Jobless Veterans Assisted With Grant from DuPage Foundation
Stoyanova comes from a family of veterans, including her grandfather who served in World War II. She is dedicated to helping and serving veterans and uses her experience from an employment agency to help reduce the number of jobless vets. The goal of MSHV is to grow and expand its programming to accommodate the increasing demand for its services, which are offered to veterans and their families throughout DuPage County as well as those living in DeKalb, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, LaSalle, and Will counties. To date, 82 individuals have been assisted by the Veterans Employment Program including 78 veterans and four of their family members.
Stoyanova pointed out that some veterans have been displaced from their jobs due to changes in the workforce. "They often are transitioning from one type of job or career to another and we help market their existing skills to a new career. We aim to support and provide guidance to these veterans who are unemployed and underemployed," said Stoyanova.
Through its Veterans Employment Program, MSHV is aiming to develop its business community contacts and identify individuals and businesses that are "vet-friendly" to assist it with job placement; however, Stoyanova stresses that this is not a job matching program. The agency also hopes to increase education about the organization and its programs in the community.
MSHV also utilizes volunteers for a number of its programs. Currently, the agency is looking to increase the number of volunteers in its Vet to Vet Mentorship Program. These volunteers, who are veterans themselves, must be gainfully employed or retired to serve as mentors to MSHV clients. Anyone who is interested in learning more about volunteering is encouraged to contact MSHV at (630) 871-8387.
"The grant from the DuPage Foundation was incredibly helpful as it came at a time when we were looking to build the Veterans Employment Program from the ground up," said Stoyanova. "It has given us the ability to implement another successful program for veterans, and that's important. It's very rewarding to see clients who are independent and successful in a new position. That's what makes it so worth it for me."
About Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans
MSHV was founded on the premise that no veteran should be homeless after serving in the military. Its flagship program provides transitional and affordable housing to U.S. veterans of any era, as well as their families, to help them out of homelessness and back to useful, productive lives. Located in Wheaton, IL, the Midwest Shelter has named its homes in honor of two Wheaton North High School graduates who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country:
• Larson Residence, in honor of Marine Lance Cpl. Nicholas Larson, who was killed in the line of duty in Iraq in 2004.
• Miller Residence, in honor of Army Staff Sgt. Robert Miller, a Medal of Honor recipient, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2008.
About the DuPage Foundation
The DuPage Foundation seeks to raise the quality of life throughout DuPage County by
fostering philanthropy, connecting donors to area needs and building community partnerships. Based on the American virtues of volunteerism and philanthropy, the Foundation fosters a legacy of support for the people of DuPage County by making grants to not-for-profit organizations working in the areas of arts and culture, education, environment, health, and human services. Since its inception, the Foundation has built its endowment to more than $63 million and awarded more than $23 million in grants to not-for-profit agencies serving the residents of DuPage County and beyond.
Established in 1986, the DuPage Foundation is a publicly-supported 501(c)(3) organization to
which contributions are tax deductible. It was created to benefit the people of DuPage County and receives contributions and bequests into a permanent endowment from individuals, corporations, organizations and foundations wishing to make lasting contributions to the people of DuPage. The earnings on these funds are then used, in accordance with donor wishes, for the Foundation's grantmaking and community leadership activities.
For more information about the Foundation, or to arrange future media opportunities, please contact Joelyn Kundrot, marketing & communications officer, at (630) 598-5290 or joelyn@dupagefoundation.org.