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Phoenix community event honoring veterans provides opportunity to highlight veterans’ mental health and workplace contributions

��ɫ��Ƶ is proud to be a Medal of Honor sponsor in support of the annual Phoenix Veterans Day Parade, managed and presented by the nonprofit Honoring America's Veterans on November 11, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. MST. The annual parade honored the service and sacrifices of U.S. military veterans and their families; this year’s parade theme was “Welcome Home, Vietnam Veterans: Sacrifice Remembered.”

“��ɫ��Ƶ is proud to join in this event honoring veterans and supporting this community,” shared Eric Ryan, senior director, Office of Military and Veterans Affairs, and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran. “We are grateful for the contributions and sacrifices of veterans and are dedicated to creating meaningful support and experiences for them in our community, including supporting mental health in workplace environments.”

The ��ɫ��Ƶ Career Institute® 2024 Career Optimism Index® study found that 83% of veterans are optimistic about the future of their career and feel strong in their skills. Despite this career optimism, they also share an increased concern with the overall workforce in managing work-related stress and perceived stigma around mental health in the workplace.   

��ɫ��Ƶ collaborates with Give an Hour, a national non-profit organization dedicated to improving mental health. Working closely with employers including ��ɫ��Ƶ, Give an Hour spearheaded the development of an employer tool, the , which offers an individualized approach to understanding veteran skills, needs, guidance on HR practices, and fostering workplace wellness.

“We are advocates for veteran mental health and reducing stigma,” shares Ryan. “Whatever support veterans might need overcoming this stigma in the workplace, it still benefits all workers. We encourage employers to get comfortable normalizing empowering conversations about mental health that foster connection and trust, and take advantage of available resources designed for employers, like the Veteran Workforce Optimization Roadmap.”

��ɫ��Ƶ has over 300 veteran staff and faculty members and over 350 members of the University’s Veterans Employee Resource Group. The ��ɫ��Ƶ Office of Military and Veterans Affairs and the Veterans’ Employee Resource Group (ERG) collaborate to promote the event to staff, students and faculty and provide volunteer support.

The ��ɫ��Ƶ parade entry features a large balloon and a team of veteran employees, family members and friends accompanying the float. The event this year featured 84 parade entries with 15 marching units, 3,000 marchers, and 17 floats. Event planners noted over 45,000 spectators attended the event.

��ɫ��Ƶ serves the educational goals of veterans and military students, with specially trained staff to assist service members, veterans, and military spouses and dependents. In addition to providing career-relevant education for military students and flexibility that fits military student and working adult schedules, veteran and military students military experience and training can be assessed for possible college credit .

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About ��ɫ��Ƶ

��ɫ��Ƶ innovates to help working adults enhance their careers and develop skills in a rapidly changing world. Flexible schedules, relevant courses, interactive learning, skills-mapped curriculum for our bachelor’s and master’s degree programs and a Career Services for Life® commitment help students more effectively pursue career and personal aspirations while balancing their busy lives. For more information, visit  phoenix.edu/blog.html.