3G honors US Veterans by telling stories to help raise awareness of the challenges facing Veterans today.
An Overview
The 1% of the US population who serve in the military preserve security for the rest of us. When they return home they face enormous challenges because of the civilian/military divide.
Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan are experiencing far higher rates of unemployment than the rest of the population. This adds a huge burden to their efforts to return to civilian life. In addition, injuries and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder make finding jobs even harder. Popular culture has often stigmatized Veterans and whole areas of potential employment are denied to Veterans who have received a PTSD diagnosis. Yet how can we expect our troops to fight in modern wars and not experience some level of trauma?
Our Campaign
3 Generations is producing a public awareness campaign aimed at helping bridge the military/civilian divide with respect to jobs and employment. These stories demonstrate the manifest skills and qualifications of Veterans and so help the general public to identify and quantify them. The campaign aims to inspire the general public to better understand this generation of Veterans and to consider hiring them. We have interviewed Veterans who have successfully re-built their civilian lives using skills learned in the military.
This campaign is part of a commitment made by 3 Generations to the Clinton Global Initiative.
Established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) convenes global leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges. Since 2005, CGI Annual Meetings have brought together nearly 150 current and former heads of state, 18 Nobel Prize laureates, and hundreds of leading CEOs, along with heads of foundations, major philanthropists, directors of the most effective nongovernmental organizations, and prominent members of the media. These CGI members have made nearly 2,000 commitments, which have already improved the lives of 300 million people in more than 180 countries. When fully funded and implemented, these commitments will be valued in excess of $63 billion. The CGI community also includes CGI University (CGI U), a forum to engage college students in global citizenship, MyCommitment.org, an online portal where anybody can make a Commitment to Action, and CGI Lead, which engages a select group of young CGI members for leadership development and collective commitment-making. CGI America is the newest addition to this community. For more information, visit www.clintonglobalinitiative.org.
A special thank you to our partners and members of the CGI Veterans Working Group for all of their support and great work.
Take Action
- Our Veterans are more than qualified. Hire one today.
- If you’re a Veteran and want to share your story, we’re ready to listen.
- If you’re an organization, like Travelers or JP Morgan Chase, who support Veteran employment please contact us to film a short video explaining why you hire and support Veterans.
- Support our work.
The Facts
- 99% of Americans do not serve in the military (The White House)
- There are 21.9 million veterans nationwide (Census 2009)
- 9.8 million Veterans 18-64 in the labor force in 2009 (Census 2009).
- In 2009, unemployment among civilians ages 18-24 was 16.6%, but 21.1% among Veterans in same age group (Congressional testimony 2010).
- 81% of Veterans feel unprepared to navigate job-hunting (Military.com, 2007) and
- 61% of employers say they are unfamiliar with Veteran qualifications (Military.com, 2007).
Given the disproportionate burden today’s veterans have on preserving the security of all Americans, all of us need to help mitigate and redress higher unemployment and underemployment of veterans.