Spotlight on Veterans A merica’s veteran commu-nity today numbers about 18 million… a vibrant segment of our country’s population. While roughly 90 percent male, the gender mix is changing with the times, and according to recent reports from the US Census Bureau, the female segment of the veteran population is expected to nearly double in the next two decades. The ethnicity of this legion of heroes is likewise evolv-ing, with the US Veterans Administra-tion projecting the minority portion of the veteran population to grow by roughly 50 percent by 2040. long recognized the support of our country’s veteran community to be a priority. Throughout the years, AMAC has endorsed initiatives aimed at improving the lives of the millions and millions of citizens who have answered the call to serve. For exam-ple, AMAC has supported ventures designed to improve the quality of health care for veterans, address the growing challenge of homelessness affecting veterans, and aid veter-an-owned small businesses. Initiatives like those endorsed by AMAC are indicative of the esteem held by the organization for all veter-ans, most notably for the substan-tial number of AMAC members who count themselves among the veteran community. With more than a quarter of our members being armed forces veterans and nearly three quarters of the families on our membership rolls having a veteran connection, it’s fair to say that the veteran community is a major area of focus in much of what we do. Initiatives like those mentioned above are but a few of the areas where AMAC has pledged support, all with a common theme of honoring those who have defended our free-doms and our way of life. AMAC’s Veterans 2021 Initiative During the latter part of 2020, AMAC reinforced its commitment to the veteran community with its “Veter-ans 2021 Initiative,” a comprehen-sive blueprint for strengthening its support of this cherished segment of our American population. With this focused approach, AMAC has committed to a number of initiatives intended to make a material contri-bution to veterans in need. From the creation of collaborative arrange-ments with Veterans Service Organi-zations (VSOs) across the spectrum to assisting veteran families in locating and accessing helpful programs and services, this initiative represents a move to foster the mutual exchange of assistance and information, all to the benefit of the veteran community. But no matter the demographics, all veterans have a shared need for support as they deal with challenges like transitioning back to civilian life, finding employment, dealing with health issues, and so on. The list of challenges is not short and is compounded by the aging of the overall veteran population, which now has a median age of roughly 65. AMAC clearly recognizes the impor-tance of these challenges and has 16 • AMAC Magazine
AMAC Magazine April 2021: Page 16
