BPW Foundation CEO Attends White House Launch of Joining Forces Campaign

BPW Foundation CEO Attends White House Launch of Joining Forces Campaign;

Expresses Support for New National Initiative to Support Military Families and Veterans

Washington, DC – The Business and Professional Women’s (BPW) Foundation released the following statement from CEO Deborah Frett in response to the Administration’s announcement today of a new national initiative led by First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden to educate, challenge, and spark action from all sectors of our society to ensure military families have the support they have earned. Mrs. Obama highlighted the new joint mentoring program of BPW Foundation and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

“I am honored to have been invited by the White House to attend this ground breaking event supporting a cause that is a long-standing BPW Foundation priority.

We are truly gratified that the White House recognizes our work with women veterans and mentioned our efforts with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Together we are launching a mentoring program to help women veterans and military wives receive tools and training to help them contribute to the nation’s workforce through meaningful jobs and businesses. Our goal is to connect 10,000 women mentors with women veterans and military wives by the end of 2012.

For hundreds of years, America’s military families have quietly borne the brunt of our nation’s conflicts without asking for anything in return. BPW Foundation welcomes the White House’s commitment to support members of the military, their families and veterans — citizens who proudly serve our nation and make sacrifices every day so that we can enjoy the freedoms that we cherish. With approximately 150,000 women transitioning out of the military over the next five years, women veterans are an increasingly vital part of this equation.

Yet our research finds that too many women veterans are “invisible” — they fail to self-identify as veterans and miss out on the benefits and services for which they are eligible, or they face the challenges of dealing with an outdated system designed with male veterans in mind.

This is why we recently launched Joining Forces for Women Veterans (www.womenjoiningforces.org) to help women veterans find and utilize benefits due them and help them make connections with other women veterans through scholarships, a career center, Connect-A-Vet resources, Facebook, and Twitter. To read a blueprint for this campaign, visit the BPW Foundation website. To hear first hand from women veterans check out our recently posted YouTube video from our Joining Forces for Women Veteran’s Summit.

We also stand ready to respond to the First Lady’s call for all citizens to get involved in volunteer activities to support our military families.  BPW supporters and constituencies already are working in communities across the country assisting women veterans and will expand their efforts based on this new call from the Administration.

We pledge to work with the White House and other corporations and non profits to help provide women veterans the support and resources they need to become engaged and productive members of society.”

– Deborah Frett, CEO, BPW Foundation

Business and Professional Women’s (BPW) Foundation is a 501(c) (3) research and education organization that is transforming the workplace for women and employers. Through groundbreaking research and as a convener of employers and employees, BPW Foundation leads the way in developing and advocating for polices and programs that “work” for both women and businesses. www.bpwfoundation.org.