Since the inception of VAA in 1996, our mission has been toenhance the economic well-being of America’s veterans.  In September 2009, VAA formally launched the Champion Mentoring Program.  To date, VAA has successfully paired hundreds of Champion Mentors with Veteran Mentees.  Champion Mentors serve as career catalysts and employment advocates and are linked one-on-one with Veteran Mentees to utilize the Champion Mentor’s networks to secure employment,often transcending the enlisted veteran mentee’s education and formal military skills.  Moreover, additional mentor-mentee relationships are being formed each day, with the financial sponsorship of organizations and foundations inclusive of The Achelis & Bodman Foundations, The  Robin Hood Foundation, NYSE Euronext Foundation, JPMorgan Chase, Walmart, MetLife, Wyndham, Goldman Sachs, McGraw-Hill, Boeing, Sony, National Grid, and MillerCoors.  VAA’s Champion Mentoring Program, is in part, a model of thesuccessful post World War II experience for returning veterans who connected with a business person who willingly shared their own business and professional networks and/or actually gave them a job and an opportunity to learn a business.   VAA’s management of the qualityassurance aspects of its program has forged an unprecedented (65%) employment success record serving the veteran community, while simultaneously addressing the job needs of the ever-increasing and now newly unemployed Reservists and National Guard members.  In addition, our Champion Mentoring Program has been utilized within the veteran-owned business community to enhance entrepreneurial competitiveness and employ veterans as a valued asset for small businesses.