Key insights
- CLA exists to create opportunities, including for our communities. One of the many ways we help our communities is through American Corporate Partners’ Veteran Mentoring Program.
- ACP’s Veteran Mentoring Program connects veterans with corporate professionals to help them with career exploration, interview preparation, networking, and leadership.
- ACP is currently looking for more business professionals to serve as mentors. You don’t have to be a veteran to be an ACP mentor and it requires only one hour a month.
Join CLA in Mentoring Through ACP; use code CLACACP at sign-up
CLA exists to create opportunities ― for our clients, our people, and our communities. One of the many ways we help our communities is through American Corporate Partners’ Veteran Mentoring Program.
ACP’s Veteran Mentoring Program connects veterans with corporate professionals to help them with career exploration, interview preparation, networking, and continued leadership development. More than 30,000 veterans and active-duty spouses have completed the program.
Since joining the program in 2018, 82 CLA team members have mentored more than 150 veterans. For the CLA mentors, many say it’s also created opportunities for them, as they gain so much personally from being a mentor.
“You get more out of it than you put in by learning about the experiences of military personnel,” said John Langan, retired leader at CLA. “In a small way I feel I have contributed to supporting those who allowed me to pursue my private sector goals under a blanket of freedom.”
“Being an ACP mentor is a rewarding experience — it helps center you on what matters in life and it feels good to help others,” said Michael Westervelt, CLA principal. “It’s very fulfilling to share knowledge and experiences with those who served our country.”
“I love being an ACP mentor — it has been extremely rewarding,” said John Duffy, CLA senior search consultant.
Supporting veterans is important to CLA and the CLA Foundation has donated $150,000 to support ACP’s mentoring program. ACP is a strategic grantee of the CLA Foundation which for the past eight years has provided over $9 million in funding for organizations focused on employment, education, and entrepreneurship.
ACP also provides mentors to active-duty spouses and several CLA team members have served as spouse mentors.
“As the spouse of a retired military serviceman, I really appreciate the additional focus of providing mentorship to military spouses,” said Elena Bender, CLA senior report administrator. “It has been a rewarding experience to know ACP encourages and supports military spouses in realizing their career dreams and goals.”
ACP is currently looking for more business professionals to serve as mentors. You don’t have to be a veteran to be an ACP mentor and it requires only one hour a month.
ACP’s preference is to work with companies who can provide at least three mentors and $3,000 annually to support the program. It costs ACP $1,000 for each mentee.
To sign up to be a mentor, go to acp-usa.org/mentor and use code CLACACP. To learn more, contact Casey Smith at csmith@acp-usa.org