Veterans Franchise Toolkit & Mentor Network To Launch
Toolkit and Network to aid veterans in business ownership and employment
June 19, 2012
As July 4th approaches, with unemployment rates
for some groups of veterans hovering over 18%, IFA is partnering with The Veterans
of Foreign Wars(VFW) and the
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Hiring Our
Heroes initiative to launch new tools and resources June 28, 2012 in 13
cities to help veterans access opportunities in small business ownership and
employment including a new free online Veterans Franchise Toolkit and a new Mentor
Network to connect veterans to business leaders and jobs.
The Veterans
Franchise (VetFran) Toolkit is designed
to foster access to franchise employment and ownership opportunities for U.S.
veterans and military spouses. The franchise industry has committed to hiring
as team members and recruiting as franchise business owners 75,000 veterans and
military spouses, plus 5,000 wounded warriors. Over 6,200 veterans and spouses
have started careers in franchising since the campaign launched last year.
Human resources testing firm Caliper
Corporation, and BoeFly, the
online finance marketplace, contributed services at no charge to power the
Toolkit.
The
VetFran Toolkit includes a Franchising 101 online course, a skills and
attributes assessment, a finance assessment, and partner links. Veterans and their
spouses will also be able to access the VetFran
Mentor Network through the Toolkit.
The VetFran Mentor Network Advisory Board will
lead the volunteer network, including:
Gordon
Logan, Founder & CEO, Sport Clips, Inc. (Chairman) (USAF)
Melanie
Bergeron, Chair of the Board, Two Men & A Truck
Sean Collins,
Vice President, GI Jobs and MilitaryFranchising.com (USN)
Jerry
Darnell, Darnell & Associates (US Army)
Ted Daywalt,
President & CEO, VetJobs.com (USN)
Chuck
Southern, VA Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization
Greg Tanner,
National Director of Franchise Sales, Aaron’s (US Army)
Mary Kennedy
Thompson, President & CEO, Mr. Rooter (USMC)
Bob Wallace,
Executive Director, The Veterans of Foreign Wars
More
information about joining the Mentor Network will take place Friday, June 23 at
10:00 am ET in a conference call. (Dial-in 1.866.740.1260 passcode 7775360).
Please contact Josh Merin at jmerin@franchise.org to join the Mentor Network as a volunteer.
With its
training, structure, systems and focus on operational excellence, franchising
can provide an ideal career path for returning veterans to become leaders in the
civilian economy. According to the U.S. Census, there are over 66,000
veteran-owned franchise businesses in the U.S. IFA’s VetFran strategic
initiative was launched in 1991 to help Gulf War veterans transition.
Launch events will take place in Atlanta, Dallas, Detroit,
Denver, Houston, Miami/South Florida, Minneapolis, Nashville, Norfolk, Austin,
San Diego, Tampa-St. Petersburg, and Washington, D.C.
“As we continue to work hard each and every day to extend
career opportunities to our nation’s veterans, we commend our members who are participating
in the VetFran Toolkit launch events and volunteering in the VetFran Mentor
Network – they are setting the right
example for our industry and our entire nation,” said Steve Caldeira, CFE,
IFA’s President & CEO. “As we celebrate Independence Day, let us remember
that our freedom comes at a price. Now we need to enable our nation’s veterans
to fulfill their dreams and find career opportunities here at home.”
For more information, visit www.VetFran.com.
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