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Spring E-News Program Updates, Events, and a Special Thank-You to our Donors
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Veterans Green Force Connects Veterans with Jobs
 | | John Toth, Senior Director of Veterans Programs |
With key start-up funding from the Call of Duty Endowment and Walmart, Veterans Green Jobs recently launched a new outreach, recruitment and placement program exclusively for military veterans. Veterans Green Force aims to connect with 1,000 veterans and place 30 percent, or 300, of them into full-time green sector jobs by mid-2013.
To lead this strategic initiative, Veterans Green Jobs hired Lieutenant Colonel (Retired, U.S. Army) John Toth as senior director of Veterans Programs. A decorated airborne-ranger infantry officer and combat veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Toth recently completed his military career as professor of military science at the University of Colorado-Boulder. He brings a wealth of experience working with post -9/11 soldiers and cadets.
Veterans Green Force is forging strategic partnerships with private businesses, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, professional associations and higher education institutions that offer jobs or training to military veterans. Read more about Veterans Green Force on our website.
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Did You Know?
Currently the unemployment rate for recently returning veterans hovers around 20%, which is twice the national average. For veterans, ages 18-24, the rate is approaching a staggering 40%. Would you like to see those numbers go down? Follow this link to donate and join us in our cause to help veterans find sustainable jobs.
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Veterans Green Jobs Opens West Coast Office, Recruits Veterans
 | | Greg Snyder, West Coast Outreach and Placement Associate |
Veterans Green Jobs hired a West Coast outreach and placement associate to recruit military veterans for outdoor conservation work throughout California and parts of Nevada. Veterans Green Jobs received a $100,000 grant from Metabolic Studio to recruit veterans for the Veterans Green Corps program, which equips military veterans with training and hands-on experience in outdoor conservation and prepares them for job opportunities in the natural resources field.
Greg Snyder, who served in the Iraq war and is a veteran of the Army Military Police, will head up the West Coast office. Prior to joining Veterans Green Jobs, Snyder was a corps member conservationist with the California Conservation Corps. Snyder is recruiting veterans to participate in a California back-country trails program, where veterans will maintain trails and camp in remote locations throughout the state. He is also recruiting veterans for fire crews based in San Diego and Lake Tahoe. Application information and other program details are available on our website. Read more about the West Coast initiative.
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Mike Bremer, a 2012 Corpsmember of the Year
Veterans Green Jobs congratulates Mike Bremer, recently named a 2012 Corpsmember of the Year by The Corps Network , a national organization representing the nation's 158 Service and Conservation Corps. In 2010, this U.S. Army veteran joined the Southwest Conservation Corps' Veterans Fire Corps. While in the Corps, he worked in three districts of the San Juan National Forest and for the New Mexico Bureau of Land Management. He was quickly propelled to crew leader. Bremer went on to secure a job with the U.S. Forest Service as a wildland firefighter and sawyer for the San Juan National Forest. He is a passionate advocate for veterans' issues and an ambassador for Southwest Conservation Corps. Learn more about Bremer on our website.
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Government Cuts Funding for Weatherization Programs
The U.S. Department of Energy Weatherization Assistance Program and the Governor's Energy Office announced that Colorado is one of 25 states where funding has been severely cut for the fiscal year beginning July 2012. Due to an overall 75 percent reduction in weatherization funding, all agencies, including Veterans Green Jobs, that provide low-income weatherization services to the citizens of Colorado, will be severely impacted. Veterans Green Jobs will incrementally reduce its workforce over the next several months to meet funding levels, while actively seeking other funding sources to minimize the impact on the workforce over the long-term. Despite this unfortunate news, Veterans Green Jobs continues to advance its mission to employ veterans in the green sector. Read a letter from Veterans Green Jobs CEO, Dr. William Doe, addressing these budgets cuts.
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**Mark your Calendars-- March 12th- 15th you can help Veterans Green Jobs Raise $10,000 with just a few clicks! Stay tuned for details in our special email on Monday...
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 Colfax Marathon: No Sweat!
No Sweat (Military Running Cadence)
One mile - No Sweat
Two miles - Better yet
Three miles - Gotta run
Four miles - Just for fun
Come on - Let's go
We can go - Through the snow
We can run - To the sun
We train - In the rain
Run for Fun, Run for a Veteran, Run for Green Jobs! What can you do to help with the staggering unemployment rate of our military veterans? You can run in any race of the Kaiser Permanente Colfax Marathon. By asking your friends and family to sponsor you, you'll be helping Veterans Green Jobs in its mission to engage, transition and connect military veterans with meaningful employment opportunities that serve our communities and environment.
Go to http://www.coloradocolfaxmarathon.org and register to run. Select Veterans Green Jobs under the Charity Partners link. You have your choice of the full marathon, half marathon, 10 mile, 5K and the five-person relay team.
Once you register, a VGJ staff member will be in contact with you to let you know how you can make the most out of your marathon.
Questions? Contact Kynnie Martin at 720-236-1336 or kynnie@veteransgreenjobs.org
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Save The Date! Go Green Warehouse Celebrates a Great First Year
Veterans Green Jobs is gearing up to celebrate the first anniversary of the Go Green Warehouse on Saturday, May 19. We'll be hosting daylong activities at the warehouse. Details are being confirmed. Stay tuned and mark your calendars!
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Veterans Green Jobs Hosts White House Environmental Chair
 | | Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and our own Dr. Bill Doe |
On January 27, Veterans Green Jobs was honored to host Nancy Sutley, President Obama's principal environmental advisor and Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, for a visit and tour of the VGJ facilities early this year. Ms. Sutley toured the Go Green Warehouse and the weatherization warehouse, met several staff members, and learned more about Veterans Green Jobs programs. The visit was on the heels of the President's State of the Union address and his announcement of a commitment to grow clean energy industries and jobs, plus the proposal to create a Veterans Job Corps. Read more about her visit on our website.
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Giving Made Easy with Community Shares
Veterans Green Jobs is a proud member of Community Shares, a workplace giving federation with a mission to "connect Coloradans to the charities and causes they care about most." Community Shares works with the Combined Federal Campaign, the Colorado Combined Campaign, the Denver Employee Combined Campaign and more than 200 private business campaigns across the state, making it easy for federal state, city and corporate employees to donate to Veterans Green Jobs through a simple paycheck deduction. To learn more about Community Shares and how you can participate through workplace giving, visit Community Shares on the web.
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Go Green Warehouse Trains Veterans, Thanks Volunteers
Business is great as Go Green Warehouse approaches its first year anniversary. In addition to selling donated home improvement items to the public at up to 75 percent off retail costs, it provides employment opportunities and training for veterans. Three veterans recently completed job training as part of Veterans Green Jobs' Permanent Change of Station Program. Benjamin Moya, Jr., (U.S. Army) trained as a warehouse assistant and went on to secure full-time employment with Ecoprojex, which provides businesses and government agencies with economic solutions and environmental benefits for waste and recycling programs.
For 12 weeks, a team of AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps members served in the Go Green Warehouse. They completed a long list of recycling, educational and outreach projects and left behind the gift a mural for the warehouse.
The Go Green Warehouse staff is learning to lay tile thanks to the volunteer efforts of Don Simon, who had a long career in construction. In addition to gaining a valuable skill, the staff will be better able to serve customers with a greater knowledge about many of the products available in the warehouse. The Go Green Warehouse has an ongoing need for volunteers. Learn more on our website.
The warehouse recently procured a new truck that will be used to pick up donations. Dubbed "Kermit" by the winner of a Facebook contest, the truck will be heading out to pick up much-needed donations. If you have items to donate, visit our website or call 720-236-1340.
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Thank You! End-of-Year Donations Make a Difference
Thanks to your generous donations, Veterans Green Jobs raised more than $10,000 as part of a matching gift challenge in December. Our added thanks go to a generous anonymous donor who matched these contributions. That means your dollars will go twice as far to help fund programs that support veterans. More than $6,000 was raised as part of Colorado Gives Day, the annual initiative that encourages the community to give generously to local nonprofits. Many of you chose to make your gift in honor or in memory of a veteran as part of Veterans Green Jobs Pearl Harbor Day appeal. More than $2,200 was pledged in honor or in memory of 17 veterans. Those dedications have a place of honor on our website.
Donations help Veterans Green Jobs connect veterans with meaningful employment opportunities in the green sector. Learn more about ways to support Veterans Green Jobs on our website. Thank you for your support!
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