FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
REBOOT™ named winner of Southwest Airlines’ ticket giveaway
San Diego (Aug. 15, 2011) – REBOOT™, a three-week workshop provided by the National Veterans Transition Services, Inc. (NVTSI) that helps veterans ease back into civilian life after service, recently received a $250,000 grant from the Gary and Mary West Foundation. The grant will help fund the REBOOT Workshop™ program for 100 students.
Additionally, NVTSI was named one of Southwest Airlines’ winners for a ticket giveaway in honor of its 40th anniversary. The 40 roundtrip tickets will enable out-of-the-area students to come to San Diego to take part in the life-changing program, and permit NVTSI to travel to other cities to promote REBOOT’s expansion. Southwest announced 10 winners per week starting on August 16; recipients were nonprofit organizations focused on community initiatives including education, diversity, military, environment, and families facing serious illness. NVTSI was one of the first 10 recipients.
REBOOT™ was launched by Retired Rear Admiral Ronne Froman and Retired Master Chief Petty Officer Maurice Wilson in July 2010, in response to the increasing number of former service members not adjusting to the “real world.” The primary concept of the program is to provide a “reverse boot camp” for veterans leaving the service to help them reintegrate back into the civilian mode. To date, nearly 300 service men and women have benefited from this program and data suggests a high level of success of the program.
San Diego is home to the nation’s largest number of veterans returning from wartime duty. Each year, about 28,000 veterans in San Diego leave the military – 200,000 nationwide. As the conflict in Iraq winds down and the military prepares to leave Afghanistan, the numbers of veterans leaving the service will increase. Statistics show that ex-military suffer from high jobless rates, higher rates of homelessness, substance abuse, and many other reintegration challenges. REBOOT™ gives San Diego’s veterans the tools to combat these challenges and succeed.
REBOOT Workshops™ are available free of charge for veterans, active duty personnel and spouses. The workshops are conducted at NVTSI headquarters in Mission Valley, 4141 Camino Del Rio South, and locations in north San Diego County.
San Diegans can help by donating to the program or participating in the Hire Our Heroes program. For more information on the workshops, to donate, or to register for a workshop, call (866) 535-7624 or visit www.nvtsi.org.
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