Bethlehem, Pa, February 25, 2015—Moravian College will serve as the host for Academics for Vets Lehigh Valley Educational Fair for Veterans on Saturday, February 28, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. This event is the first of its kind in the Lehigh Valley for veterans. It will be held in the Haupert Union Building (HUB) on Moravian College’s Main Street Campus in Bethlehem, Pa.
Program sessions will address the educational benefits available to veterans, time management, steps to getting a federal job, challenges faced by student veterans, and the local job market. Veterans affairs representatives will be on hand as will the Academics for Vets member schools. Veterans can register on the Academics for Vets website, a-for-vets.org, and find more information,or they can call 610-861-1555.
“The Lehigh Valley should be proud of the men and women who are serving and who have served in our military,” said Carole Reese, chief research officer and director of special projects at Moravian College, who serves as co-chair of Lehigh Valley Military Affairs Council Academics for Vets alliance of Lehigh Valley colleges, universities, business schools and trade schools. “We should also be proud of Lehigh Valley Military Affairs Council's work in giving back to them.”
The Lehigh Valley is home to more than 50,000 veterans. “While we have one of the largest populations of veterans for an area of our size, the federal and state veterans affairs systems often do not adequately serve the Lehigh Valley. Local veterans, returning military and their families are often at a loss as to where to turn,” Reese noted.
The Lehigh Valley Military Affairs Council, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, was founded in 2003 by a group of concerned veterans as an organization of organizations. It was formed to address local problems by harnessing and integrating existing resources or creating them—for the benefit of our veterans, serving military (active or reserve component), and their families. To accomplish their vision, they realized a whole community — local businesses, governments, veterans and other service The military affairs council has accomplished much through a myriad of programs and projects.
Using a collaborative, sophisticated approach involving multiple organizations, it is addressing the a multitude of veterans' issues including but not limited to raising the awareness of veterans benefits, entitlements and available services in the local community; providing educational scholarships to Lehigh Valley veterans and high school students intending to enter military service; visiting veterans in nursing homes and personal care/assisted-living facilities; assisting homeless veterans to become full and productive citizens; and encouraging and supporting initiatives that make a difference in veterans' mental health care.
The council's Healthcare in Our Community program has brought together all of the area hospital networks to standardize veteran patient screening and identification processes crucial to ensuring that these veterans receive the best possible health care. Combined with provider/clinician education on veteran- and military-related medicine, this ensures that Lehigh Valley veterans are positioned to receive the care they deserve.
Now the council has brought together Lehigh Valley colleges, universities, business schools and trade schools in an alliance to provide a supportive school environment for student veterans.
Moravian College is proud to be a partner institution with the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and participant in the Yellow Ribbon Program, an initiative designed to help people who have served in the military in the post-9/11-era, or their dependents, attend the college of their choice. For information about the Yellow Ribbon Program and other education benefits for military personnel (and their dependents) visit the Moravian College Veterans webpage.