After a decade of dedicated service and impact, Patriots Path is closing its doors and its founder, Noël, is embarking on an exciting new chapter, still continuing to support transitioning military personnel. We extend our deepest gratitude to our supporters, partners, donors, and volunteers for their unwavering commitment to our cause. If you have any questions or need continued support, please reach out to Noël McCall at

noel.mccall@patriots-path.org

Patriots Path Honors Volunteers at Annual Appreciation Event 2018

By June 2, 2017Events

Charlotte-Based Non-Profit Celebrates Teaching Record Number of Proprietary Courses to Military Personnel in Career Transition

CHARLOTTE – March 26, 2018 – Last week, Patriots Path held its third annual volunteer appreciation event at Free Range Brewing in Charlotte, N.C. The event, which was started in 2016, honors volunteers, coaches, course hosts, students and community supporters.

This year, there was a lot to celebrate, including Patriots Path’s fifth anniversary coming up this summer. Since being founded in July 2013, the Charlotte-based non-profit has taught over 208 classes to transitioning military personnel. Although, courses are predominantly held in the greater Charlotte area, the program expanded last year and is being taught in South Carolina, Raleigh and Fort Bragg, N.C., as well.

Of the 50 attendees was Noël McCall, Executive Director of Patriots Path, who also serves as one of the primary instructors for the program.

“Our goal is to find new ways for veterans to feel more at home, back at home,” said McCall, who was an executive search consultant and held numerous director-level roles in placement and talent acquisition and development prior to founding Patriots Path. “We want to make transitioning feel like less of a challenge.”

Patriots Path courses are made up of five classes taught in multiple half day sessions. Classes cover everything from resume writing, to job searching, to preparing for an interview and include a personality assessment and one-on-one mentoring. All classes are held in corporate offices or training facilities and are taught by volunteer career coaches and executive recruiters. The courses are designed to familiarize transitioning military personnel with civilian job search techniques and resources. They are available to military veterans and spouses, as well as active duty Guard and Reserve members.

To maximize the more personalized career coaching approach Patriots Path provides, course sizes are usually limited to between 10-15 students.

But support through Patriots Path does not end after the five days in the classroom, nor is the impact only on the students taking the course.

“We set out with one mission, but subsequently ended up completing another. Every company right now is saying they want to hire more veterans, but they don’t always know how to. I’ve found, a bi-product of Patriots Path is that the volunteers have the chance to learn more about military candidates, what makes them tick and what questions to ask to make better post-military hires,” said McCall. “When they’re volunteering, they make these meaningful connections offline. They’re not in their hiring chairs and they tend to learn more.”

“Another thing I’ve noticed is that students will stay after class and chat with each other,” said McCall. “Recently I overheard someone say to another student he had just lost his 8th soldier to suicide. They confide in each other, and they share information and resources to help each other. It builds a sense of community and gives them that comradery they’re used to.”

The next Patriots Path course will be held in Charlotte, N.C. and starts on August 28th.

For more information, go to: www.patriots-path.org.

About Patriots Path

Founded in 2013, Patriots Path is the region’s first non-profit career coaching and job search training program created specifically to support the unique needs of military personnel in transition to civilian careers. Developed and taught by career coaches and executive recruiters who understand the complexities of the civilian hiring process, the Patriots Path course empowers and encourages veterans in translating their experiences while navigating the complex civilian landscape of networking, elevator pitches and interviewing.

For anyone new to the job search process, the most important first step is evaluating what career options are of real interest and hold true potential for the job seeker. Our program is unique in that we don’t just connect our students with job opportunities but rather support them first in discovering how their military experience can translate to the civilian workforce in the most rewarding way. Starting our class with a specialized personality/interest assessment brings focus to who these service men and women are as individuals and what positions could lead to lifetime careers, not just “a job with a paycheck.” This more personalized approach, also reflected in our one-on-one mentoring with local HR professionals and business executives, is what makes Patriots Path special.

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Media Contacts:

Brittney Murray
(603) 504-2024
brittney@bmurbrandinggroup.com

Noël McCall
(704) 369-5500
noel.mccall@patriots-path.org

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