There are many ways to help veterans and their families.   Lets talk about a few of them.

HOUSING

We help the Veterans who need us the most – those who have nowhere else to go –  they don’t have the deposit required by the landlord, and they will be sent back to the streets, shelter, or car (this includes their children).

So rather than be sent back to the streets, shelter, or car, they cross the threshold into their own home for the brave in the land of the free.  Most don’t even know it was us who did it, so you will be the Guardian Angel who answered their prayer.

EDUCATION

Over the next several years, the number of service members transitioning from military life to civilian life (as veterans) is expected to increase significantly. A growing number of these veterans will be enrolling at America’s colleges and universities as they seek to become career-ready and improve their future prospects for employment. For these veterans, access to higher education is important, but it is not enough; we must help our veterans obtain a degree, certificate, or license. These credentials are valued by employers and serve as a key milestone to future career success.

America’s colleges and universities and corporations play a critical role in ensuring that veterans have access to high-quality educational experiences and postsecondary opportunities. The 8 Keys to Veterans’ Success (8 Keys) highlight specific ways that we can support veterans as they pursue their education and employment goals.

Background

Executive Order 13607, issued by The Obama Administration Establishing Principles of Excellence for Educational Institutions Serving Service Members, Veterans, Spouses, and Other Family Members, called for agencies to work together to ensure that educational institutions effectively serve those who have served our nation. Building on these collaborative efforts, the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Education and Defense have been working collaboratively to identify concrete strategies to aid our veterans and service members in reaching their educational and training goals. A session was held where over 100 participants discussed various approaches that could be scaled and replicated to foster success on campus. This gathering brought together a wide range of stakeholders: government agencies; non-profit organizations, including foundations and veteran service organizations; and, importantly, veterans who had recently completed college degrees in a range of disciplines. During the session and subsequent efforts, we have gleaned – and continue to seek more examples – of many best practices and strategies.

From this convening came the 8 Keys.

8 Keys to Veterans’ Success

By affirming support for the 8 Keys to Veterans’ Success, your institution is expressing its commitment to implement the promising practices outlined in the 8 Keys, as follows:

1. Create a culture of trust and connectedness across the campus community to promote well-being and success for veterans.
2. Ensure consistent and sustained support from campus leadership.
3. Implement an early alert system to ensure all veterans receive academic, career, and financial advice before challenges become overwhelming.
4. Coordinate and centralize campus efforts for all veterans, together with the creation of a designated space for them (even if limited in size).
5. Collaborate with local communities and organizations, including government agencies, to align and coordinate various services for veterans.
6. Utilize a uniform set of data tools to collect and track information on veterans, including demographics, retention, and degree completion.
7. Provide comprehensive professional development for faculty and staff on issues and challenges unique to veterans.
8. Develop systems that ensure sustainability of effective practices for veterans.

The Principles of Excellence

The Principles of Excellence guidelines are as follows:

1. Provide students with a personalized form covering the total cost of an education program.
2. Provide educational plans for all military and Veteran education beneficiaries.
3. End fraudulent and aggressive recruiting techniques and misrepresentations.
4. Accommodate Service members and Reservists absent due to service requirements.
5. Designate a point of contact to provide academic and financial advice.
6. Ensure accreditation of all new programs prior to enrolling students.
7. Align institutional refund policies with those under Title IV, which governs the administration of federal student financial aid programs.

How Our Program Works

Kolena Foundation’s Kolena.ai portal is a proven ready Collaborative-Community Portal for: 1) veterans, educators, and employer connectivity 2) under-represented participants across all four sectors to access relevant resources; and 3) linking industry leaders, sector professionals, academics in support of cradle-grave learning and workforce preparation.

• Pathway Grids – Leading to 130+ Industry-Based Certified Online Learning Educational courses
• Industry Leading Platform – Responsive learning platform for sector-specific information deployable across the region and the diversity of collaboratives.
• Community Dashboard – Promote events, job boards, and mentorship programs
• Resource Library – Includes Collaboratives events, podcasts, study rooms, blogs posts, jobs/internships/mentorships, and social collaboration
• Partnership Directory – Current and accessible by all partners and members
• Customized Reporting – Capturing Key Data Analytics providing measurable outcomes, including cross-sector analysis useful in strategic planning and in decision-making
• 365/24/7 Access – Developed with the new working environment in mind for desktop and mobile users

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