First-of-Its-Kind Free Online Community Connects Military Members’ Passions, Experience, Needs and Interests

MyVetwork Issues National Call-to-Action to Wear Purple on Veterans Day as a Sign of Unity for the Military and Their Families with the Goal of Increasing Visibility for Military Support

NEW YORK (Business Wire EON/PRWEB ) November 6, 2008 -- Veterans Day is the special day when our nation stops to honor and give thanks to our military veterans and their families. But what happens when the parades are over and the yellow ribbons come down? One challenge is the difficulty service members report in sustaining connections with one another. A second is the feeling reported by some that on the other 364 days of the year, their military status becomes invisible to those around them. The mission of MyVetwork (www.MyVetwork.com) is to empower members of the military, their families and others to initiate and expand the connections among them and to provide access to the critical resources that can get them what they need – all in one place. This has not been possible until now.

Why is it that no one has ever asked the military community what they need?

We've conducted hundreds of interviews across service branches, ranks and cities and have heard time and time again about the need for the military community to be able to connect with one another, share stories, exchange resources, and give and receive support. This fundamental and natural channel for sharing information is long overdue.

MyVetwork replaces the sense of isolation with the comfort of community for military personnel and their families

As a conduit for the exchange of information and support, MyVetwork provides a way to join hands across the nation during deployment as well as during the challenging time of reintegration.

While some existing web sites allow military personnel to post their service records, provide lengthy lists of links to service providers or, in some cases, are merely online military “shopping malls,” MyVetwork invites active duty, retired, and veteran military members and their families to build their own community and interact on multiple levels of shared interests. The community is built upon a dynamic customized platform that matches passions, experiences, needs and interests specific to people in the military and those who support them, providing the basis for a community that’s shaped by and for its members. Member profiles and sophisticated matching algorithms build a visual pin-view that makes it easy for participants to find others with similar interests; make peer-to-peer recommendations; locate long lost buddies; find other parents of wounded veterans eager to exchange critical information; look for support from someone who has “walked in their boots;” give, receive mentoring or career advice; and exchange information on a virtually unlimited number of topics.

Many of our 1.6 million troops deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan return home to challenging times for them and their families. After the yellow ribbons come down, it can be a struggle to plug back into pre-combat lives, with few support systems in place for guidance. Worse yet, many of our military return to small towns or neighborhoods where few people have been touched by the war, and most are unaware of difficulties military families face in their “re-entry” effort.

Trauma literature teaches that connection and community are important curative factors for recovery from trauma. “MyVetwork replaces the sense of isolation with the comfort of community for military personnel and their families,” says Jaine Darwin, Clinical Instructor in Psychology, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School and co-director of SOFAR, Strategic Outreach to Families of All Reservists. “As a conduit for the exchange of information and support, MyVetwork provides a way to join hands across the nation during deployment as well as during the challenging time of reintegration.”

Every new MyVetwork membership instantly helps others. As the community builds, the collective resources are enriched, increasing the breadth of possible matches on a broad range of needs and topics. Not only can individuals interact; groups providing needed services and resources can use MyVetwork to increase their exposure and expand their membership. Large Veterans Service Organizations (VSO’s) like the VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) with its 1.9 million members; AMVETS (600,000); and the American Legion Auxiliary (750,000) are partnering with MyVetwork to provide a new means of connection and interaction among their members. Similarly, smaller groups that provide services are signing on to participate under the MyVetwork umbrella.

In addition to the large VSO’s, some of the groups that have a presence on MyVetwork at launch include:

• VET Foundation (Careers and transition)
• Students Veterans of America (Education)
• Army Wife Talk Radio (Families)
• The Coming Home Project; Strategic Outreach for Families of all Reservists (SOFAR); (Health)
• Vets4Vets; Academy Women (Support)

Get involved and show your support for our service men and women! On November 11, MyVetwork is calling on everyone who is, or wants to acknowledge, a member of the military (living or deceased) to wear purple, a color long associated with valor, and also known as the color of unity: mix Army green, Air Force blue, Marine Red, Navy blue and Coast Guard Blue and the result is purple. Whether an active member of the military, retired, veteran, family member or simply an advocate, let your support be known and sport purple in any form on Veterans Day.

About MyVetwork

MyVetwork (www.MyVetwork.com) is a not for profit organization with 501(c)(3) status, and is free to members. MyVetwork will operate a for-profit arm, whose relationships with a select group of corporations and organizations with a demonstrated commitment to support our Military, will make it possible for MyVetwork to become self-sustaining. The two entities interact pursuant to an operating agreement, overseen by an independent Stewards Council.

MyVetwork is the exclusive trademark of MyVetwork, LLC

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