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Support Working Women During February

Posted by YWM on February 14, 2012

Valentine’s Day is only one of this month’s highlights—since 1956, women across the country have celebrated Business and Professional Women’s (BPW) Foundation Month during February. Please join in this year’s celebration by supporting the broad-reaching projects and programs of Business and Professional Women’s Foundation.  We hope you will make a contribution this year to assist us as we continue to demonstrate our unwavering commitment to advocate on behalf of working women, women veterans, and their families.
During the past year, BPW Foundation has been actively engaged on the front lines of “hot button issues” that impact the lives of ALL working women, including:
  • BPW Foundation’s report of findings and agreements reached during our October 2010 Joining Forces for Women Veterans Summit has been widely used by government, public, and private sector organizations to support women veterans’ reintegration in the civilian workforce.
  • BPW Foundation’s partnership with Ed2Go and Military to Medicine created new scholarship opportunities for women veterans.
  • BPW Foundation CEO Deborah Frett participated in the White House announcement and launch of Joining Forces for Military Families. Our Joining Forces for Women Veterans and Military Spouses Mentoring Plus® program is a focal grassroots component of this national initiative.
  • BPW Foundation released two research-based reports for use by employers and businesses: Gen Y Women in the Workplace and Gen Y Women To Employers: What They Want in the Workplace and Why It Matters for Business.
  • BPW Foundation conducted research on broadband usage and habits among subsets of women in the workplace and released a report quantifying the impact and implications of high speed internet on their employment and career choices.
  • Career Advancement Scholarships were renewed with BPW Legacy Partners handling the application and selection process.
  • Thanks to you, our supporters, BPW Foundation garnered the most votes in the Alliant Credit Union Foundation “People Voting to Give Back on Facebook” campaign and received $14,000 to support our programs for women veterans.
  • BPW Foundation joined with other leading women’s organizations to inform and educate women about key issues in the upcoming fall election through participation in “HERvotes Blog Carnivals .” Topics have included violence against women, jobs and employment, extension of unemployment insurance benefits, sexual harassment in the workplace, and women’s perspective on the Affordable Health Care Act.
  • BPW Foundation signed letters to Congress in support of legislation including the Family Fairness Act; Healthy Families Act; and the Heart Disease Education, Analysis, Research, and Treatment (HEART) for Women Act.
  • BPW Foundation signed on in support of the Riker vs. Quinnipiac University Amicus Brief to ensure enforcement of Title IX, and commented to the U.S. Department of Labor on Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) regulations.
  • BPW Foundation’s Joining Forces for Women Veterans and Military Spouses Mentoring Plus® was launched in January, 2012 and is connecting volunteer working women mentors with women veteran and military spouse mentees to enable their successful reintegration in the civilian workplace.

We made major strides during the last year, and your efforts on our behalf—reaching out to your personal and professional networks, making phone calls, writing emails, and ensuring your voice was heard by your elected representatives—were essential to this success. BPW Foundation thanks you, our supporters, for all of your work.

As we continue advocating for successful workplaces for all working women, including women veterans, we need your support during 2012! Please help us by making a donation today, either online at Business and Professional Women’s Foundation , or by sending a check to BPW Foundation, c/o Wells Fargo, P.O. Box 759189, Baltimore, MD 21275-9189.

Show Your Support for BPW Foundation Now!

Without your involvement, BPW Foundation could not play such a vital role in creating successful American workplaces. Please help us continue improving the lives of working women and their families by making a generous donation today.

Thank you very much!

Here is a link to BPW Foundation’s Fifty Fabulous Facts.  Please share with your friends.

Posted in Misbehavin' Notification, Successful Workplaces, Uncategorized, Violence Against women, Woman Misbehavin' | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Mentoring Program for Women Veterans and Military Spouses Launched

Posted by YWM on February 13, 2012

BPW Foundation Builds on History of Women Helping Women

 During January, National Mentoring Month, Business and Professional Women’s (BPW) Foundation deployed Joining Forces for Women Veterans and Military Spouses (JFWVMS) Mentoring Plus®. This ground-breaking program connects women veterans and military spouses with working women mentors and subject matter experts (SMEs).  Participants receive career development support and guidance that will enable them to find and keep meaningful employment.

“BPW Foundation’s long history of women helping women allows us to leverage the experience, expertise and resources of women in the workplace, to benefit those who have made so many personal and family sacrifices to protect our freedom: women veterans and military wives,” said BPW Foundation CEO, Deborah L. Frett.

Joining Forces Mentoring Plus enables mentors and mentees to work together to design and develop individualized and quantifiable goals and benchmarks for mentee employment plans.  Online resources and subject matter experts will assist mentees in areas that affect workplace attainment, adjustment, retention and/or supplier chain participation for small businesses.  This deployment of the program will focus on an initial group of 1,000 mentees, and then broaden to benefit a larger group of 10,000 women veterans and military spouses. Ultimately, additional public and private workforce partners will be engaged to achieve a target of 100,000 mentoring relationships. More than 150,000 women are projected to leave the military over the next five years joining the more than 1.8 million existing women veterans.

“We are determined and honored to help our women veterans meet their post-military service employment goals by applying their exceptional skills and military achievements to their future success in the civilian work world.” said Dr. Lynda Davis, Chair of the Joining Forces Mentoring Plus Advisory Council. “The program will also help overcome the challenges of base living and frequent moves that military wives often face by connecting them to training and employment opportunities that match their abilities, interests and education level.”

Joining Forces Mentoring Plus builds upon the research and experience of proven mentoring programs that have measurably impacted many individuals’ lives. The BPW Foundation initiative is connecting women veterans of all eras and military wives with volunteer working women mentors across the U.S., whose personal and professional training has prepared them to provide insights, advice and encouragement to help women veterans and military wives. Working in tandem, volunteer mentors will help steer their mentees on individualized courses of action to succeed in the civilian workplace.  While the national program has just been launched, a USO grant funded a successful six-month pilot effort for women veterans in Virginia during the second half of 2011.

“This program really does work. I don’t know where I would be without the help of my dedicated BPW mentor,” said Carolyn Allen, a veteran who retired from the Army after 20 years of service. I am now looking forward to passing the torch and stepping up as a mentor for other women veterans.”

As the first organization to conduct research about working women, BPW Foundation attributes much of its success to programs built upon evidenced-based research.  Joining Forces Mentoring Plus is the result of a commitment BPW Foundation made in 2005 to better understand the employment transition of women veterans.  Research identified unique challenges that hinder the successful re-entry of women veterans upon their return home, including limited access to benefits and services they have earned and deserve. BPW Foundation’s research highlighted translation and portability of skills as major obstacles and underscored an overwhelming gap in career and employment support that this growing population of military women need upon their return to civilian life.  Mentoring Plus was developed following the October, 2010 Joining Forces for Women Veterans Summit, which brought together government, nonprofit and business leaders, and women veterans to examine and seek solutions for the challenges facing our women veterans. The group recognized a broad-based need for informed, committed mentors to position and assist women veterans as they search for new employment, hone their career goals and package their military skills and experience to gain access to meaningful civilian jobs.  First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden highlighted this “mentorship gap” when they applauded BPW Foundation’s mentoring initiative as part of the White House’s national Joining Forces effort.

“Mentoring is a two way street,” Frett said.  “The benefits to mentees are easy to see, but recent research shows that mentors reap rewards, as well. They not only find great personal reward in helping others succeed, they also improve their leadership skills, expand their own networks and keep more current with industry trends.”

To join Mentoring Plus as a mentee, mentor or subject matter expert, please visit www.bpwfoundation.org.

Posted in Joining Forces, Joining Forces for Women Veterans, Mentoring, Military Families, Misbehavin' Notification, Uncategorized, Women Veterans | Tagged: , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Mentoring: Giving Back to Those Women Who Have Given So Much

Posted by YWM on January 30, 2012

This article first ran on the Huffington Post
By Deborah L. Frett

Deborah L. Frett, BPW Foundation CEO

You aced the holiday dinner, picked out the perfect presents, rung in the New Year with style, and started working on those resolutions. By now, you’ve got that gym routine down and even shed a few holiday pounds. You dusted off the resume, reached out to your networks and updated the LinkedIn profile. Check, check, and done. Yet you still feel like something is missing.

January is often the month when we take stock of our lives and realize that among our many goals and accomplishments, giving back sometimes takes a back seat. January is also National Mentoring Month, and for a decade now, it has been highlighting mentoring as one of the most personally rewarding ways to give back. This year, Business and Professional Women’s (BPW) Foundation is taking the power of mentoring and focusing it on those women who have given their lives and their loves to protect our freedom: women veterans and military wives. BPW Foundation has deployed Joining Forces for Women Veterans and Military Spouses (JFWVMS) Mentoring Plus®, a program dedicated to helping women veterans and military spouses connect with working women mentors and subject matter experts (SMEs) to receive support and guidance, career development, and ultimately, to obtain meaningful employment.

Beginning in 2005, BPW Foundation made a commitment to better understand the employment transition of women veterans. We realized that every day, women in the military proudly serve our country, but when they return home they are faced with different challenges and often do not receive the recognition, benefits, or services they have earned. Our research highlighted translation and portability of skills as major obstacles and underscored an overwhelming gap in career and employment support among the growing population of military women upon their return to civilian life. Armed with this learning, BPW Foundation initiated studies and engaged private and public sector partners to outline employment access strategies, culminating in October 2010 with the inaugural Joining Forces for Women Veterans National Summit. More than 80 corporate, community and public sector leaders, including high-level White House and Administration officials, joined with women veterans to discuss key reintegration issues.

BPW Foundation’s Joining Forces for Women Veterans and Military Spouses Mentoring Plus® was conceived and developed following this conference to address the critical ongoing need for informed, committed mentors to position and assist women veterans and military spouses as they search for new employment, hone their career goals, and package their military skills and experience to gain access to civilian jobs. First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden acknowledged this “mentorship gap” when they recognized BPW Foundation’s mentoring initiative as part of the White House’s national Joining Forces effort.

We chose to officially launch this landmark program during National Mentoring Month 2012, as it builds upon the research and experience of effective mentoring programs that have successfully impacted the lives of so many. JFWVMS Mentoring Plus is focusing on helping thousands of women veterans and military wives by connecting them with volunteer working women mentors over a sustained period of time. Veteran and civilian mentors of all ages across the country will provide insight, advice, and encouragement to help women veterans and military wives steer an individualized course of action in the civilian workplace.

The Mentoring Plus structure will enable mentors and mentees to work together to design and develop the goals and benchmarks for mentee employment plans. A cadre of online resources and subject matter experts will assist mentees in areas that affect workplace attainment, adjustment, retention, and/or supplier chain participation for small businesses. With this grassroots capacity to guide women veterans in their job searches and career development, we will initially pair 10,000 mentees with mentors. Ultimately, we will engage partners toward a widening target of 100,000 mentoring relationships, recognizing that more than 150,000 women are projected to leave the military over the next five years and join the more than 1.8 million existing women veterans who have proudly served our nation.

So as you take stock of your life and lay out your goals and resolutions, resolve to give back to these women who have given so much for your freedom and way of life. Being a mentor for women veterans and military spouses is a great way to give back and pay it forward. Recent polling shows that mentors not only find great reward in helping others succeed, they also discovered that they improve their own leadership skills, expand their own networks, and surprisingly keep more current with industry trends. BPW Foundation can help you become a mentor and invest in America’s “sheroes.” To join Mentoring Plus, please visit www.bpwfoundation.org.

Follow Deborah Frett on Twitter: www.twitter.com/BPW_CEO

Posted in Joining Forces, Joining Forces for Women Veterans, Mentoring, Misbehavin' Notification, Uncategorized, Veterans, Women Veterans | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Looking Back: Our Top Ten Blogs of 2011

Posted by YWM on January 2, 2012

Making lists seems to be the thing to do when ending a year and looking on to the future.  So here are our top ten blogs of 2011 determined by you our readers.  Happy New Year and happy reading in 2021.

  1. Remembering the Women of the Civil War, March 31, 2011
  2. National Wear Red Day Is This Friday February 4, February 2, 20011
  3. Remembering the Women During Black History Month, February 2, 2011
  4. HERvotes Blog Carnival: So Sorry Rachel, There Still Is Sexual Harassment,  November 15, 2011
  5. Gen Y Women: Does This Sound Like You?, April 26, 2011
  6. New Study Sheds Important Light on Women Veterans, January 31, 2011
  7. Joining Forces: Women Veterans Speak Out – The Quarter Life Crisis, October 24, 2011
  8. The Lessons of Eat Pray Love, February 14, 2011
  9. Comparable Worth Noting!, February 3, 2011
  10. Joining Forces: Women Veterans Speak Out – No One Told Me, July 4, 2011

Posted in Feminism, Misbehavin' Notification, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Happy Holidays From BPW Foundation

Posted by YWM on December 20, 2011

Posted in Misbehavin' Notification, Uncategorized | Tagged: | Leave a Comment »

Misbehavin’ Notification: Scholarships Help Women Advance Their Careers through Education

Posted by YWM on December 15, 2011

Ten women are getting early holiday gifts, thanks to Career Advancement Scholarships from the Business and Professional Women’s Foundation.  This enables them to move closer to fulfilling their dreams of finishing school and advancing their careers.

BPW Foundation established the Career Advancement Scholarship Program in 1969 to provide financial assistance to financially disadvantaged women seeking to further their education. Scholarships are provided to women 25 years of age or older, who wish to advance in their careers or are soon to enter or re-enter the workforce.  This year’s scholarships focused on recipients pursing bachelors degrees in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) or related fields. These fields are careers where women are traditionally under-represented.

“BPW Foundation scholarships have a profound effect both on the women who receive them and on their communities.   Many recipients use the degrees they earn with the help of a BPW scholarship to work in careers that directly impact the quality of life in their communities,” explained Dr. Sheila Barry-Oliver, Chair of the BPW Foundation Financial Aid Committee. “That is why BPW Foundation has the application and screening process done through BPW Foundation state and local Legacy Partners. They know the women in their communities.”

Scholarship recipients must have been accepted at an accredited educational institution and be within two years of completing their degree.  Over the years, demographics have shown that the average recipient is a 37 year-old single mother of two children.  Twenty-five percent of the recipients have received public assistance at one time or another and 40 percent of the recipients are the first in their immediate family to earn a college degree.

“Once again I am so impressed by the quality of the applicants and heartened by their stories and drive.” BPW Foundation CEO Deborah L. Frett said. “I am so pleased to be part of an organization with a program that has such a profound impact on women, with limited opportunities but unlimited potential.”

Career Advancement Scholarships are made possible through the long time generosity and commitment of BPW Foundation donors.  For every gift given, 97% directly funds our programs supporting working women, their families and successful workplaces.

Each woman is receiving a $2000 grant. Following is the list of scholarship recipients, their home states, and degree aspirations:

Career Advancement Scholarships

Laura Schumacher, Grass Valley, CA 95949, BSN

Layne Jackson Hubbard, Denver, CO, BS, Neuroscience

Leslie Venable Adams, Denham Springs, LA, BSN

Erin R. Dunphy, Beverly, MA, BSN

Jeannine Padilla, Ronan, MT, BS, Computer Science

Christina Palmer, Weddington, NC, BSCE (Civil Engineering)

Anastasia Mercier, Franklin, NH, BS, Psychology/Health Science

Kristin E. Leonard, Jersey Shore, PA, MS, Forensic Anthropology

Susan R. Ledford, Spartanburg, SC, BS, Accounting/BA Psychology

Michelle Lopez Michaelson, Little Elm, TX, BSN

Posted in Career Advancement, Education, Misbehavin' Notification, Non Traditional Jobs, STEM, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Misbehavin’ Notification: BPW Foundation Receives $100,000 to Support Women Veterans

Posted by YWM on December 5, 2011

Call of Duty Endowment Presents Check before Miami Dolphins Game

Deborah L. Frett (L) and Dawn Smith (R) Receive C.O.D.E. Check

During a pre-game tailgate event at the December 4, 2011 Miami Dolphins NFL game in Miami, FL, Business and Professional Women’s (BPW) Foundation CEO Deborah L. Frett accepted a $100,000 grant from Activision’s Call of Duty Endowment (C.O.D.E).  BPW Foundation will use the funds to assist women veterans with their transition from military to civilian careers.

“We are very grateful to receive this generous grant from C.O.D.E., which will enable BPW Foundation to launch its Joining Forces for Women Veteran’s and Military Spouses Mentoring Project (JFWV), and connect thousands of women veterans and military wives with successful employment opportunities,” Frett said.  “The grant from the Endowment will specifically be used to develop a minimum of 1,000 mentoring relationships for women veterans and military spouses across the country and in anticipation of a national roll out create pilot programs in Chicago, New York City and Washington, DC.”

The check was presented to BPW Foundation by Greg Zinone, President and Founder of “Pros vs. GI Joes” as part of the organization’s Purpose Driven Rehab Fall Tour – a military support initiative in which wounded veterans manage events at some of the biggest sporting venues across the country.

Also in attendance at the check presentation was veteran and former Air Force service member Dawn Smith.  Smith, who is participating in the BPW Foundation JFWV Mentoring Program, served in the U.S. Air Force for eight years working as an Air Terminal Operations Manager, Passenger Service Supervisor and Team Leader in Air Transportation.  Through the mentoring program she is getting coaching and support as she explores a career in the federal government and leans how to grow the tea company, www.MysticRemeTeas.com she started. She found BPW Foundation’s mentoring campaign through a pilot program with the USO, Hire Heroes USA and the US Chamber of Commerce.  BPW Foundation has partnerships with these organizations through their support of the JFWV Mentoring Program.

“I am very fortunate to have connected with BPW Foundation’s mentoring program which is uniquely qualified to help me as I determine the correct career path for me. Despite the skills I gained in the military and my advanced education degrees, I appreciate the continual help in learning how to successfully navigate through the federal process and the added confidence with developing and implementing a business plan for my tea company,” Smith said.  “The JFWV Mentoring Program is perfect because it is woman to woman.”

BPW Foundation identified mentoring as a key need during its Inaugural Joining Forces for Women Veterans National Summit held in October, 2010. The Office of the First Lady and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have also recognized this “mentorship gap” in their selection of BPW as point organization for a large-scale mentoring initiative to benefit women veterans and military wives.

The JFWV Mentoring Program will enable women mentors to tap their own experiences to help women veterans successfully enter the civilian workforce by positioning their military expertise and skills for long-term career stability and success. The program will also help make connections for military spouses who often cannot find jobs that match their skills and education because of the hardships of military life including many moves and living in areas dominated by a military base.

About the Call of Duty Endowment:

The Call of Duty Endowment is a non-profit, public benefit corporation created by Activision Blizzard. The organization seeks to help soldiers that provide job placement and training. For more information about the Call of Duty Endowment, please visit www.callofdutyendowment.org.

About Pro vs. GI Joe:

Pro vs. GI Joe is a 501c3 nonprofit organization, changing the way our troops stay connected. Pro vs. GI Joe provides America’s heroes with once-in-a-lifetime opportunities by pitting them against their favorite professional athletes and celebrities in heated, yet fun video game competitions via the Internet and in person. For more information about the Purpose Driven Rehab Tour, please visit www.purposedrivenrehab.org.

Posted in Joining Forces for Women Veterans, Misbehavin' Notification, Uncategorized, Women Veterans | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Misbehavin’ Notification: Gen Y Women Still Facing Gender Discrimination in the Workplace

Posted by sherrysaunders on November 20, 2011

New Survey Results from Business and Professional Women’s Foundation

Washington, DC – Business and Professional Women’s (BPW) Foundation today released Gen Y Women to Employers: What they Want in the Workplace and Why it Matters for Business, a report that explores Generation Y women’s career choices and the opportunities and challenges they face in the workplace.  This research, based on a national survey conducted in May 2011, disputes many reports in today’s popular literature that Gen Y women do not believe that gender is a problem in today’s workplace.  In fact, 77% of respondents said that gender is a moderate or severe problem in today’s workplace and almost 50% said that they had observed or experienced gender discrimination.

“Far too often Gen Y women are treated as a homogenous group with monolithic perspectives. BPW Foundation’s research questions such views, highlighting how Gen Y women’s workplace expectations and experiences differ by occupation, employer type, compensation type and presence of children,” said Dr. Sheila Barry-Oliver, Chair of the BPW Research and Education Committee that oversaw the research. “Exploring key areas of social difference is vital to understanding Gen Y women’s workplace challenges and opportunities.”

Key findings included concerns about gender and age discrimination, the desire for a holistic approach to work-life balance and the fact that Gen Y women do not hold a uniform set of work values.

  1.  Gen Y women believe Gender Discrimination is Still an Issue in Today’s Workplace. Over 75% of survey participants identified gender as a moderate or severe problem in today’s workplace. The most prevalent forms reported were: stereotyping (63%), unequal compensation (60%), not being treated as an equal (58%), inequality of opportunities (58%), being held to different standards (51%), sexist jokes (38%), and sexual harassment (31%).
  2. Gen Y Women Experience a Double Jeopardy -Gender and Age. Survey results indicate that gender and age may have a compounding effect. Gen Y women who had experienced gender discrimination were more likely to report generational conflict or discrimination than those who had not. Fifty-one percent of Gen Y women who observed or experienced gender discrimination also reported generational discrimination. The most common forms of age discrimination reported were: being perceived as incompetent or inexperienced because of age; name calling such as “kid” and girl”; being passed over for promotions because of age; and being held to different standards because of age.
  3. Gen Y Women Want a More Holistic Approach to Work-Life Balance. Work-life balance literature often focuses on how workers combine work and family responsibilities. Survey results highlight the need to broaden this focus because: 1) Work-life balance is equally important to Gen Y women regardless of whether or not they have children; 2) Family is important for Gen Y women without children; and 3) Gen Y women have responsibilities outside of work and home.
  4. Gen Y Women Hold Disparate Career Values. Gen Y women, as a cohort, did not uniformly report a set of work values. Responses were mediated by various dimensions of difference: occupation, employer type and presence of children. Gen Y women represent a heterogeneity of goals associated with their work life.

“Employers cannot afford to ignore the challenges that Gen Y women face in the workplace. Continuing challenges related to work-life balance and especially to gender and age discrimination have profound business implications. Promoting workplace cultures and practices that embrace equality, flexibility, and inclusivity are imperative for the success and sustainability of business,” explained BPW Foundation CEO Deborah L. Frett.

“For instance, to meet Gen Y women’s work-life balance demands, employers need to move beyond programmatic responses and critically examine their assumptions about the characteristics of the ‘ideal worker.’ Often the ‘ideal worker’ is a person who is available anytime, anywhere and for as long as the employer needs. Gen Y women are largely rejecting this notion.” Frett said. “They are refusing to mistake their job for their life.”

Key Employer Applications from the study include:

  1. Check  assumptions. Employers should examine assumptions about Gen Y women and assumptions underlying workplace policies and practices.
  2. Address the sources not just the symptoms. Designing actions to address work-life balance, gender discrimination and fostering cross-generational relations requires both identifying the condition of inequality and contributing factors to the inequality.
  3. Measure success. Employers should develop indicators to measure the success of actions taken to address challenges and promote opportunities—measures that avoid simply “counting” and that measure changes in levels of gender or age inequality.

This research, funded from the Virginia Allan Young Careerist Grant, is part of BPW Foundation’s ongoing “Young Careerist” research project that since 2005 has been exploring the career opportunities and challenges facing today’s young working women.  The research gives voice to a distinct group of working women who are vital to developing a diverse and skilled workforce.  Research has been conducted using social media, focus groups and this national survey. To find all of the research and this report, visit our Young Careerist website.

Posted in Gen Y, Gender Discrimination, Misbehavin' Notification, Successful Workplaces, Worklife Balance | Tagged: , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Misbehaving Notification: BPW Foundation Issues Challenge to Businesses to Support Women Veterans

Posted by sherrysaunders on November 10, 2011

BPW Foundation Challenges Businesses to Join Deployment of Joining Forces Women Veterans Mentoring Campaign

First Lady Supports Veterans and Military Families

Business and Professional Women’s Foundation today announced the Joining Forces Women Veterans Mentoring Leadership Challenge Campaign with a $50,000 commitment to deploy the program.  BPW Foundation CEO Deborah L. Frett announced the Challenge during the National Chamber Foundation’s 4th Annual Hiring Our Heroes awards event featuring First Lady Michelle Obama as the keynote speaker.

“Over the past year, BPW Foundation has been developing and evaluating the tools, outreach, and capacity to connect thousands of women veterans and military wives with employment and career mentors to help them navigate the challenging path to successful careers in the civilian workplace,” Deborah L. Frett said.  “Working with our partner the U.S. Chamber, our first year goal is to complete 10,000 mentoring relationships. But that is just a start and we are challenging all corporations and foundations to join with a financial commitment as we work towards a goal of 100,000 mentorships.”

Many veterans are facing hard times during this grim economic period. The overall jobless rate has been hovering around 9 percent, however for veterans it has been almost two percentage points higher in 2011.  In October, the unemployment rate for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans was 12.1%, percent for men and 14.7 percent for women.

BPW Foundation hosted the Inaugural Joining Forces for Women Veterans (JFWV) National Summit in October, 2010, and identified an ongoing need for women veterans and military spouses to find informed, trusted outlets to assess their goals and navigate their way to successful careers — careers that provide economic stability for themselves and their families. The Office of the First Lady and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have recognized this “mentorship gap” in their selection of BPW as point organization for a large-scale mentoring initiative to benefit women veterans and military wives.

“We at BPW Foundation have laid  the groundwork, researched and identified the barriers facing women veterans, assembled the mentorship framework, and are building a pipeline to access the growing population of women veterans and the respective mentors,” Frett reported. She then challenged the organizations present to join BPW Foundation as Leadership Partners to deploy the Joining Forces for Women Veterans Mentorship Program.

“As a nation, we cannot fail to support our women veterans during the challenging transition from service to civilian life. The JFWV Mentorship Program will spotlight these women, help them find their way into the workforce, and navigate the career path with confidence. Our coordinated efforts will create a community of support and guidance for these sheroes,” Frett concluded.

The JFWV Mentorship Program will enable women mentors to tap their own experiences in the workplace to help women veterans successfully enter the civilian workforce, positioning their military expertise and skills for long-term career stability and success. The program will also help make connections for military spouses who often can not find jobs that match their skills and education because of the hardships of military life including many moves and living in areas dominated by a military base.

The first organization to meet the BPW Foundation Leadership challenge was the AARP Foundation.

To learn more about the mentorship program and Leadership Partner opportunities, visit www.womenjoiningforces.org.

Posted in Joining Forces for Women Veterans, Misbehavin' Notification, Women Veterans | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Misbehavin’ Notification: Women Veterans and BPW Foundation Win Social Media Charity Contest

Posted by YWM on November 8, 2011

Alliant Credit Union Foundation Announces Winners of Social Media Charity Campaign

“People voting to give back on Facebook® have decided how our Foundation will divide $40,000 in grants among four selected charities,” stated Alliant Credit Union Foundation Board Chairman David W. Mooney, while discussing the Foundation’s recent ‘Make It Count’ charity campaign. He said online voting over the past two months determined the amount for each selected charity as follows: $13,000 to BPW Foundation; $11,000 to Make-A-Wish Foundation®; $9,000 to Scholarship America®, $7,000 to DoSomething.org®.

Alliant Credit Union Foundation, a separate, independent legal entity established by a grant from Chicago based Alliant Credit Union, selected charities for the program from those submitted for consideration by credit union employees, according to Mr. Mooney, who is also president and CEO of the credit union. The charities were selected based on their missions being in line with that of Alliant’s Foundation, which is to promote economic empowerment and self-sufficiency of people.

  • Business and Professional Women’s Foundation: Joining Forces for Women Veterans is dedicated to improving workplaces and supports the career transition and advancement of women veterans. They will use the grant from Alliant Credit Union Foundation to launch a mentorship campaign to initially link 10,000 mentors with women veterans and military spouses across the country
  • Make-A-Wish Foundation grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.The grant will help Make-A-Wish Foundation fulfill its vision that every eligible child receives a wish.
  • Scholarship America is a nationwide organization providing students with scholarships and other educational support to get into and graduate from college. This grant will allow them to further their mission by providing increasing support and resources for students.
  • DoSomething.org loves teens. They are creative, active, wired…and frustrated that our world is so messed up. DoSomething.org harnesses that awesome energy and unleashes it on causes teens care about. Almost every week, DoSomething.org launches a new national campaign. The call to action is always something that has a real impact and doesn’t require money, an adult, or a car. With a goal of 5 million active members by 2015, DoSomething.org is one of the largest organizations in the US for teens and social change. Join at www.DoSomething.org.

While summarizing the “Make It Count” program, Mr. Mooney said, “It’s been great having our members and others interested in charitable causes help determine distribution of these Alliant Credit Union Foundation donations. He added, “The voting was done on Facebook to emphasize social media, a growing, viable communication channel for our Foundation and credit union.”

Alliant Credit Union Foundation is based in Chicago. The Foundation, registered as a 501c3 not-for-profit corporation, was established in 2009 via a $4 million grant from Alliant Credit Union, which is America’s sixth largest credit union based on asset size with $7.9 billion in assets. Alliant has locations in the Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark, NJ, San Francisco Bay, Tempe, AZ and Washington, DC areas.


 (www.facebook.com/AlliantCreditUnion) and follow us on Twitter (www.twitter.com/AlliantCU).

 

Posted in Joining Forces for Women Veterans, Misbehavin' Notification, Uncategorized, Women Veterans | Tagged: , , , | Leave a Comment »

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