New community center helps veterans find work

Washington, DC, November 6, 2015

SUN SENTINEL

New community center helps veterans find work

By Donna Gehrke-White

A new community center in Fort Lauderdale will help veterans get back to work.

The United Way of Broward County on Tuesday will open the Jean and David Colker Center for veterans and their families. "We wanted to open it before Veterans Day" on Wednesday, said Kathleen Cannon, president and CEO at United Way of Broward County.

A primary mission of the $1.1 million center is to help veterans find jobs or get training for better-paying work, Cannon said.

"Some veterans are underemployed," she said. "Their skills sometimes do not easily translate onto a resume."

The center also will help veterans with housing, education, emergency financial aid, legal and health services as part of Mission United, a community-based United Way initiative.

The center was built on the United Way campus at 1300 S. Andrews Ave.

U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, is expected to attend a ribbon-cutting at 4 p.m. Tuesday.

Since January 2013, more than 2,000 Broward County veterans have received assistance from Mission United for housing, employment, education, emergency financial aid, legal and health issues.

For more information, call the United Way at 954-486-4833.