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“When I look at the youth in Boyle Heights, I see myself”

November 30, 2017
Majken Geiman, Former Platoon Leader

For a long time I let the fear of disappointment hold me back. Life in Chicago’s south side as the eldest child of a single mother was what you’d imagine. I attended a large public high school, spent hours every day commuting on the bus and subway, failed multiple classes, pawned 35 cents off my friends daily so that I could buy reduced-price lunches, and never intended to pursue education beyond a high school diploma.

Even if I made it as far as college, I knew I wouldn’t be able to pay for it.

All of that changed when I stumbled upon the United States Army’s website. Free college and a commission as an officer? I was sold. By some incredible stroke of luck, I made the cut. That unusual success changed my entire attitude toward life.

I suddenly had people telling me I could be a leader—that I had the ability to inspire others. Being afraid to try was replaced by a belief that I could lead and change the world.

After transitioning from active duty into the National Guard I didn’t have the same type of discipline or feeling of empowerment in my life. But then a Marine friend invited me to attend a service project with The Mission Continues in Pittsburgh.

It was incredible–for the first time I found myself surrounded by people who knew what I was going through and who I could talk and joke with veterans as if I’d known them for years. Finally that sense of purpose and leadership came back.

When I decided to move to Los Angeles I didn’t know anyone, but I did know how to look up the local platoon. I ended up joining the Los Angeles 2nd Platoon, which focuses on youth development and education in Boyle Heights, a low income neighborhood in East LA.

The opportunity to lead the platoon came in 2015. My time as a platoon leader transformed me in ways I never expected. I no longer let fear hold me back; instead I remember my strengths as a leader.

After two years of dedication, we have strong connections with several schools and organizations in Boyle Heights, and regularly hold service projects with and for the students.

I’ve taught a group of teenage girls how to use a drill, and saw their faces light up when they built a bench completely by themselves. I’ve talked to students about college and shared my own experiences. I’ve put veterans and kids together in charge of things when they weren’t sure they knew how, and watched them crush it!

When I look at the youth in Boyle Heights, I see myself. I see kids who have the drive and ability to make it, but who might be afraid to try.

The military helped me push myself at a time when I needed it the most. In the same way my mentors did, I hope I can look the youth of the next generation in the eye and tell them, genuinely, “you can change the world.”

With your support today, veterans like myself can make an impact in neighborhoods like Boyle Heights across the country. I serve and will continue to serve all of them. Please join me by giving this year.

 

Yours in Service,

Majken Geiman

 

Report for duty in your community with The Mission Continues. Serve with a Service Platoon at an upcoming service event near you or apply for a fellowship. You can learn more about our programs on our website and stay updated on the latest news and announcements on Facebook and Twitter.

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Needs, Wants and Paying it Forward

November 28, 2017
By Kathy French, Mission Continues Supporter

Kathy French with The Mission Continues

I was raised a very practical person – a necessity – as we were a middle class family where purchases were thought out and used to meet needs. Wants were covered by allowance money from mowing the lawn and other chores.  

A key phrase from my childhood if I wanted something was “save your money.” Saving my money wasn’t enough to get me to my childhood dream of being an engineer to help our country tackle its infrastructure challenges.  

However, through the generosity of others via scholarships, I got to achieve my dream via graduation from the top-rated Harvey Mudd College with a general engineering degree.  My degree got me into a career of environmental engineering and emissions compliance from power plants.

In the last several years after my debts were paid off and I was able to actually establish a savings account, I took stock of the road I was headed down and realized that I had lost that discernment between needs and wants and I had to break from keeping up with the Smiths and Joneses.  

By not buying a new car just so I could say it was new or carrying a brand-name purse just to create an appearance, or upgrading my 1970’s era fully functional kitchen, I found I was able to create a bucket of disposable income that I knew, borrowing the term from the 2000 movie, I wanted to “pay it forward.”

However, I was left with the struggle of finding a hardworking, deserving person to pay it forward to. Continue reading “Needs, Wants and Paying it Forward”

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My Opportunity to Serve, Lead and Learn

November 25, 2017
Brayden Yoder, Platoon Leader

As every Army officer knows, the best job you’ll ever have is Platoon Leader.

No matter how far up the ranks you travel, no command or staff position would ever rival what it was to be a young lieutenant with soldiers not much younger than yourself – and with NCOs who are older, wiser, and tougher.

If you have ears to listen, those sergeants will train you while calling you “sir” or “ma’am” – and they will even brag on you if you become a squared away LT because they know that you are a reflection of them.

Gaining their trust is the name of the game, for what truly makes a leader is people’s desire to follow.

I learned those leadership lessons in the military and I kept them close this past June, as I stepped into service as a Mission Continues platoon leader for Los Angeles. No matter how much I thought I might have to offer, I needed to first learn what this platoon was all about from the volunteers who had built it up long before me.

This would present a different challenge than I faced during my 2016 Mission Continues fellowship, when I had to learn how to fit into a civilian workforce again. As a Mission Continues platoon leader, I had to represent the operation within the community, which I could not do without understanding just what those operations were.

The Mission Continues Boston
Brayden Yoder at a service project for Charlie Orientation in Boston.

Thankfully, I was fortunate to fall in on a strong leadership team, beginning with my predecessor and fellow soldier, Majken Geiman. Majken took me on a right-seat ride of a service project at Roosevelt High School, which she had begun planning but would fall on me to execute even before my official induction at Charlie Class Orientation.

From Majken, I learned how to do a site visit and to make the principal’s priorities for the school our own – and I saw how much she cared about the work and the platoon. I knew I would have some big shoes to fill, and I resolved to do my best to maintain the standard for the Los Angeles 2nd Platoon.

Since June, I have now served as platoon leader for two successful service projects, including our combined 9/11 Day of Service at Carver High School, which attracted some 170 volunteers.

Yet the truth is that we have had several outstanding leaders who helped to ensure their success, like my CIM, Behkie Aguilar, and 2nd platoon’s indispensable man, Chris Barreras.

If it takes a village to raise a child, then the Mission Continues family has picked me up through my platoon leader infancy and nurtured me through the growing pains as I’ve gotten my service legs under me.

Brayden Yoder with the principal of Carver Middle School, Letasha Buck

As I look forward to my third service project scheduled for MLK weekend in January, I am ahead of the curve and further along in the planning process than before – and I know it is because of the great support The Mission Continues and the 2nd Platoon has afforded me.

It is a special thing to be part of a team and to have others invested in your success as you are invested in theirs.

The mission of the Los Angeles 2nd Platoon is to serve public schools in Boyle Heights, and I am thankful for a job that takes me to neighborhoods in my city that I never knew of before. I am humbled by the work of the dedicated educators and volunteers I have met, who strive every day to provide a quality education for the children in Los Angeles.

But above all, I feel blessed to be part of something bigger than myself again, which demands connection, commitment, and community.

In this week of Thanksgiving, I am truly grateful for this opportunity to continue to serve – and I hope when it’s my time to pass on the guidon, I can pay it forward to the next platoon leader as my teammates did for me.

 

Report for duty in your community with The Mission Continues. Serve with a Service Platoon at an upcoming service event near you or apply for a fellowship. You can learn more about our programs on our website and stay updated on the latest news and announcements on Facebook and Twitter.

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The Tampa Ten Join Operation Everglades City

November 18, 2017

During the weekend of October 27th-29th, a group of 30 veterans and civilians converged on Everglades City, FL, a small fishing community of roughly 400 residents. With a quarter of the community’s homes destroyed and deeply damaged by Hurricane Irma, our volunteers arrived with donations, tools and an unwavering spirit of service.

For the past two months, Floridians have faced the adversity of preparing for and recovering from the destruction that Hurricane Irma left in its wake. Measuring 650 miles wide and with storm force winds eclipsing 185 miles per hour, Irma was the strongest recorded storm in the history of the Atlantic.

With millions of residents without power and shelter, and thousands more with homes damaged and destroyed, the veteran leaders of The Mission Continues showed us once again why they are our country’s heroes.

Recognizing that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, veteran leaders and volunteers from our Service Platoons in Miami, Broward, Orlando and Tampa decided to join forces and pool resources to maximize their community impact in a community that is outside their normal purview.

Continue reading “The Tampa Ten Join Operation Everglades City”

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The Unexpected Revelations of an Army Spouse

November 17, 2017
By Emily Ferstle Angus, City Impact Manager

Though my tenure as City Impact Manager at The Mission Continues began prior to marrying my husband, an Army reservist, you may be able to imagine that since working here, I’ve dragged him into the mix and he’s become very involved.

Truly, volunteering is the type of work he would do on his own anyway, even if his wife wasn’t asking him to help out her volunteers on a regular basis. He really seems to enjoy the physical nature of the mission and learning about different neighborhoods and their challenges around the city.

He’s one of those guys who is reluctant to volunteer the information that he is a veteran. For someone who identifies his greatest abilities and talents with his job in the Army, this always has been a quandary to me. He is proud to serve, and proud of his reasons why, but he is conservative with that information, reserving it only for his inner circle.

At the Detroit 2nd Platoon Veterans Day project this past weekend, we had a lot of fun and got a lot of work accomplished, but what I will share with you now is the revelation I had as an Army spouse, not as a staff member. Continue reading “The Unexpected Revelations of an Army Spouse”

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Veterans Day: Miami Platoon Working on Hurricane Irma Recovery

November 15, 2017

The Mission Continues in Miami, Everglades National Park
Photo credit: Tim Long
The Mission Continues in Miami, Everglades National Park
Platoon Leader Derek Auguse volunteering at the service project. Photo credit: Tim Long

In honor of Veterans Day, Miami’s 1st Service Platoon returned to Everglades National Park, which sustained damage during Hurricane Irma. While there was much to be done, they focused their efforts where it was needed most.

The park’s 3-in-1 Trail had been rendered unusable due to downed trees and other debris. This half-mile trail is most popular among school groups because it takes them through three different habitats that can be found in the park.

Mission Continues volunteers spent the afternoon clearing the trail of branches and brush — completing in under one day what it would have taken the park much longer to do with fewer people.

This project was apt because the operational focus of the Miami’s 1st Service Platoon is environmental stewardship. To that end, the platoon partners with the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) to help alleviate some of the needs in Everglades National Park and Dry Tortugas National Park.

Jacqueline Crucet of NPCA explains the significance of the weekend’s project and the partnership overall. “Veterans stepped up when we needed them to defend our country, and national parks are there for them when they return, to help provide them solace.”

For this reason, she continues, “connecting our heroes to our shared heritage is really meaningful for our NPCA and National Park Service staff.” 

The Mission Continues in Miami, Everglades National Park
Photo Credit: Tim Long

Jacqueline explains how parks benefit from this relationship. “Parks need maintenance and protection, and our work with The Mission Continues has helped address the nearly 12 billion dollars of deferred maintenance backlog within the National Park Service. When veterans are enjoying their parks in service they form their own individual connection to that public space. Preserving our nation’s parks for tomorrow ties us all together. Together, we make sure parks are in pristine condition for the next generation.”

“I like to call it national parks and service.”

The Mission Continues in Miami, Everglades National Park
Photo Credit: Tim Long
Angel Gual and Secretary Zinke

Another important aspect of protecting the parks is fostering new advocates for them. Matthew Tanner, City Impact Manager for The Mission Continues told us, “We have now had three Miami platoon members fly to Washington, D.C. over the past two years to speak with congress. This year, one of our members met with Secretary Zinke, himself a veteran, to discuss the importance of protecting and preserving our national parks for veterans and for all of us.”

Jacqueline praises The Mission Continues volunteers for speaking, as veterans, about the value of national parks. “Through lending your voice to NPS issues, you’ve certainly helped raise awareness among the veteran community, civilian community, and elected officials of the importance of the national parks to all.”

In January The Mission Continues will be hosting our Alpha Orientation for new fellows and platoon leaders in Miami, where we will gather for a large service project, so stay tuned!

 

Report for duty in your community with The Mission Continues. Serve with a Service Platoon at an upcoming service event near you or apply for a fellowship. You can learn more about our programs on our website and stay updated on the latest news and announcements on Facebook and Twitter.

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Veterans Day: Orlando Platoons Innovate after Hurricane Maria

November 14, 2017
Matthew Tanner, City Impact Manager

The Mission Continues Orlando volunteers

Following the mass destruction in Puerto Rico due to Hurricane Maria, The Mission Continues’ Orlando 1st and 2nd Service Platoons were driven to find a way to make a positive impact.

Home to one of the country’s largest Puerto Rican populations, Orlando has a deep relationship with the island, and has been projected to receive tens of thousands of Puerto Rican over the coming weeks and months who now live without a home or sense of normalcy.

Orlando’s 1st Service Platoon focuses on mentoring and working with youth who have come through the juvenile justice system in partnership with Home Builders Institute/Project Bridge.

The Mission Continues Orlando volunteers

Robert Withers, the Platoon Leader for this platoon, says that he feels connected to this mission because it allows his to address “issues affecting children who are typically the most vulnerable to suffering, and the least able to do anything about it.”

“I see the Orlando 1st reducing the number of incarcerated youth and empowering veterans to serve in new ways,” Robert said.

He explains why he is dedicated to serving others, especially on Veterans Day. “My time as Platoon Leader has reignited a passion for not only selfless service but mentorship and camaraderie.”

“I had an exceptionally difficult transition into civilian life after losing my leg and retiring from the Army. I needed a new direction to re-establish my sense of purpose. I wanted to continue serving my country through service to my community and regain the sense of purpose I felt I had lost.”

The Mission Continues Orlando volunteers

Orlando’s 2nd Service Platoon has been partnering with Second Harvest Food Bank (SHFB) to build food pantries in schools and feeding host partner locations across Orlando, which allows for them to maintain a larger supply of food to provide students, families and community members.  

It wasn’t immediately apparent how we could find a way to maintain our operational focuses while serving these Orlando newcomers until we brought all of our partners to the table and began brainstorming ideas.

When we told SHFB about our desire to support Hurricane Maria victims, they proposed we target the Orange County schools that were going to see the biggest influx of new Puerto Rican students. What came from this collaboration was Operation Veterans Day: Puerto Rico Relief, a unique opportunity to take a huge step forward with directly helping new Puerto Rican students and their families.

Robert explains that the weekend’s project “bridged the gap between the Second Harvest Food Bank and schools with the highest influx of new Puerto Rican children. Many of these schools need their pantry rooms for classes but have more children to feed than ever.”

With space already limited in a majority of public schools, we conceptualized a Mobile Pantry Unit (MPU), that we could build and transport to these schools in need. Each MPU sits on caster wheels which makes it mobile, and it expands into a full food pantry.

Cheyanna Johnson of Second Harvest Food Bank said they are “constantly working with community partners to be innovative in creating access to food resources. The partnership with The Mission Continues has created an innovative approach to reach teens at school.”

This project in particular fulfills a need. Cheyanna explains that “With the minimal space, providing non-educational resources to students is at risk of being eliminated from schools. The mobile pantries provide a solution that works around this issue.”

Once schools receive their MPU, SHFB has committed to ensuring that each remains stocked with food for daily and weekend distribution of food for the students and families dealing with food insecurity.

This is also where Home Builders Institute (HBI) comes into the picture. HBI offers several programs for youth, including developing job skills that prepare youth for careers in the residential construction industry. Hands-on learning and development of building skills is essential to the success of their program.

Melissa Geiwitz of HBI said, “Our focus has been on developing service projects, allowing youth to work side by side with the Platoon. This past Saturday marked our 12th service project together and it was nothing short of amazing!” These projects are important, she said, because “service provides our students with experience beyond the classroom, which we all know is invaluable.”

Once we had developed the concept and blueprint for the Mobile Pantry Unit, this opened up a perfect opportunity for HBI staff to incorporate the builds into their curriculum and recruit over 20 HBI youth to our Operation Veterans Day service project, where we built four MPUs.

The Mission Continues Orlando volunteers

Of course, none of this would be possible without the support of Disney, the lead sponsor for the Orlando 1st Service Platoon. As soon as we shared our idea for how to support Hurricane Maria victims through our MPU’s, Disney immediately wanted to continue their support of our work.

Not only did they bring 25 of their own staff volunteers to the Veterans Day service project, but they also organized and facilitated arts and crafts for all the children of the veterans and volunteers that showed up to help us complete our mission that day.

The Mission Continues Orlando volunteers

Results from Orlando’s Veterans Day Service Project

  • 100 volunteers participated in the project. Among them were The Mission Continues platoon members, HBI youth and staff, Disney staff and volunteers, and T Mobile (our contributing sponsor) volunteers.
  • We met our goal of building four MPUs successfully.
  • Because of the volume of volunteers, we completed additional HBI beautification projects. Projects included building planter boxes, landscaping, and painting.
  • Participating youth enjoyed fun activities with Disney. Volunteers enjoyed catered lunch from Mission BBQ, a DJ, bubble machine…and an ICE CREAM TRUCK!

We hope this innovative model is one that we can continue to produce in Orlando to provide more schools and feeding partners with MPUs.

 

Report for duty in your community with The Mission Continues. Serve with a Service Platoon at an upcoming service event near you or apply for a fellowship. You can learn more about our programs on our website and stay updated on the latest news and announcements on Facebook and Twitter.

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Jon Stewart on the Meaning of Service and Sacrifice

November 10, 2017

Jon Stewart volunteers with The Mission Continues

After a day of serving alongside almost a hundred volunteers with The Mission Continues at Ellis Island, Jon Stewart took a minute to reflect on the meaning of service and sacrifice in our country, for veterans and civilians alike. It felt appropriate at the time (for our 9/11 Day of Service project) and feels appropriate to reflect now that Veterans Day is upon us. Continue reading “Jon Stewart on the Meaning of Service and Sacrifice”

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Our Next Mass Deployment: Operation Watts Is Worth It

The Mission Continues -- Operation Watts is Worth It

Next Stop: Watts, Los Angeles

On June 21-28 2018, we’re deploying 85 veteran leaders to Watts in Los Angeles for our third Mass Deployment, Operation Watts Is Worth It (OWW).

Veterans are a powerful force when called upon to serve. Since leaving the military, tens of thousands have continued to serve in their local communities. They bring hard-earned leadership, exemplary training, and a mission-focused work ethic that is in short supply today.

For the veterans who attend, Mass Deployment is a week of personal growth and community impact. They forge new connections that become lifelong bonds of friendship and support. They undergo technical skill training and team building exercises.

And June is just the beginning of their impact. These leaders will deploy back home and get to work in their own communities.

We’re making an ongoing commitment to Watts — and the more than 500 local veterans of The Mission Continues — who will be at the heart of sustaining our progress.

The Mission Continues veteran volunteers
The Mission Continues veteran volunteers in Watts.

Mass Deployment in a Nutshell

The Mission Continues’ Mass Deployment program is a team-based event that mobilizes veterans alongside local partners and volunteers in a single city for a week of community impact.

We select areas that will benefit from an influx of resources, and that have the potential for sustainable change, ensuring our efforts have a long-term impact.

The Mission Continues volunteers
Youth volunteers at a service project with The Mission Continues in Watts.

Why Watts?

A community with a history older than the state of California, Watts has been called the most powerful neighborhood in Los Angeles. As with many urban areas in America, residents face daily trials related to under-resourced schools, depopulation, disinvestment and underemployment.

The capacity and resources of social services organizations in the area are spread thin, so those who need assistance most often find it hard to access help.

Through it all, Watts has maintained a unique and vibrant identity and its residents deserve a brighter future.

Now more than ever, reasons to hope abound. City officials, corporate leaders and philanthropic organizations are coming together to make investments in the neighborhood and positive progress is on the horizon.

Local community groups have been actively engaged in creating a better tomorrow for themselves and the families who live there.

Now, veterans are responding, too. By reporting for duty alongside The Mission Continues, residents can take part in creating solutions to address these challenges and ensure positive progress continues.

Los Angeles Platoon
The Los Angeles Platoon

Here Are the Facts

  • Watts is a community in transition, yet decades after the 1965 riots, it remains a community still dealing with poverty, unemployment and crime.
  • Watts — a historically black community of roughly two square miles and home to about 40,000 residents — has grown more multiracial. About 70 percent of the people here are Latino, 28 percent are black or African-American, and 2 percent are from other ethnic groups.
  • Roughly 1 out of 4 current Watts residents holds a high school diploma or GED, resulting in underemployment and limited economic opportunities.
  • Unemployment in California has improved since the latest recession, recently averaging about 5.8 percent. Nevertheless, the unemployment rate around Watts has lagged, hovering around 7 percent.

How to Get Involved

Applications for veteran participants open February 2018. Interested in applying? Visit missioncontinues.org/deployments to sign up for application alerts.

For information on how to make a financial contribution to OWW, please contact [email protected].