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Situational Awareness through VAntage Point

Situational Awareness through VAntage Point

Many organizations and individuals that work with Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services are curious about where to get more information from The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

The most useful source of information is online communications tools between the department and it’s stakeholders. Since 2016, with the launch of the blog, called Vantage Point, it became a significant source of information and an expanded outreach effort aimed at improving the way VA and its clients, community partners, and interested parties engage online.

VAntage Point, began as a source of information edited by VA’s Director of New Media with two primary features: a main column of articles written each day by VA staff and a section comprised of guest pieces submitted by other stakeholders including employees and the public. It has evolved as a one stop outreach tool providing News, Resources, the VA Podcast Network and Press Releases.

VAntage Point is increasing transparency, participation, and collaboration via social media. To view the blog, please visit http://www.blogs.va.gov. For more information, visit http://www.va.gov. 

 

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Holiday Reception and Awards Ceremony

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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Workforce Development & Career Placement

Workforce Development & Career Placement

To ensure that veterans and families succeed where they live, Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services provides and coordinates technical assistance/training, resource sharing, and strong leadership to our partners, who, with our ongoing support, operate direct service programs. Our work encompasses a broad swath, at the local and national level, from workforce development and housing solutions to wellness research and development, expanding funding streams for veteran entrepreneurs, and advancing impact via service networks.

Workforce Development and Career Placement is often the catalyst that drives progress toward ensuring that veterans and their families reach their full potential and leads to positive outcomes in other areas such as housing and wellness. The following is a brief update on Dixon Center’s recent work and future initiatives in this area.

Dixon Center and AFL-CIO Union Veterans Council signed a strategic agreement committing each other to further collaboration and expanding opportunities for veterans and their families in the building trades, including women veterans and veterans of color. This partnership is already creating opportunities to integrate veterans into existing programs in southern California—providing them a pathway into the middle class.

Dixon Center, with the American Legion and other partners, released “The Future of Credentialing for Service Members and Veterans.” This groundbreaking report has captured best practices and proven models to increase access to credentials for service members, military spouses, and veterans. Dixon Center was able to play a leading role in the development of the report and continues to participate in follow-on discussions.

Dixon Center visited the Seafarers International Union (SIU) Paul Hall Center for Maritime Education and Training in Piney Point, Maryland with a team from our partners in Department of Labor, Veterans Employment Training Services (VETS). This program is creating pathways to high-paying careers for veterans in the maritime industry. Explored ways to expand this transformational program and reach more transitioning service members and veterans. 

Teammates in Creating Solutions for Veterans and their Families.
Ivan Denton, Director, Veteran Employment Programs, Department of Labor-VETS; James Rodriguez, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Department of Labor-VETS, Sam Whitehurst, Vice President, Programs & Services, Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services. August 14, 2021

Dixon Center led a discussion on the role that non-profits and community-based organizations play in creating holistic solutions for veterans and their families to workforce development leaders in both Chicago and Illinois at the Military Workforce Initiatives Summit: Advanced Partnering Opportunities for City and State Affiliates.

This is a snapshot of what is possible through collaboration with federal and state agencies, private-sector partners, organized labor, community-based organizations, and other non-profits. The end result of this collaboration are veterans and their families who successfully reintegrate into their communities. If you want to join in this inspiring work and explore what is possible, contact Colonel (USA, Ret.) Sam Whitehurst, Vice President, Programs & Services, at swhitehurst@dixoncenter.org.

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Holiday Reception and Awards Ceremony

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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Service Before Self Podcast Ep. 12

Service Before Self Podcast Ep. 12

Dixon Center for Military & Veterans Services, Service Before Self, a podcast that tackles the evolving needs of veterans and their families, based on the belief that veterans can succeed in the community where they live.

Listen to Assisting Organizations and Communities Address the Evolving Needs of Veterans and their Families with Colonel Duncan Milne (USMC, Ret.), President, Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services. Colonel Milne has spent a lifetime leading and serving Marines and is now leading an organization that connects organizations and communities with existing programs and services that transform the lives of veterans and their families. 

In this episode, your host, Retired Army Colonel Sam Whitehurst, Dixon Center Vice President of Programs & Services, and Colonel Milne, discuss Dixon Center’s approach to supporting veterans and their families in the communities where they live through Dixon Center’s network of private and public, civic, and community-based partners. They also share how the pandemic has accelerated the evolution of veterans’ needs, not diminished them.

This episode is also a moment of reflection; after over a year of dealing with the pandemic, it is now a great time to look back and see what Dixon Center’s leadership has learned and also to share Dixon Center’s goals for the future.

Subscribe To/Follow Service Before Self Podcast

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Holiday Reception and Awards Ceremony

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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Save the Date – Dixon Center Annual Holiday Reception

Save the Date – Dixon Center Annual Holiday Reception

Save the Date for the Dixon Center Annual Holiday Reception

Tuesday Evening, December 14, 2021 from 7pm – 8:30pm EST

Please Save the Date of our Annual Holiday Reception and Awards Ceremony.

About this Event

We hope that you will join us, virtually again this year, during our annual holiday reception and award ceremony. We use this time every year to thank our friends, family, supporters, and donors. Please pick out your favorite snacks and beverages, go ahead and put on that festive holiday attire, and join us like you would any other year. If you would like to invite others to attend, please direct them to the provided registration link and we ask you to not give out the Zoom event link you will receive in your confirmation email. We will also be sharing this event through Facebook live. Join us as we recognize special individuals and organizations with our four awards:

The Eugene and Ruth Freedman Leadership Award

The Herbert Metzger Service Award

The Michael “Mick” Yauger Point Man Award

And, the inaugural Lou Lowenkron Commitment to Veterans Excellence Award

Please Save the Date and we look forward to another successful event. 

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Holiday Reception and Awards Ceremony

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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The Impact of Socially Conscious Actions

The Impact of Socially Conscious Actions

At Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services, we are always looking for new and innovative avenues for our supporters to assist in our work. Knowing that both individuals and corporations have become more and more socially conscience, with a growing desire to find new ways to impact the causes they believe in. We would like to introduce a new Dixon Center partnership with Investing In Communities ® (IIC), a nonprofit real estate referral service that uses referral fees to support our work. It is a win-win-win, the client gets to support our work at Dixon Center, the real estate agent benefits from a new referral, and IIC directs most of that referral fee to Dixon Center.

Investing In Communities® is a unique fundraising platform that empowers you to turn ordinary real estate transactions into significant funding to support Dixon Center’s mission. The platform provides charitable individuals with an opportunity to use any real estate agent they know, or to get assistance in finding the right one, while increasing the impact of their favorite non-profit, Dixon Center. Office, retail and industrial leases and purchases can also provide a revenue opportunity with a small percent of the purchase or lease by starting the transaction with IIC. 

The key to the process is to make the first call or contact with Investing In Communities®, so that 70%+ of the referral fee can be given to Dixon Center. It is critical that this step is done before an individual or company signs an agreement to begin working with the agent. There is no expense to the property buyer or seller or corporate tenant and IIC can be used with real estate transactions anywhere in the United States.

Even if you are not planning to buy or sell a home or lease commercial property soon, please use this link to sign up to get reminded when you might be closer to doing so. To learn more about how to turn your process of buying a home, property or any commercial lease or purchase into ways that impact the lives of veterans and military families, please contact Vanessa Stergios our Director of Development at vstergios@dixoncenter.org. To learn more about our work supporting veterans and military families across the nation, visit www.DixonCenter.org. 

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Holiday Reception and Awards Ceremony

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

Posted on

Service Before Self Episode 11

Service Before Self Episode 11

Dixon Center for Military & Veterans Services, Service Before Self, a podcast that tackles the evolving needs of veterans and their families, based on the belief hat veterans can succeed in the community where they live.

Listen to Veterans and their Families Succeeding in their Communities with Jim Beamesderfer, Vice President, Veterans Initiatives, Prudential. Jim and his team have immersed themselves in the challenges that service members and their families face when they transition and have developed and partnered with innovative programs that are making a difference in the lives of veterans and their families. 

In this episode, your host, Retired Army Colonel Sam Whitehurst, Dixon Center Vice President of Programs & Services, and Jim, discuss a service delivery model that combines the reach, resources, and values of a company like Prudential and the ideas, influence, and actions of national nonprofits like Dixon Center with service providers at the community level to ensure that veterans and their families reach their full potential.

Subscribe To/Follow Service Before Self Podcast

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Holiday Reception and Awards Ceremony

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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Creating a Beacon in Boston

Creating a Beacon in Boston

At Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services we believe that organizations do not need to create new programs to support veterans and those touched by military service but simply adapt their existing programs to be welcoming and receptive to those who have served.

This is most relevant in our work as a member of The Fedcap Group, a global network of top-tier nonprofit agencies. Our common missions dovetail in the vision of economic empowerment, workforce development, education, and wellness. Through our partnership, we are shining a national spotlight on the issues facing veterans and their families – mobilizing resources and expertise to modernize solutions. 

To this end, we work across the Fedcap Group of companies to help make integration possible. For example, our collaboration with another subsidiary, Community Work Services (CWS) in Boston. Leveraging Dixon Center’s expertise and experience, CWS is placing a special emphasis on integrating women veterans and the spouses of veterans, a growing and underserved population.

Dixon Center is making women veterans financial wellness a priority. As part of our focus on housing and preventing homelessness, and recognizing the unique challenges that women veterans face, we connect women veterans to potential sources of emergency financial assistance to assist with expenses associated with housing and employment. During the first six months of 2021 we have provided or are currently working on emergency financial assistance to 20 women veterans totaling about $25,500.00 in assistance.

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Holiday Reception and Awards Ceremony

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

Posted on

Service Before Self Podcast Ep. 14

Service Before Self Podcast Ep. 14

Dixon Center for Military & Veterans Services posted our 14th episode of Service Before Self, a podcast that tackles the evolving needs of veterans and their families, based on the idea that veterans can succeed in the community where they live.

Listen to Episode 14: Challenges Faced by Disabled Veterans with Louis Orslene, Director, Employer and Workplace Policy Team at Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP). ODEP is an agency within the Department of Labor (DoL) whose mission is to develop and influence policies and practices that increase the number and quality of employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

In this episode, your host, Retired Army Colonel Sam Whitehurst, Dixon Center Vice President of Programs & Services, and Louis, discuss how employers and community-based organizations can leverage ODEP programs and policies to create a pipeline of veteran talent that makes their businesses and communities stronger.

Subscribe To/Follow Service Before Self Podcast on any of these major platforms.

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Holiday Reception and Awards Ceremony

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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May 2021 Financial Recap

May 2021 Financial Recap

During the month of May, two things took place that motivated our Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services donors.

First, our parent organization, The Fedcap Group, on Wednesday, May 19th released its FY21 First-Half Financial and Operating Results. This effort, conducted twice a year, provides stakeholders with regular and timely disclosures about financial and operational performance, mission-related impact, and trends and challenges for The Fedcap Group.

This is important because Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services is a member of The Fedcap Group, a global network of top-tier nonprofit agencies. The Fedcap Group serves as the fiscal agent for Dixon Center and as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and provides our back-office support. This includes human resources, finance and accounting, legal services, information technology and many other functions.

The Fedcap Group is committed to promoting transparency and integrity in its fiscal practice. We are proud of our GuideStar recognition with the 2021 Gold Seal of Transparency and the audited financial statements ending September 30, 2019, 88% of Fedcap’s total expenditures went directly toward programming. This demonstrates that The Fedcap Group is an effective steward of its resources.

Second, during the month of May, our individuals donors were inspired by Memorial Day Weekend. To this end, leading up to Memorial Day and through the weekend Dixon Center experienced an increase of 3.27% in individual donation and nearly 80% were made in memory or honor of a loved one, veteran or a family member touched by military service.

We are sharing this recap of May 2021 donations because the Sea of Goodwill is alive and well. Donors want transparency and they want to ensure their gifts are making an impact. They recognize Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services’ noble purpose to make the lives of our veterans and their families better and they value our approach. As a Center we are providing influence, sharing ideas and building & sustaining actions that organizations use to impact veterans.

If you would like to learn more about how your gift will make an impact, please contact Vanessa Stergios our Director of Development at egreenlay@dixoncenter.org.

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Holiday Reception and Awards Ceremony

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

Posted on

Bringing Back the True Meaning of Memorial Day

Bringing Back the True Meaning of Memorial Day

Dixon Center for Military & Veterans Services posted our 13th episode of Service Before Self, a podcast that tackles the evolving needs of veterans and their families, based on the idea that veterans can succeed in the community where they live. The Service Before Self Podcast introduces you to people and the programs that are having an impact today; you will hear about their successes and lessons learned in creating effective programs in which veterans and their families reach their full potential.

Listen to Episode 13: Bringing Back the True Meaning of Memorial Day with Mickey Markoff, executive producer of National Salute to America’s Heroes, an event that occurs on the weekend preceding Memorial Day and showcases our country’s state of the art military technology, dynamic sea events, and interactive displays. The centerpiece is an air and sea show that demonstrates the courage and expertise of our military and first responders.

In this episode, your host, Retired Army Colonel Sam Whitehurst, Dixon Center Vice President of Programs & Services, and Mickey, discuss the need for a unifying event that brings together Americans from all walks of life, to celebrate the service and sacrifice of our fallen on Memorial Day. This year, the National Salute to America’s Heroes helped fill that gap—patriotic, inspiring, respectful, and somber are all ways to describe this year’s event. Mickey highlights why he puts this event on each year, his vision to bring it to more people in the future, and how it benefits organizations who are on the “frontlines” of assisting veterans and their families succeed where they live.

What makes this event so special is that it brings service members, veterans, their families, and the families of those who have fallen in service together with Americans who might not have an affiliation or a true understanding of what it means to serve or to be a veteran. Another goal of this event is to close the civil-military divide and to create understanding and connection for those who have served and those who haven’t.

Our affiliation with National Salute to America’s Heroes is an example of how Dixon Center serves as a clearinghouse for organizations that want to have the greatest impact in assisting veterans and their families. Through our extensive service network, we connect like-minded individuals and organizations with those groups and programs that are transforming the lives of veterans and their families. If your organization wants to support groups and charities that are having an impact but are unsure how, listen to this episode to learn more about how National Salute to America’s Heroes is bringing back the true meaning of Memorial Day and how Dixon Center can assist you in reaching your goals.

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.

To learn more about Dixon Center’s efforts in advancing impact via our service network, see the Dixon Center Bugler: Leveraging and Strengthening Program Networks and contact Colonel (Ret.) Sam Whitehurst, VP of Programs & Services, at swhitehurst@dixoncenter.org.

The podcast’s name, Service Before Self, recognizes the commitment demonstrated by veterans and their families during their military service as well as their potential as they reintegrate back into their communities when military service ends. 

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Holiday Reception and Awards Ceremony

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