Page 25 - Harnett Life Winter 2020

“Inspire, Encourage, and Connect”. That’s what we do at gularly focused on the continual building upon our vision. We
Whole Vet with every program, interaction, event, and conver- launched our Military Mentorship Program which includes
sation. Mentors from such companies as Cisco Systems, Metlife, Bio-
gen, Caterpillar, Salesforce.com, PPD, and SAS. This program
“Integrity while building Trust upon a foundation of Truth”. will have an immediate and monumental impact on the lives
These words are our core values and the very essence of how of each individual we serve. The pool of mentees/proteges is
we operate. made up of transitioning service members from NC military
bases.
“Honor, Appreciation, and Love”. Those words sum up
WHY we do what we do. Honor, appreciation and love of In 2021 we are hopeful to launch our remaining 2 programs
country and all of those that serve and have served ALL OF US that have yet to start: Our Marriage and Youth Programs. A
by wearing the uniforms of the United States Armed Forces. person’s career is only one part of his or her life. What is more
important, a job/career? Or the person’s very family, marriage,
I founded Whole Vet in 2017 as a nonprofit within the state of those that they love and love them that we are here to protect,
North Carolina after leading volunteer efforts on the local and cherish, and see be successful? Every aspect of every per-
national level for the Veteran’s Affinity Organization for the son’s life is important. Every aspect, every part, of a person’s
Research Triangle Park company I worked for. Through the life makes up their Whole Existence, their Whole Life, thus
years of leading efforts within the company, a vision had begun WHOLE VET!
to grow and take root. Thought I have never served, my pas-
sion and compassion for ‘the cause’ was birthed and grew into Our team is passionate, persistent, and motivated to see the vi-
this effort I put on paper in 2016: Whole Vet! sion continue to be built and sustained. We very likely will be
with our friends from O2O with our first ever events outside of
Why the name Whole Vet? We want to do all we can to posi- NC, in South Carolina and Virginia, in 2021. There is much to
tively impact the whole person, the whole family, the whole do folks. We are here to do it. Stay tuned, spread the word, and
man and woman, so they can live their very best life, a life of yes Give. You can visit us at Whole Vet.org, on Linkedin and
fulfillment in all areas that ultimately make up one’s life. on Facebook. Spread the word-You can Trust Us!

We started with Transition Events, Corporate Campus Visits,
held on corporate campuss at Biogen/RTP, Deutsche Bank/
Cary, Caterpillar/Clayton, and PPD/Wilmington. We then
started our second phase of building with Military Career
Transition Days held at NCSU’s McKimmon Center in Ra-
leigh, Cape Fear Community College in Wilmington, and then
the American Legion in Jacksonville (serving Camp Lejeune
and beyond). Our Transition Events have speakers and pan-
els to not only help transitioning service members and their
spouses, but really any veteran or military spouse regardless
of what transition they may be facing. Our Transition Events
have other nonprofits (Veteran Service Organizations/VSOs)
that bring value to the Military and Veteran (MilVet) commu-
nity. Our Transition Events have educational institutions in-
cluding Community Colleges and programs (Cape Fear Com-
munity College, Coastal Carolina Community College, and
Veterans Upward Bound/Central Carolina Community College
including 5 counties overall), 4 year institutions (NCSU, ECU,
Campbell University, and UNCW), and our very good friends
at Onward to Opportunity (O2O, one of 13 programs within
Syracuse University’s Institute for Veterans and Military Fami-
lies). Our Transition Events have companies that are serious
about hiring MilVet community members such as Pike Corpo-
ration, Biogen, NetApp, PPD, Skillstorm, SAS, Advance Auto,
the State of North Carolina, Gregory Poole Equipment Com-
pany, and many others.

In 2020 while many were lamenting news reports, we were sin- ‘Best Corvette’ - at our Great American Car, Truck and
Bike Show in Angier, November 2019, the winner is sitting
Harnett Life ~ Winter 2020 in the chair behind it and is a Vietnam Veteran