Help Our Nation’s Heroes Find Jobs

The unemployment rate for veterans is still above the national average. So, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is hosting job fair, to hire our heroes. It’s targeting active duty military, veterans and their families. A volunteer recruiter with the Hero to Hired program tells a group of veterans on the job hunt, “Everything from the L.A.P.D. to the Riverside County Sheriff’s, to private security, is out there waiting for you.”
The program is on a mission to help our nation’s veterans find jobs. Dick Castner, with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce says, “We have definitely placed, through these hiring fares, more than 10,000 veterans.”
The fairs provide resources and job creating tools to people like, Michael McDonald. He was a Lance Corporal in the Marine Corps. for 4 years, until he was injured in Okinawa. McDonald says, “I’m actually a singer-songwriter but when I saw this opportunity, where people are willing to help you, then God helps those who helps themselves.”
Fantasy Springs Resort Casino is hosting the event, with a wide range of companies, committed to hiring veterans. Roberto Martinez, of US Bank says, “We have lots of wonderful people here who have served our country and it’s a pleasure to be here among them, just to talk to them and be able to offer them more options than they would have had just searching online. They can come face-to-face with the company, looking to place them into a career.”
The U.S. Department of Labor estimates 160,000 active service members and 110,000 reserve and National Guard members are discharged annually, adding to the ranks of those unemployed. Castner says, “We have heard numbers north of 1-million total.”
The hope is each mission will combat those numbers. McDonald says, “It does feel good. It feels like somebody cares.”