most of the money to boost CPCC's veterans' programs, but a quarter of it will go to Charlotte Bridge Home, a new nonprofit that will connect returning veterans to resources and support services in the community.
Another key player in the initiative is Foundation for the Carolinas, which provided Charlotte Bridge Home with cash to do a survey of local veterans' services. The foundation also did its own research.
Based on that research, veterans cited employment as their biggest challenge.
Currently, joblessness among North Carolina's 455,645 employment-age veterans runs over 10 percent, including 3,100 looking for work in Mecklenburg County.
It's going to get worse, too. The withdrawal from Iraq will bring an estimated 4,000 service personnel to the state by December. Even more are expected when the work in Afghanistan scales down.
Experts say many will end up in the Charlotte region, which is home to nearly 20 percent of the state's employment age veterans.
Organizers say the initiative began with Charlotte developer Thomas Norman, a Special Forces veteran who is chair of Charlotte Bridge Home.
He visited Foundation for the Carolinas last year for guidance on how to help the growing population of veterans. Later, he visited Wells Fargo Foundation for backing.
Norman says the resulting community initiative has already drawn calls of interest from the White House and the Department of Defense, which are hoping to see the model replicated elsewhere.
Cynthia Gilman of the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for Advancement of Military Medicine agrees that Charlotte's plan is a model for the nation.
"There is much desire in this country to help veterans, but communities are still figuring out how to do it," said Gilman, who attended the meeting Wednesday.
"Charlotte is taking on this issue in a comprehensive fashion, looking at education, employment, housing, family issues and health care. It's all interwoven. This kind of approach is something we've seen in no other community."
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