The Boeing Veterans Leadership Award was created in 2019 in partnership with the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce to recognize an organization that has shown an outstanding commitment to South Carolina’s veterans and their families. In December, Vantage Point Foundation was awarded the 2020 Boeing Veterans Leadership Award. For more information about the 2019 award recipient, Upstate Warrior Solution, click here.
The following is a press release from Vantage Point Foundation:
Charleston-based nonprofit organization Vantage Point Foundation announced this week that it has been awarded the 2020 Boeing Veterans Leadership Award by the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce. The award is presented to an organization that exemplifies exceptional commitment to local South Carolina veterans and their families.
Vantage Point Foundation was selected from a competitive pool of nonprofit organizations dedicated to assisting South Carolina’s veterans and their families. Through Vantage Point Foundation’s expansive services and programming, veterans are provided with training and support vital for them to become successful and productive in their transition from service members to civilians.
South Carolina veterans participating in programming through Vantage Point Foundation. Photo provided by Vantage Point Foundation.
“We are both humbled and honored to have our program and the veterans we serve recognized by the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce and Boeing South Carolina,” said Vantage Point Foundation’s Executive Director, Mark Holyfield. “Boeing South Carolina has been fundamental in enabling us to do this work across the state, and as a result has significantly and positively impacted the lives of many SC Veterans and their families.
“We are excited to be a part of a team led by Secretary Will Grimsley, SC’s first Secretary of Veterans Affairs,” Holyfield said, “along with our partners in the Upstate, Upstate Warrior Solution, and other partners across the state as we work to shape and improve the veteran landscape throughout South Carolina.”
In addition to the many resources and services VPF provides, one key aspect that makes it stand out is its one-on-one programming. This includes the Senior Mentor Program, which matches post-9/11 veteran participants with trained veteran volunteers. The volunteers, or Senior Mentors, provide support and coaching to transitioning veterans during the multi-day Leadership Development Course, and throughout the yearlong support continuum.
“VPF has placed me under the wing of the most successful veterans I have ever met,” said Matt M., a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who was wounded by a sniper in Afghanistan. “The people and resources in this program have made a seemingly impossible future possible for me.”
Vantage Point Foundation is continuously seeking out qualified Senior Mentor volunteers to further expand its programming. Senior Mentors are veterans who have successfully served and transitioned out of any branch of the United States Military.
“As the demand for our program spreads, so does our need for veterans in the community to serve as mentors,” Holyfield said. “Key to our program’s effectiveness are the veterans who serve as Senior Mentors; these are veterans who have demonstrated a high degree of professional and personal success, are tied into strong professional and personal networks, and desire to walk alongside and mentor veterans working to reintegrate back into their communities.”
To make a donation or get more information about Vantage Point Foundation and how to become a Senior Mentor, visit vantagepointfoundation.org, or contact Mark Holyfield at [email protected]. For more information about the 2020 Boeing Leadership Award, visit scchamber.net.
About Vantage Point Foundation
The Vantage Point Foundation (VPF) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to guide and support post 9/11 military veterans and families on a new path towards healing and civilian success. VPF supports veterans throughout the greater South Carolina region who are seeking to move through the challenges of reintegrating back into civilian life. VPF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and can receive tax-deductible donations.
VPF is distinct from other organizations in its systematic approach to training veterans for civilian life. VPF understands that for veterans to fully reintegrate into their communities, three things are necessary; Community, Healing, and Purpose. VPF facilitates these by conducting multi-day courses in which mentors (veterans from previous generations and peers), course facilitators, and medical/mental health professionals enable the participants to identify and work through issues impeding their reintegration into civilian life. Here they learn the tools for Post Traumatic Growth. All participants leave the course with career, educational, and personal goals, along with a support network of mentors, fellow veterans, and professionals.
Course graduates are provided with one year of continued training and holistic support in which the staff and mentors walk with each veteran and their family as they pursue their goals along educational, employment, and volunteer tracks. VPF’s intent is for all veterans in the program to become independent, thriving leaders in their work and communities.