Tailored to Accommodate the Social and Economic Needs of our Heroes:

Some our returning veterans struggle emotionally, socially and financially adjusting back to a normal civilian work and social life.

David Rudd, a study researcher at the University of Utah who was one of the first to look at psychological symptoms in student veterans, said, he felt most colleges were not very well prepared to meet the demands of our returning veterans. In a national survey he conducted with his colleagues of 525 student veterans with the average age of 26 who were mostly coming back from the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan, nearly half the veterans in their study said they had had suicidal thoughts at some point, and one-fifth said they had planned to kill themselves. And, the percentage of student veterans who said they had attempted suicide was six times higher than that of the general college student population. 

Mike Haynie, executive director of the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse added that there is a tremendous need to help our veterans assimilate into civilian corporate culture so they can be successful.  He added that successful assimilation of these veterans will require special attention.

VFCC is 100% committed to provide our veterans all the Support and Financial Assistance they will need to complete their studies and thrive in a new career in fitness.

Dependents (Spouses and Children of Veterans):

More than half of our active duty members are married and almost three quarters of their spouses are also seeking employment opportunities. Many of these active duty military families are struggling financially because the spouses struggle to find employment opportunities. Additionally, there are more than 15 million “brats” (i.e. children of veterans) in America, many of which are adults seeking jobs. Multiple studies have shown these individuals have unique personalities, social skills and international awareness that will work well in service-related careers (e.g. Personal Training).

VFC College welcomes all military dependents into our community where we will work to find all dependents gainful career opportunities in the fitness industry as well.

VFCC All-Veteran Executive Staff and Faculty::

The VFCC Community and culture, consisting of our all-veteran staff,  is just the same as it was for us in the military, where the creed, "leave no man (or woman) behind," remains our motto.  Our commitment is sincere. Our community is here to support, guide and mentor you through your entire academic programs, as well as your career progression. Rest assured, there will always be someone in our community who will answer your questions and encourage you to succeed.

In addition to the VFC College all-veteran staff of Fitness Educators, the VFCC Community is proud to  include our 27 Course Authors & Presenters who, over the last 20-30 years, have come to be known as some of the world's most well-known progressive Health & Fitness educators (e.g. Paul Chek, Tom Purvis, John Berardi, Greg Roskopf, Chris Paschane and many others.)

        Paul Chek                      Tom Purvis                       John Berardi                   Greg Roskopf

Service-Connected Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business:

VFC College is owned 100% as a Service-Connected Disabled Veteran Small Business. Gulf War Veteran and Founder of VFCC, Chris Paschane, developed multiple debilitating back and joint problems as well as other health problems leading to complications with the health of his liver and spleen due to excessive exposure to toxic chemicals which eventually resulted in an 80% VA disability rating. As the sole owner of VFCC, Paschane also employs an all executive staff of veterans, many of which who were also awarded rating disabilities at 80-100% themselves.

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Employment Solutions in Fitness for Veterans

According to current veteran statistics we have over 1.4 million active military personnel along with the 1.1 million military members who currently serve in the National Guard and Reserve forces. In addition to these 2.5 million military members, we have over 22.5 million veterans. That’s over 25 million Americans who have served or is currently serving in the Armed Services—that’s about 1 out of every 9 Americans "who, at one point in his/her life, wrote a blank check made payable to The United States of America, for an amount of up to, and including his/her life" (American Legion Post 4, 2011).

According to a 2008 Department of Veterans Affairs report, 4.4 million of our veterans have been discharged since 1990—two million of which served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.  In addition to these staggering numbers another 39,000 just recently came home from Iraq along with another 10,000 from Afghanistan which should be followed by another 23,000 in the summer of 2012.  

With so many veterans returning home in the last few years, we are seeing historic unemployment numbers with veterans. In 2010, the unemployment rate for veterans was already almost a full percentage higher than non-veterans.  By July of 2011, as the Iraq and Afghani-era veterans returned home, unemployment increased to a record 12.4%.