By Debbie Gregory

StreetShares, Inc., one of VAMBOA’s strategic partners, is a lending and investing community for veterans and their supporters. StreetShares’ principals have announced the formation of the StreetShares Foundation.

The goal of the StreetShares Foundation is to inspire, educate, and support veteran small business owners. The foundation is partnering with JPMorgan Chase & Co. to provide up to $10,000 each month in Veteran Small Business Awards.

Both StreetShares Foundation and StreetShares, Inc. are veteran-operated..

Iraq War veteran Mark L. Rockefeller, CEO/Co-Founder of StreetShares, said, “Veteran business ownership has been the backbone of the United States economy since World War II. The goal of the StreetShares Foundation is to provide a new generation of veteran and military-spouse small business owners the support they need to thrive.”

The Foundation plans to give three Veteran Small Business Awards each month. Small businesses owned by military veterans, current reserve or active duty members, and qualified military spouses are eligible to apply. The awards are $2,000 for third place, $3,000 for second place, and $5,000 for the first place winner.

Award applications and educational material can be found on the foundation’s website at StreetShares.com/Foundation.

StreetShares had previously conducted a small award program. Last year’s winners collectively reported increasing revenues by over $1 million, hiring 24 new employees, and scoring a “Shark Tank” TV show appearance. With sponsorship from JPMorgan Chase and others, the StreetShares Foundation has plans to substantially expand the award program.

The Veteran Small Business Award program encourages everyone who supports veterans and entrepreneurship to participate in voting for their favorite veteran business at StreetShares.com/Foundation. Finalists will be presented for public vote each month.

We at VAMBOA are proud to partner with StreetShares and further the opportunities they present to military owned and veteran owned businesses.

MilitaryConnection.com, one of the most comprehensive directories of military and veteran resources on the web, and non-profit trade association VAMBOA, the Veterans and Military Business Owners Association are proud to announce that they have joined forces to host the “America Salutes You” VIP reception.

The VIP reception will follow the “America Salutes You” live concert on November 12th at the Rosemont Theater in Chicago, Il. Performers include pop legend Cyndi Lauper, singer/songwriter extraordinaire Gavin McGraw, country music legend Wanda Jackson, rapper Hoodie Allen, Gospel Grammy winner CeCe Winans, world-renowned tenor Anthony Kearns, bluegrass legend Ricky Skaggs, rising country stars Tegan Marie and Savannah Maddison, and many others. Tickets can be purchased at http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/0400515AA4A51339.

Text and online fundraising will take place during the concert’s broadcast on television, radio and via stream. Money raised by the concert will benefit several non-profits that serve military, veterans and their families including: the Bob Woodruff Foundation, Easterseals Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services, Give an Hour, Honor Flight Network, Illinois Joining Forces, Joining Forces California, Snowball Express, TAPS and ThanksUSA. Sponsorship opportunities are available, with all funds supporting the concert production, partner charities and foundations.

“We have asked those who serve, past and present, to leave their home and their loved ones to protect our freedoms,” said Debbie Gregory, CEO of MilitaryConnection.com. “After 14 years of war, the number of men and women who have donned our country’s uniform and served multiple tours of combat duty is the largest in modern American history. We owe them a huge debt, and we can repay it by remembering their sacrifices and providing the resources for them to achieve the American Dream.”

“America Salutes You” will stream live on LiveStream, Military.com, TV Worldwide and will be offered to radio stations nationally by Westwood One. The nationally televised concert will air over Thanksgiving weekend on Tribune Broadcasting and Sinclair Broadcast Group stations. To find your local schedule, visit http://americasalutesyou.org/viewlisten/.

About America Salutes You
This concert, which will air nationally, benefits those who serve in the U.S. military, and will take place on Saturday, November 12th 8pm Central time at the Rosemont Theater in Chicago. Performers include pop legend Cyndi Lauper, country music legend Wanda Jackson, rapper Hoodie Allen, Gospel Grammy winner CeCe Winans, world-renowned tenor Anthony Kearns, bluegrass legend Ricky Skaggs, rising country star Tegan Marie and many others. Text and online fundraising will take place during the concert’s broadcast on television, radio and via stream.

About MilitaryConnection.com
MilitaryConnection.com offers one of the most comprehensive directories of military and Veteran resources on the web, focusing on employment, education and more. Military Connection has been named a Top 100 Employment Web Site by the International Association of Employment Web Sites for five years in a row. It is that focus on employment that garnered MilitaryConnection.com one of the prestigious Weddle’s Users Choice Awards for 2015. Military Connection features thousands of pages of resources and information. There is something for everyone including, but not limited to a Job Board and Virtual Job Fair, comprehensive Post 9/11 GI Bill education information with a directory of thousands of scholarships and a Veteran school directory, news, press releases, special events, pay charts, benefits, service directories, commissaries and exchanges, golf courses and more. Military Connection has the honor of working with incredible non-profits to improve the quality of life for those who serve. When the next tour is back home, it’s on Military Connection, the Go To Site.

About VAMBOA
VAMBOA, a 501(c) 6 non-profit organization, has been providing its members with knowledge of government provisions that help service-disabled veteran business owners, Veteran business owners and military business owners since 2010. VAMBOA’s mission is to help drive the success of these veteran business owners. VAMBOA also connects it members to contacts within large corporations and government agencies who can mentor members, and in some cases, can even directly provide members with government contracts and vending contracts within large corporations. Membership in VAMBOA is free.

Westfield’s upcoming free lecture series “The Retail Vetrepreneur” will be held at the Westfield Corporate Office, 2049 Century Park East, Los Angeles,90067. There is also an option to view the series remotely via Video Conference units at two locations.The series contains three presentations covering Marketing, Real Estate, Legal, HR & Finance. Seating is limited.
LA- Corporate Office – Visit http://bit.ly/2cQTdbo to RSVP.
San Diego- Westfield Regional Office – (via video conference) – Visit http://bit.ly/2dIb3yj to RSVP.
Seattle, WA Westfield Southcenter- (via video conference) – Visit http://bit.ly/2d1vmnL to RSVP.

VAMBOA, the Veterans and Military Business Owners Association, has announced that new corporate sponsors are being offered the opportunity of two years of corporate sponsorship for the cost of only one year, at all levels, through September 30th, 2016. The opportunity is also available for current sponsors who renew.

VAMBOA is supported through corporate sponsorship, and does not charge military business owners, veteran business owners or service disabled business owners any membership fees.

VAMBOA recognizes that corporations are seeking to connect with a diverse group of suppliers within their supply chain. Our membership includes Service Disabled Veteran Business Owners, Veteran Business Owners and Military Business Owners. Many are also minorities and women. Corporate sponsorship supports the mission and successes of these Service Disabled Veteran Business Owners, Veteran Business Owners and Military Business Owners. It also provides companies the ability to place their Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and needs in front of VAMBOA’s membership, as well as participate in webinars and conferences, connecting with these diverse suppliers on various levels.

With a nationwide membership of over 6,500 registered business owners, VAMBOA is quickly becoming the Go-To Trade Association for Service Disabled and Veteran and Military Business Owners, and those who want to support them. The 501(c)6 non-profit trade association also has a vibrant social media presence, approaching 300,000 combined fans and followers on social media.

VAMBOA’s founder, Debbie Gregory, said, “Supporting the businesses of our military members and veterans and contributing to their successes provides us with the opportunity to express our pride and appreciation to and for the many who have served and sacrificed to make our country free. It also enables corporations to work with companies run by America’s heroes.”

The next VAMBOA conference is planned for early 2017.

Supporting the businesses of our military members and veterans and contributing to their successes provides us with the opportunity to express our pride and appreciation to and for the many who have served and sacrificed to make our country free

About VAMBOA
VAMBOA, a 501(c) 6 non-profit organization, has been providing its members with knowledge of government provisions that help service-disabled veteran business owners, Veteran business owners and military business owners since 2010. VAMBOA’s mission is to help drive the success of these veteran business owners. VAMBOA also connects it members to contacts within large corporations and government agencies who can mentor members, and in some cases, can even directly provide members with government contracts and vending contracts within large corporations. Membership in VAMBOA is free.