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Reflections On 2021

Reflections On 2021

We say thanks to each of you who are champions of our veterans and those touched by military service and assisted Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services during a very challenging year. In gratitude, we are reflecting on 2021 and celebrating Dixon Center’s top 10 highlights of 2021. 

  1. Dixon Center’s impact increased from 2.1 to 2.4 million veterans and military families through our work providing Influence, Ideas, and Actions to individuals and organizations across the country.
  2. Dixon Center refined our 5 focus areas and realigned them into 3 pillars: Work With Purpose, Heal With Honor, and Live With Hope.
  3. Our team planned and convened a 3-day intense and immersive Vision Summit. The event was designed to inform over 100 influencers, leaders, and major donors that desired to learn more of Dixon Center’s work and plans for expanded operations over the next 5 years.
  4. We executed multiple agreements with national trade organizations to expand existing workforce development efforts and focus on providing a pathway for under-represented populations into non-traditional careers.
  5. Dixon Center increased access to resources and strengthened our financial position ensuring our continued presence as a national organization with staying power.
  6. Our podcast “Service Before Self” completed its first season to a steadily increasing audience. Season two, focusing on issues impacting our nation’s veterans and military families is under development.
  7. Dixon Center assisted iHeart Media in the redesign and redeployment of their “Show Your Stripes” platform connecting veterans and their families to resources and supportive services.
  8. It was an honor to make the holiday a bit easier for hundreds of veterans across the country through our Holiday Basic Needs Grants thanks to generous contributions from our Command Council. These grants provided real time relief from the impacts of raising cost in heating fuels, food, and other basic needs.
  9. We welcomed two new advisors to our Command Council, Jerry Pascucci and Tim Thorne.
  10. We are getting back on the road, respectfully and safely. We know that our veterans and the organizations that support them long for face-to-face interactions when they can be safely and appropriately coordinated. We hope to see you soon in person.

Just like you, we reflect on our activities of 2021 to help provide guideposts and goals for our 2022. We hope your reflection does the same. If you want to read more detail on our past year be on the lookout for the 1 February 2022 Bugler which will announce the release of our 2021 Annual Report.

Join us on our journey in 2022 and beyond! Visit Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services to learn more or contact our President, Col. Duncan S. Milne, USMC(Ret.) at dmilne@dixoncenter.org

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Holiday Basic Needs Assistance

Holiday Basic Needs Assistance

Due to increased inflation and the pandemic, the end of 2021 gave Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services the opportunity to double-down on our goal that all veterans and their families succeed in the communities where they live. Building upon the success of our Women Veterans Program, and with the support of our donors, we expanded that program during the holidays to address the Basic Needs of veterans in different areas across the country. Allow us to use this forum to recognize our command council who specifically stepped up and provided funding to ensure that nearly 100 veterans and their families had a safe, secure, and warm place to live and celebrate the holidays. They were able to live with hope. As a resource for individuals and organizations interested in the long-term wellbeing of our veterans and their families, we were able to provide basic needs where they were requested so veterans and their families could enjoy their holidays. As our Chairman always says, and you can see from the attached quotes from a few of the veterans we assisted: “Well done is better than well said.”
If you would like to learn more about our Holiday Basic Needs grants focus to support opportunities to include veterans and their families in your existing programs contact our VP of Programs and Services, Colonel Sam Whitehurst at swhitehurst@dixoncenter.org.

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Operation Service to Employment

Operation Service to Employment

Through Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services‘ Operation Service to Employment, we offer solutions to bridge the civilian-military culture gap to inform and impact workplace hiring. Our Workforce Solutions educational program is designed to aid hiring managers across companies recruit and retain veterans and military family members. Annually, we lead sessions educating nearly 340 leaders on creating a culture that attracts and retains high-performing veterans.

As part of one of our five focus areas, Workforce Development and Career Placement, Operation Service to Employment is one of our workstreams helping organizations and institutions with programs that recruit, integrate, train, and retain transitioning service members, veterans and military families.

As our team uses research and experience to provide influence, share ideas, and build & sustain actions that organizations use to impact veterans, we rely on others to provide services to the individual service members or veterans. For example, as we are working with employers, the Department of Defense continues to improve its practices preparing the service members for successful transition.

You can learn more about the challenges of transitioning from active service and DOD, as well as our work addressing the issue during our podcast, Service Before Self Episode 006: A Talent Management System for Veterans with Matthew P. Donovan.

In this episode Dixon Center VP of Programs and Services, Colonel (Ret.) Sam Whitehurst, your host, is joined by The Honorable Matthew Donovan, who served as the 9th United States Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. Together they discuss the many programs and organizations that are dedicated to serving veterans and their families, along with the many federal agencies that are instrumental in ensuring veterans are prepared to successfully reintegrate back into their communities.

Subscribe To/Follow Service Before Self Podcast Whether you are an avid podcast fan or new to the medium, we invite you to give Service Before Self a listen. We invite you to listen and subscribe to the podcast. We welcome your feedback and will be reading your reviews and comments on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or one of the many other distributors.

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Preparing for the Future After Serving

Preparing for the Future After Serving

The U.S. military has a great reputation for their ability to plan, to deal with uncertainty, and to deal with complex and complicated problems. But when service members return to their communities and make that transition from military service to civilian careers, the challenges can often be overwhelming. In Episode 5, Transitioning Successfully with Brian Niswander, of the Service to Service Before Self podcast, produced by Dixon Center for Military & Veterans Services, we are tackling the uncertainty and the challenges that service members face when reintegrating back into their communities when their military service ends.

Your host, Colonel (Ret.) Sam Whitehurst, welcomes Brian Niswander, an Air Force veteran and a veteran of working at a Fortune 500 company as well as working in the public sector. Brian is also the founder of Military-Transition.org, an organization that is dedicated to providing information and resources to not only transitioning military members but to military spouses, veterans, and also to employers that want to hire others associated with the military. Their research and analysis deliver unique insights that inform transition decisions for the military community and assist employers that recruit, hire, develop and retain military/veteran talent.

Dixon Center assists organizations like Military-Transition.org as part of Advancing Impact via Service Network. We build upon this network through programs like Operation Scout: One Source to Success, where we work with program partners so veterans can make their reintegration journey with relevant support unique to their needs.

Service Before Self introduces you to people and programs that are having an impact today; their successes and lessons learned in creating effective programs in which veterans reach their full potential. This is Dixon Center’s goal of collaborating with organizations like Military-Transition.org, ensuring that veterans and their families thrive after their military service ends. To learn more about Dixon Center’s efforts in assisting veterans in reaching their post-military goals, see the Dixon Center Bugler: Operation Scout: One Source to Success and contact Colonel (Ret.) Sam Whitehurst, VP of Programs & Services, at swhitehurst@dixoncenter.org.

Subscribe To/Follow Service Before Self Podcast
Whether you are an avid podcast fan or new to the medium, we invite you to give Service Before Self a listen. We invite you to listen and subscribe to the podcast. We welcome your feedback and will be reading your reviews and comments on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or one of the many other distributors.

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On 10 December Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services hosted our 13th Annual Holiday Reception and Awards Ceremony. This year we moved the event to align with

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Operation Scout: One Source to Success

Operation Scout: One Source to Success

In the military, scouts are the commander’s eyes and ears on the battlefield. When information about the enemy is needed, they call on the scouts. A scout has deep knowledge of the area and potential pitfalls, as well as advance information on key contacts and players.

Through our focus area Advancing Impact via Service Networks, Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services is facilitating the integration of military and veteran services into existing direct-service programs and organizations in order to increase impact. Operation Scout: One Source to Success works with program partners so veterans can make their reintegration journey with relevant support unique to their needs.

In addition to the training and technical support we are providing partner organizations, veterans are able to connect with Operation Workforce Development as well as using the Dixon Center/Prudential Financial Wellness Portal. This portal provides veterans and their families access to information on key financial topics such as managing day-to-day expenses, savings, and investments, and protecting for the future. The site contains educational articles, videos, infographics, and interactive tools for self-assessments, budgeting, and life insurance needs.

You can learn more about the challenges of transitioning from active service and our work addressing the issue during our Podcast Service Before Self Episode 005: Transitioning Successfully with Brian Niswander.

In this episode Dixon Center VP of Programs and Services, Colonel (Ret.) Sam Whitehurst, your host, is joined by Brian Niswander, the executive director and founder of Military-Transition.org. Military-Transition.org is an organization that is dedicated to providing information and resources to not only transitioning military members but to military spouses, veterans, and also to employers that want to hire others associated with the military.

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This Generation’s “Agent Orange”

This Generation’s “Agent Orange”

Service Before Self, produced by Dixon Center for Military & Veterans Services, Retired Army Colonel Sam Whitehurst, the host, is tackling the evolving needs of veterans and their families, based on the idea that veterans can succeed in the community where they live. One of those evolving and emerging needs is dealing with exposure to toxins produced by the open-air combustion of trash and other waste in burn pits in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other areas of Southwest Asia. This exposure has led to cancers, respiratory diseases, and other illnesses that are wreaking havoc among this generation’s veterans, like the experiences of Vietnam Veterans and their exposure to Agent Orange.

Service Before Self introduces you to people and programs that are having an impact today; their successes and lessons learned in creating effective programs in which veterans reach their full potential. Burn Pits 360 is a non-profit organization that is making a difference in the lives of veterans and their families who are dealing with the effects of exposure to burn pits while deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq. Under the leadership of Rosie Torres and her husband, Captain (Ret.) LeRoy Torres, Burn Pits 360 is giving voice to veterans and their families who are struggling to find treatment and support for their debilitating illnesses and diseases.

On Service Before Self, Episode 4: History Repeating Itself: Exposure to Burn Pits and the Legacy of Agent Orange with Rosie Torres, Executive Director of Burn Pits 360, Rosie shares her families struggle to get the VA to recognize and treat his illnesses and the illnesses and diseases of other veterans who were exposed to the smoke produced by burn pits. She also discusses and shares key advice on starting a nonprofit to support veterans and provides information on how you can help Congress and the VA to finally address this very serious and pressing issue.

Collaborating with people and programs, like Rosie, LeRoy, and Burn Pits 360, is an example of Dixon Center’s approach of not creating new programs but making existing programs more impactful. Dixon Center’s Operation Burn Pit is addressing the toxic wounds of war through advocacy, partnerships and outreach. Along with Burn Pits 360, Dixon Center is a partner with several other organizations, mobilizing a national advocacy and awareness effort designed to engage policy makers, while forcing recognition of burn pit exposure. To learn more about Dixon Center’s efforts in supporting veterans suffering from burn pit exposure and other airborne hazards, see the Dixon Center Bugler: Operation Burn Pit and contact Colonel (Ret.) Sam Whitehurst, VP of Programs & Services, at swhitehurst@dixoncenter.org.

Subscribe To/Follow Service Before Self Podcast

Whether you are an avid podcast fan or new to the medium, we invite you to give Service Before Self a listen. We invite you to listen and subscribe to the podcast. We welcome your feedback and will be reading your reviews and comments on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or one of the many other distributors.

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Operation Burn Pits

Operation Burn Pits

In Iraq, Afghanistan, and other areas of the Southwest Asia theater of military operations, open-air combustion of trash and other waste in open burn pits was a common practice and created an “Airborne hazard“.

The VA contends that evidence is lacking as to the long-term health effects to service members and veterans exposure to burn pits during active duty. However, its own fact sheet on burn pits notes both short-term and long-term effects can occur from the airborne smoke, causing burn pit diseases and conditions.

The VA fact sheet on burn pits says exposures to high levels of specific, individual chemicals that may be present in burn pit smoke have been shown to cause long-term effects. In some cases, it may negatively affect one’s: skin, respiratory system, eyes, liver, kidneys, central nervous system, reproductive system, cardiovascular system, peripheral nervous system, and gastrointestinal tract.

Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services‘ Operation Burn Pit is addressing the toxic wounds of war through advocacy, partnerships and outreach. Our goal is for the VA to recognize that veterans being treated for certain types of cancers, tumors and illnesses caused by toxic exposure during service receive a presumptive service connection. To this end, the VA will presume that certain disabilities are caused by military service and exposure to airborne hazards. This presumption is because of the unique circumstances of a specific veteran’s military service. If a presumed condition is diagnosed in a veteran in a certain group, they can be awarded disability compensation and services.

Dixon Center is a partner with several other organizations, mobilizing a national advocacy and awareness effort designed to engage policy makers, while forcing recognition of burn pit exposure. These include misunderstood injuries to the respiratory, gastrointestinal and cardiovascular systems, chronic pain, and certain rare cancers, as well as Post Traumatic Stress and Toxic Brain Injury.

You can learn more about the toxic effects of burn pits and our work addressing the issue during our Podcast Service Before Self Episode 004: History Repeating Itself: Exposure to Burn Pits and the Legacy of Agent Orange with Rosie Torres, Executive Director of Burn Pits 360.

In this episode Dixon Center VP of Programs and Services, Colonel (Ret.) Sam Whitehurst, your host, is joined by Rosie Torres, the executive director of Burn Pits 360, our partner organization addressing the effects of exposure to burn pits.  

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Designating Dixon Center In Annual Charitable Giving

Designating Dixon Center In Annual Charitable Giving

Please consider Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services in your annual charitable giving. No gift is too small, and your contribution goes a long way toward enabling veterans and their families to succeed where they live.

Our mission and our service delivery model are more important and even more on-point than ever before. Dixon Center is built to be responsive to the evolving needs of our veterans and their families. Despite the pandemic, we have been able to respond to these needs. 

As isolation has impacted people everywhere, we know deep human emotions can be compounded by war trauma and other difficulties our Nation’s veterans face. Imagine, being a highly trained, well-regarded service member, with a platoon of brothers and sisters always at your side; a steady income, good benefits and stable housing. Separation from the military often brings veterans home to their communities where they may have limited employment opportunities, complex wellness issues with limited resources, a place where their friends have moved on or away, and may face uncertainty in how to re-connect.

Dixon Center’s approach is working because our goal is not to create new programs. Rather, the goal is to enable the integration of military and veteran services into existing programs to increase impact. You can see the effect we are having by reviewing our Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services 2020 Annual Impact Report .

Your support provides assistance where it’s needed and changes lives. Keep us on the front lines and we can accomplish our goals for 2021 and beyond:

  • Work with Purpose – Increase opportunities for veterans and their families into careers that pay a family wage.
  • Heal with Honor – Leverage more organzations to include veterans and their families in their wellness direct-service programs while never losing sight of their dignity as human beings.
  • Live with Hope – Grow and improve our veterans ability to access affordable housing. Not just a roof over their head, but a secure place in a society that values their abilities.

As we look ahead to 2021, thank you for all that you have done to assist veterans, through our work. Together, we are enabling our veterans and their families succeed where they live.

For questions about giving, please contact Vanessa at vstergios@dixoncenter.org.

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UWUA, Tim Thorne, and Rick Passarelli Recognized

UWUA, Tim Thorne, and Rick Passarelli Recognized

On 15 December Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services recognized organizations and individuals committed to addressing the well-being of veterans and military families.

Eugene and Ruth Freedman Leadership Award
The award is named after Eugene and Ruth Freedman, whose lifetime of philanthropy continues through their family foundation and their three children, Penny Freedman, Nancy Remak and Rick Freedman.

This year’s recipient, the Utility Workers Union of America, actively trains military veterans to work in the electric, gas, steam, water, and nuclear industries. Of note, the Utility Workers Military Assistance Program provides returning veterans with the training needed as gas sector utility workers to successfully transition into job opportunities, resulting in more than 700 veterans since 2011 earning licenses and credentials leading to careers that provide family wages and full benefits.

2020 Eugene & Ruth Freedman Leadership Award Recipient: Utility Workers Union of America UWUA President James Slevin accepting the Award on behalf of the UWUA 50,000 members.

Herbert Metzger Service Award
Herb Metzger epitomizes the spirit of veterans who are wired to serve. This week, Herb’s youngest daughter Holly presented the award to Tim Thorne, President of ABF Freight.

Mr. Thorne is an Army veteran and prior to separation achieved the rank of Captain. He has served ABF Freight in many capacities, from President to Supervisor Assistant.

Under Tim’s leadership ABF Freight joined with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters into the Teamsters Military Assistance Program (TMAP), a joint training program to help service members transition from military service to civilian careers as professional truck drivers.

In Tim’s words, “During this program, if service members provide the will to succeed, then ABF teaches them the skill to not only meet but exceed certification requirements.” 

2020 Herbert “Herb” Metzger Service Award Recipient: Tim Thorne Tim Thorne receiving the award for his direct leadership supporting veterans and their families.

Michael Yauger Point Man Award
Mr. Richard Passarelli received this award in recognition of his leadership transitioning fellow veterans from service to civilian careers.

In an Army formation on patrol, the point man takes responsibility for others and assists them as they move through challenging terrain. This particular award, named for that role and responsibilities and in honor of Michael “Mick” Yauger, recognizes the recipient’s forward leadership in supporting others through challenging times and/or transitions.

Rick Passarelli is a veteran of the United States Navy and the founder of the Utility Workers Military Assistance Program in partnership with Peoples Gas Executive Team, Rick most recently joined the UWUA National staff and now holds the position of UWUA National Director of Veterans affairs and workforce development Under National President James Slevin for the UWUA.

Many veterans who Rick has supported have successfully graduated the UMAP program, going on to satisfying employment that enables them to succeed where they live. 

2020 Michael Yauger Point Man Award Recipient: Richard Passarelli Rick Passarelli receiving the award for leading from the front.

We congratulate all these honorees.

For more information about their work with Dixon Center or how you might contribute to our programs, contact Vice President of Programs and Services, Retired Army Colonel Sam Whitehurst: swhitehurst@dixoncenter.org.

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