For those that aren't quite sure what my new job entails take a look at the below for the story and the impact we're making.
In the summer of 2015, Hector turned to me on I-35 and said he wanted to address a gap in the Texas technology sector. While Texas cities were booming and new technology companies starting or moving to the state daily there was also a high amount of qualified, smart and talented group of individuals that were unemployed or under-employed... our country's military veterans.
With Hector being an Air Force veteran and having built a career based on Salesforce, the growing CRM company, plus my nonprofit, marketing and program management experience and our 3rd co-founder Joe Castro, being one of the top technical leads for Salesforce in the world, we started Merivis. Having two grandfathers and an uncle that were in the military plus a passion for seeing all programs, organizations and people succeed in reaching their potential our volunteer, side hustle, passion project was born. 3 years later I'm now running that nonprofit and developing programs that directly impact lives of so many that have served and protected our country. After over a decade leading campaigns, committees and events for the Austin community I feel like I couldn't be more excited, terrified, intimidated and grateful to take a start up nonprofit to increased reach and impact as employee #1.
Merivis provides nearly free training to military veterans and spouses from all over the country and we offer a community of support, resources and encouragement that creates a soft landing and guidance for those new to the civilian world. Over the summer we received a round of starter grant funding that allowed me to make this my full time job and this is our first community wide crowdfunding giving campaign leading up to Veterans Day next week to support those nearly-free programs and career readiness resources.
So how can you help? Donate $50 or $100 (or more if you can) to our campaign by Monday, November 12th. My goal is $2500 and between you and me my stretch goal is $5000 which I believe is 100% possible with the support of my family, friends, and colleagues.
And what are the reasons to support Merivis (#4 is my favorite!)
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We've helped over 100 veterans and spouses start new careers in a growing technology field and our graduates have gone on to careers at Amazon, Dell, Accenture, Deloitte, Polsource and other big name companies, and we've also helped almost a dozen small nonprofits in training their IT staff.
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Over half our veterans are from Central Texas which means if you're in the Austin area we're directly impacting workforce development and up-skilling the local residents, which impacts your economy, housing market, and childhood education among other things.
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This is my first time as a professional volunteer, and the first time in years I've asked for a donation towards a cause.. and it's important because what we raise this year directly impacts our ability to reach more veterans next year.
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You all want to see me raise more $$ than Hector. :)
Donate to the cause above, it's tax deductible, and you'll help me meet my goal... and most importantly you'll help military veterans like Sheldon move from mimimum wage jobs to one that's six figures in a growing career field; changing his life, increasing his ability to provide for his family and linking him to a community of support and encouragement. Thank you for your consideration and for those in Austin I miss you all!
~ Kate
Merivis Foundation supports veterans preparing for their next missions through training, mentorship and job readiness for Salesforce cloud technology positions. With a growing need for Salesforce certified professionals and an increasing number of underemployed veterans in the country, we bridge the gap to help veterans transition to civilian life and find great careers. Since we started in 2015, Merivis has impacted the lives of nearly 100 military veterans by supporting them in their transition to civilian careers. Through our Salesforce training programs, we've put them on the path to growing, in-demand technology roles and we couldn't have done it without every member of the Merivis community.
Thank you to KLRU for featuring Sheldon Simmons, our board member and graduate of the first Merivis cohort in their American Graduate series. To view more stories from the KLRU series "American Graduate: Getting America to Work" visit klru.org/americangraduate or search by #amgradtx
