Fall 2018 Beam CEO Letter
Dear Friends,
With all the sacrifices they have made to protect our freedoms, The Chicago Lighthouse is proud to join the nation in saluting our courageous Veterans this month.
We are very proud of all our Veterans on staff and commend them for their outstanding service. They make important contributions to the overall success of The Lighthouse and help enrich our entire community.
In their honor, we are devoting this issue to our Vets. Currently, Veterans make up 6% of our workforce. In addition, approximately 30% of our Veterans have been employed at The Lighthouse for four or more years.
To show our appreciation and give something back to the Veterans’ community, we are honored to be the home of the Illinois Joining Forces helpline, which is staffed by Veterans Michael Smith and William Bryant. The helpline is generously funded by the Boeing Corporation, and provides information on employment, health care, housing, education and other vital services available to Illinois’ military men and women and their families. We are also pleased to now have a position devoted to assisting Vets secure employment thanks for a grant from the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. Staffing this position is Chandra Dagley, who served in the U.S. Army for ten years.
For all the progress that has been made, however, much still needs to be done to ensure that all those who served our country will have access to the resources and opportunities they need to ensure a fulfilling life.
Current statistics illustrate the all too high unemployment problem that still impacts many Veterans. For example, nearly 61% of pre-9/11 and 65% of post-9/11 Veterans did not have a job when they left the military.
To help change this, we maintain an ambitious effort to reach out to Vets and recruit them for good-paying positions in our customer care centers and other areas. We are always on the lookout for further opportunities to help our Vets and will keep you posted on new initiatives.
Janet P. Szlyk, Ph.D.
President and Chief Executive Officer
