Troop Support Group Helps Vets, Military Families Find Jobs

By Sharon Foster
American Forces Press Service

March 19, 2009 - Military veterans and spouses in the New Jersey area are getting help finding jobs from a troop support group. The G.I. Go Fund will join forces with New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez and the city of Newark to host its first Veterans and Military Family Job Fair on March 21 at the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Nearly 40 government and private employers are scheduled to participate in the job fair, including the Secret Service, FBI, U.S. Marshals, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Prudential, Coca Cola, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

"We decided to host this job fair in response to the growing number of unemployed veterans reaching out to our organization for assistance in finding jobs" Alexander E. Manis, deputy director of the G.I. Go Fund, said.

Manis stressed that the event is more than just a job fair. "We are working with government agencies and other nonprofit organizations in providing outreach to our veterans and their families."

Classes will be held that will focus on foreclosure prevention, Veterans Affairs home loans, and help from the Small Business Administration and Helmets to Hardhats, a group that works to employ veterans.

Agencies conducting these classes include the VA Department, the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and the Library for the Blind and Handicapped.

"Computer terminals will also be available with access to USAjobs.gov Web site so veterans and their spouses can learn about and apply for government employment," Manis said.

The G.I. GO Fund is a New Jersey-based group that works to provide a smooth transition for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars re-entering civilian life. The group expects as many as 300 veterans and family members to participate in the job fair.

Manis said he would like to encourage other troop support-groups to plan and sponsor veterans job fairs across the country.

"As the growing unemployment rate among veterans is not localized in New Jersey, but is found throughout the country, we all should be encouraged to do something for our veterans," Manis said. "Although these are tough economic times, there are employers that are hiring and looking for the values and dedication to hard work that veterans have."