Title:Points of Light and ITT Exelis Launch National Initiative to Help Returning Veterans Succeed
Date:October 2012
Source:Points of Light
Points of Light and ITT Exelis Launch National Initiative to Help Returning Veterans Succeed
Getting returning military service members, veterans and their families back into mainstream life is the goal of a new national initiative launched last week. And the program has a five-year, $5-million dollar investment from one of the top US defense contractors. Points of Light, the world's largest volunteer service organization, the Corporation for National and Community Service (home to AmeriCorps) and a coalition of more than 55 veteran and military service organizations, nonprofits and government agencies from across the country are behind the national initiative, Community Blueprint.
"Civilian transition is one of the greatest challenges facing many service members, veterans and their families when they return to their communities," said Neil Bush, Chairman of Points of Light's Board of Directors. "No one government agency or nonprofit organization has the resources or intellectual capital to provide a lifetime of care and support for all of these heroes, so our coalition of partners knew it was mission critical for us to band together on their behalf."
With more than one million members of the military returning home in the next five years, the Community Blueprint encourages a comprehensive, local support system that addresses the diverse issues and needs impacting returning service members, veterans and their families. The Community Blueprint also aims to inspire, equip and mobilize veterans to engage with their local communities through meaningful service.
ITT Exelis will invest $5 million in the Community Blueprint to help introduce new tools and resources and deploy AmeriCorps members. Both will help local communities and leaders foster greater coordination and collaboration of veterans' services.
The goal is to establish 200 cities and towns as Community Blueprint communities by 2014. The initial program launch will hit 20 cities
For more information on the program and how you can become involved, go to http://www.the-communityblueprint.org.
