Thompson Announces Upcoming Veterans Outreach Week
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Glenn `GT’ Thompson, R-Howard, today announced plans for a Veterans Outreach Week consisting of events to offer local area Veterans direct contact with and support from federal agencies through a series of informational seminars and town hall meetings in locations across the Fifth District. Thompson will host the outreach events along with representatives from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
“Federal agencies offer a variety of benefits and services that provide financial and other forms of assistance. These events are designed to ensure our Veterans have the latest information and are able to easily access the assistance they deserve,” said Thompson. “There are also programs our Veterans are not aware of such as business training, counseling, and referrals for veterans considering starting a small business. These seminars bring this information and the first-rate expertise of our agencies directly to our Veterans.”
During the events, representatives from the VA will be available to offer information for Veterans on health care benefits, readjustment benefits, continuing education, new programs, and housing assistance programs. SBA representatives will discuss loan programs, small business opportunities in federal contracting, economic and workforce development opportunities, job and skill training and programs to enhance small business access to capital, among other programs and assistance currently available to Veterans.
“Those who’ve served our nation with dignity deserve these services and we intend to honor this commitment by providing the best care and support possible,” said Thompson. “My staff and I are always available, but bringing federal representatives to our local communities offers our Veterans additional opportunities and better access and gives us a chance to hear from Veterans face-to-face about the challenges they encounter and help they need.”
In addition to department and agency representatives, Thompson and his staff will be on hand during each event to assist Veterans with casework and scheduling future meetings with departments and agencies. Thompson’s Veterans Outreach Week will consist of five events currently scheduled for Dubois, Titusville, Warren, Bradford and Coudersport, with four additional stops planned throughout the district:
***Dubois Veterans Town Hall Meeting set for Wednesday May 18, 2011 from 7:00 to 9:00 P.M. at the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post # 813***
***Titusville Veterans Business Start-Up Seminar set for Thursday May 19, 2011 from 9:30 to 11:30 A.M. at the University of Pittsburgh at Titusville***
***Warren Veterans Joint Town Hall Meeting with Representative Kelly (PA-3) set for Thursday May 19, 2011 from 1:00 to 2:30 P.M. at the American Legion***
***Bradford Veterans Town Hall Meeting set for Thursday May 19th from 7:00 to 9:00 P.M. at the American Legion***
***Coudersport Veterans Town Hall Meeting set for Friday May 20th from 12:00 to 1:30 P.M. at the American Legion***
Additional information including exact addresses will be available in a following release.
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