Dozens of Vets Seek Employment At Senator Sanders' Job & Resource Fair

State Senator James Sanders Jr. (D-Rochdale Village) held a successful Veterans Job & Resource Fair on Monday, March 20, 2017 at the Daniel M. O'Connell American Legion Post 272 in Rockaway Beach.  The event coincided with the 14^th Anniversary of the start of the Iraq War, and provided an opportunity to both assist veterans and celebrate their service to our country.
 
Dozens of veterans, representing nearly every branch of the military, packed the legion, which is housed inside the Knights of Columbus seeking jobs and other assistance. There were over 40 different organizations on hand to help with their needs.

Representatives from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs were available to provide support with healthcare and other VA benefits. The IRS offered free tax tips and advice, while Cindy Katz, coordinator of the Veteran’s Justice Project at Queens Legal Services, provided free legal help. Leah Solomon of the NYS Comptroller’s Office of Unclaimed Funds helped vets search for cash on the spot.

A wide array of job opportunities were also available in fields ranging from healthcare and construction to transportation and retail. The event was a top to bottom vet function with the festivities being sponsored by Veteran Movers NYC, a company owned and operated by veterans and a complimentary lunch being catered by Vets Inc., another veteran owned and operated company.

"My friends, we are gathered here because we need to take care of ourselves," Sanders said.  "If you are looking for this society to do right by you - forget about it. We need to do for ourselves, and with ourselves. We need to work with our organizations. If you are a young veteran, one of the first things you need to do is get connected. Don't try to deal with the system on your own." 

The event was co-sponsored by Assembly Member Stacey Pheffer Amato.
 
"It was such an honor to co-host this superb event to help our Veterans secure good-paying jobs,” Pheffer Amato said. “Vets have the best possible skill set - no wonder they were literally recruiting for a captain for our long-awaited Citywide Ferry!  When you have a crucial community or business program, you know a Veteran can get it done.  Every person in that room has earned our respect a million times over.  I want to thank Senator Sanders, and I know I speak for him when I say we both want to thank all the Vets who came out and the folks who helped pull this event together.  I look forward to doing much more along these lines."
 
Senator Sanders' Veterans Job & Resource Fair represents  continued outreach by his office to the veteran community. 

Featured guests at the event included: Alliance Computing Solutions, American Legion (Daniel M. O’Connell Post 272), Black Veterans For Social Justice, Citywide Ferry by Hornblower, Combined Insurance, COCOON Homecare Reborn, CVO Home for Female Veterans Inc., CVS Health, Defender Security Services, Department of Justice – Federal Bureau of Prisons, Easter Seals, FDNY, Helmets to Hardhats, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Jericho Project, Knights of Columbus, Metropolitan Transit Authority, Non-Traditional Employment for Women, NYC Board of Elections, NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS), NYC Department of Correction, NYC Department of Veterans’ Services, NYC Human Resources Administration, NYC Small Business Administration, NYS Division of Veterans’ Affairs, NYPD, NYS Comptroller’s Office of Unclaimed Funds, NYS Department of Civil Service, Ocean Bay Community Development Corporation, Queens College, Queens Legal Services, Richmond Hill Army Recruitment Center, Royal Care, Samaritan Village, Skanska Walsh, U.S. Border and Customs Patrol, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, United States Postal Service (USPS), Veteran Movers NYC and Vets Inc.
 
Special thanks to the Knights of Columbus for allowing us to use their space and for providing refreshments for the guests. Also thanks to Jim Trainor, the Queens County Commander of the American Legion, and American Legion Post 272 for helping to facilitate the event.