Do you have a military hero in your family, school, or neighborhood? In San Diego, we have many military heroes in the community who inspire us with their dedication, sacrifices and service. We are honored to know and work with active duty military, veterans and their families.
The Patriots Connection (TPC), a program of the Rancho Santa Fe Foundation, awards grants to San Diego nonprofits that provide support to these heroes in four major ways:
- Education opportunities: Our grants support programs and facilities for veterans at local colleges and universities.
- Job training and placement: We champion programs that address the needs of veterans making the transition from military to civilian jobs.
- Mental health services: Our grants help strengthen and expand the full range of services available to veterans.
- Physical well-being: We want veterans, active duty military and their families to have access to programs that address homelessness, hunger and other physical needs.
The new stand-alone Veterans Center at Cal State San Marcos (CSUSM) opened in the fall of 2014 to better serve veterans, active duty military and their dependents. A TPI grant of $12,500 helped furnish the donated building and strengthened the Veterans Student Support Fund at CSUSM.
Business and HR professionals connect with veterans in a one-on-one coaching and mentoring program at Veterans Association of North County (VANC). A TPC grant of $15,000 helps make these connections at VANC through the Career Transition Assistance Program.
Workshops for Warriors provides training and certification of wounded warriors and veterans for manufacturing careers, with a 100 percent job placement rate. A TPC grant of $15,000 helps make this program available at no cost to the students.
A $10,000 grant to the Military and Veterans Program at 211 San Diego helps provide an online searchable database of 6,000+ services and a peer-to-peer Courage to Call hotline that operates 24 hours/7 days per week.
In the last few years, the San Diego Food Bank has seen a sharp increase in the number of military families seeking assistance. A TPC grant of $10,000 helps the SD Food Bank provide food to more than 28,000 veterans, active duty military and their dependents every month.
