A picture comes to mind as I’m sitting here struggling to write this, that yes to some extent applies to me too. You, the veteran (or military spouse) is in a cave or cavern. For some the cavern is deep; for some, it might be somewhat shallower. For some it’s really dark; for some, it’s not quite as dark. For some there are no provisions down there; for some, there’s some basic provisions or maybe a bit more. You want to get out of the cavern, right? You’ve explored around down there and knows that it’s not where you want to spend the rest of your time. You also know that there’s no easy exit where you can just walk out. You’ve tried scaling the walls but only get so far before getting to a ledge and can’t get any further or worse yet fall back to the cavern floor. There’s a rope hanging down from the middle of the hole in the cavern but the rope is skinny and it’s a very high climb. That metaphorical rope is Salesforce.com and it’s ecosystem. You know that others have been able to use that skinny rope to get out of their own cavern because there are others out there already - you can faintly hear them. But for the vet or the military spouse (who has doubts because he or she is just gonna have to move in two years, and then move again in another three years, and again) - even though that rope is the same size, it looks like it’s much smaller, much skinnier, not much more than piece of twine that won’t hold your weight. But then the Salesforce Ohana (family) comes into view around the rim of the cavern above. You hear them cheering you on; some of them you’re able to identify with because you hear or read their success stories and that gives you strength. And then there’s “Astro“, the trailheads, the user groups you’re able to join, and the Salesforce Saturdays – they guide you to where the cavern doesn’t seem quite as deep and you don’t have quite as an intimidating climb out. Personally, I’m there with my arms reach down to try to help grab your hand as you climb up and I’m joined by your mentor/coach, those that are in Vetforce/Salesforce, and the alumni of the Merivis program, along with an extremely active Merivis Board to help pull you up the rest of the way.

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.

For this fundraising campaign, I NEED your HELP to help others. For some other previous fundraising events, like bike rides where there was a minimum fundraising amount due in order to participate, I just donated that amount out of my own “allowance”, because I’ve been hesitant to approach people and ask. I know that most probably would have been willing to give and if they had asked me to donate for the same exact ride I would’ve given them money for their entry fee as well. However, for me, it’s just hard making the “ask“. 

In this case though, the amount that we’re trying to raise is too much for me to be able to take care of on my own and right now I’m not in a position to where I can donate as I used. But because I love what the Merivis Foundation has already done for me, and the fact that I want to make sure that it continues for the next group, I’ve agreed to make that “ask” to you, right here, right now; can you give either a little bit or a “lotta” bit? Your donation today isn’t going to directly help me. I was blessed in that someone else already donated last year or a couple years ago and I was able to go through the training the Fall Cohort 2018 (Cohort 6).

Not one of us can do it all by ourselves, but by joining together along with all others that donate to the program we can help that veteran or military spouse create a career within the Salesforce ecosystem. This will help propel them into something where they can help take care of their families and contribute back to society and our companies at the same time.

So if this speaks to you even just a little bit and you want to be able to help that veteran or that military spouse please contribute what you can to this fundraising campaign; it DOES make a difference. If you or someone you know is a veteran or military spouse and are interested in a career as a Salesforce Administrator, reach out to me - I love this software platform already. The future possibilities within the Salesforce ecosystem are what I make of it and it’s exciting.

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