First Lady Talks Veterans’ Scholarships at Local Armory

New Jersey’s First Lady Mary Pat Christie discussed her nonprofit’s renewal of the Heart of Hero Scholarship program on Tuesday at the National Guard Armory in Hackettstown.

Speaking in front of a gymnasium full of servicemen and women, Christie and a Wal-Mart representative discussed a partnership that will dish out $50,000 to New Jersey veterans. Christie’s nonprofit, New Jersey Heroes, started in 2010, “to recognize everyday heroes, who are doing really great things,” she said.

The organization works to give grants to nonprofit volunteers, and after a partnership with the Wal-Mart corporation, which involved a program formulation and application process, they are poised to give out scholarships to help veterans receive training and land jobs.

“This is a thrill for the governor and I,” she said. “It’s very important to both of us. It’s a good feeling to promote nonprofits.”

The Year to Come

Last year, the Heart of Hero Scholarships awarded ten $10,000 scholarships to applicants, and “luckily, it will continue this year with $50,000 from Wal-Mart,” said Christie.

The $5,000 scholarships are quite sufficient for what the veterans are looking to do, according to Christie. The money, along with federal aid, becomes adequate for a former serviceman or woman to pursue trade-related education.

Jennifer Hoehn, a Wal-Mart representative took to the podium to say that officially, the company will “be funding the scholarship program.” Along with the partnership with the First Lady’s nonprofit, Hoehn described other undertakings completed by Wal-Mart to help military veterans.

“On Memorial Day, we revealed our new ‘Veterans Welcome Home Commitment,’ in which a job will be given to any veteran after his/her first 12 months after duty,” said Hoehn. They plan to nationally employ 100,000 veterans over five years, and have dedicated $20-million through 2015 to help veterans transition into the civilian work force.

Speaking about eligibility, Christie indicated that applicants must be: U.S. citizens, residents of New Jersey, have high school diplomas, have served, and have completed an application via mail or email.

The deadline is July 26, and according to Christie, the review process will take no longer than a month. This year’s winners will be revealed before the end of August.

“A committee will review and reward the scholarships,” said Christie. “We look for folks who’ve done volunteer work.”

During the review process, Christie maintains that each application will be read three times and comprehensively analyzed before winners are chosen.

Current State Aid to Veterans:

Pitching some of the discussion back to the current administration, Christie said in her speech that the governor is “committed to helping brave, courageous people find jobs.”

Currently there are a number of legislative measures in place to help veterans, according to the First Lady. These include: temporary teaching certificates and a clear path to obtain commercial driver’s licenses.

New proposals include: assisting veterans at becoming EMTs, extending occupational licenses from 120 days to one year and making university credits easier to obtain for military training.

According to Harold Wirths, the commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Labor, 19,000 veterans are currently be aided by departmental efforts.

“One of the first things we did when Governor Chris got into office was staff up our veterans reps. We have over 40 full-time people committed everyday to work with veterans…” he said.

“And most of my 44 veterans-counselors are veterans themselves, so they know exactly who they’re dealing with and the best programs,” said Wirths.

In addition to that, the state has hosted 34 jobs fairs since 2011, including one held on the battleship New Jersey, which was rented for the venue.

Programs like “Helmet to Hardhat” and “Hire the Heroes” also allow for easier hiring processes for those who have served our country.

“We’ve been getting results from this,” Wirths concluded.