MLB commits $500,000 to nonprofits supporting transition services for military veterans and families.

New York – Major League Baseball announced Monday a $500,000 grant commitment, through 2019, to several nonprofit organizations focused on transition services and systems navigation for military veterans and their families. The organizations include Code of Support Foundation, The Mission Continues and American Corporate Partners, with services ranging from career, personal and network development, in addition to fulfilling general family needs, caregiving and community outreach. More than 200,000 service members transition to civilian life each year.

The grant to Code of Support Foundation will support the continued rollout of PATRIOTlink®, a cloud-based research solution that enables service members and military support organizations to efficiently identify and effectively utilize all resources to fulfill veteran families’ needs. Funding will also be directed towards the organization’s Case Coordination program, which pairs trained Veteran and Caregiver Peer Navigators with military and veteran families to provide customized and holistic one-on-one support.

The Mission Continues empowers veterans who are adjusting to life at home to find purpose through community impact. The nonprofit is dedicated to bringing together veterans and innovative community organizations to create transformational change for communities in need across the country. Through this unique model, veterans build new skills and networks that help them successfully reintegrate to life after their military careers, while also making long-term, sustainable transformations in communities. MLB funding will support organizational capacity-building efforts in addition to sponsoring the annual Women Veterans Leadership Summit. Applications are being accepted for the 2019 Women Veterans Leadership Summit through December 1, 2018. Women veterans, guardsmen and reservists from all branches and generations of service are encouraged to apply. To apply visit: www.missioncontinues.org/wvls.

The grants will also support a program with American Corporate Partners, which is focused on helping returning veterans find their next careers through one-on-one mentoring, networking and online career advice. More than 20,000 veterans have participated in ACP’s programs since its founding in 2008. As a partner, MLB will engage 25 front-office employees in ACP’s mentoring program, who will each connect with one veteran mentee for a year-long commitment to advance the veteran’s goals for professional development and career planning.

These grants are in addition to several efforts by MLB and Clubs to support service members, military families and veterans. Recently, MLB announced a partnership with SHIFT, a talent development company that assists active service members and military veterans from all five branches of the U.S. Armed Forces with career changes and connects them with open job positions. SHIFT is working directly with MLB Human Resources to identify posted positions and coordinate initial interviews for candidates throughout the League, including the Commissioner’s Office, all 30 Clubs, MLB Network and MLB.com. Based in Silicon Valley, SHIFT (www.shift.org) is a progressive, mission driven talent development company that powers successful career shifts for military veterans in every branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. Created and run by military veterans, SHIFT aligns career opportunities with skilled and experienced service members as they begin the transition into the next chapter of their professional lives.

In May, MLB donated 100% of its royalties from the sales of Memorial Day weekend apparel, totaling more than $500,000, to charities supporting children and families grieving the loss of a military loved one, specifically Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) and Folds of Honor Foundation.

Final grants through the Welcome Back Veterans initiative, which was launched in 2008 and has provided more than $30 million in funding to veteran service organizations, will be announced in December 2018.

At the Club level, each Major League Baseball team supports initiatives in a variety of ways, including military and veteran appreciation events and programming, military-related community giving and gameday pregame activities.