Veterans deserve a break

By William “Doc” Schmitz, VFW National Commander
Posted 11/8/19

Veterans deserve a break

William “Doc” Schmitz, VFW National Commander

The majority of service members agree, the most difficult aspect of transitioning out of the military is leaving …

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Veterans deserve a break

Posted

Veterans deserve a break

William “Doc” Schmitz, VFW National Commander

The majority of service members agree, the most difficult aspect of transitioning out of the military is leaving behind its orderly and conventional structure and having to answer the overwhelming question, “What’s next?”

For most veterans, a post-secondary degree or certification is the logical next step. So, we’ve worked tirelessly to ensure separating service members are well-prepared by working side-by-side with Congress on initiatives like the Transition Assistance Program (TAP), establishing quality consumer resources for student veterans, and passing reasonable in-state tuition protection for recently-transitioned service members, as well as many other initiatives aimed to improve college-readiness.

Despite how ready any veteran is to take the next step, the fact remains that higher education is costly. Doesn’t it make sense that those who’ve paid the high price of maintaining our freedom here at home and liberating others catch a real break here? We at the VFW think so.

While the Post-9/11 GI Bill — which we were instrumental in enacting — has been vital to the success of millions of transitioning veterans, the assistance doesn’t extend quite far enough for some. That’s why we’ve teamed up with Sport Clips Haircuts to fill the gaps, ensuring student veterans can successfully complete their educational endeavors without incurring excessive student loan debt.

This year marks the fifth year and tenth award cycle of the VFW’s “Sport Clips Help A Hero Scholarship” program. Created in 2014 with the veteran, Founder and CEO of Sport Clips Gordon Logan, the program awards scholarships of up to $5,000 per semester to veterans and service members in pursuit of post-secondary degrees or certifications. That’s correct, $5,000 per semester.

One of the standout aspects of the program is service members and veterans who’ve already received a scholarship through the program can reapply each semester for the duration of their enrollment.

To date, the program has awarded more than $6.5 million in scholarships to 1,450 student veterans. This places it among the "top awarding" service member and veteran scholarship programs in the country.

In the military, we committed to never leaving a man behind. Our scholarship program is yet another way we’re honoring that commitment.

About The Veterans of Foreign Wars

The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. is the nation's largest and oldest major war veterans organization. Founded in 1899, the congressionally-chartered VFW is comprised entirely of eligible veterans and military service members from the active, Guard and Reserve forces. With more than 1.6 million VFW and Auxiliary members located in 6,200 Posts worldwide, the nonprofit veterans service organization is proud to proclaim “NO ONE DOES MORE FOR VETERANS” than the VFW, which is dedicated to veterans’ service, legislative advocacy, and military and community service programs. For more information or to join, visit our website at vfw.org.