The Mission Continues

The Mission Continues

Founded	August 2007; 17 years ago (2007-08)
Type	Veteran Service Organization, Nonprofit
Headquarters	St. Louis, MO
Location	St. Louis, Missouri
Area served	Nationwide
Method	Professional Development, Leadership Development
President	Mary Beth Bruggeman
Chief Strategy Officer	Susan Thaxton
Chief Marketing and Development Officer	James Gillen
Chief People Officer	La Costa Moore
Board of directors	Len Kortakaas
Website	www.missioncontinues.org

The Mission Continues^[1] is a 501(c)(3) national nonprofit organization^[2] that aims to empower military veterans to apply their skills and leadership abilities to benefit under-resourced communities. Established with the recognition that veterans possess a unique drive and dedication to serve, the organization seeks to harness these qualities to foster community development and support. By providing veterans with the tools and opportunities to continue their service beyond the military, the organization addresses the dual challenges of veteran reintegration and community underdevelopment.^[3] They connect veterans with under-resourced communities, helping veteran volunteers collaborate with nonprofit partners.^[4][5]

Programs and Initiatives

• Service Platoon Program

Led by volunteers who are veterans, they coordinate projects tailored to local needs.^[6] As of March 2023, service platoons are active in 40 cities.^[7]

• Annual Mass Deployment Since 2016, veterans from across the country alongside local partners volunteer in a single city for a week.^{[8][9][10][11][12]}

• Women Veterans Leadership Program In April 2016, The Mission Continues launched the first Women Veterans Leadership Summit ^[13] and due to its success, it was pivoted towards a full-fledged program.^[14][15][16]

Awards

The organization was named one of the 50 Best Nonprofits to Work For in 2012, 2013^[17] and 2014.^{[18][19][20][21][22][23]}

History

Formerly Center for Citizen Leadership, the organization was founded in 2007 by Republican politician Eric Greitens.^[24][25] Mary Beth Bruggeman is the current President.^[26][27]

Political controversy

Eric Greitens stepped down as CEO in July 2014 to pursue political aspirations in Missouri;^[28] Greitens was accused of improperly taking The Mission Continues list of donors and his campaign was fined in 2015.^[29] On April 20, 2018, Greitens was charged with felony computer data tampering, related to the same incident.^[30] The charges were later dropped.^[31]

See also

• Team Rubicon

References

1. "Veterans Day 2021: They're out of uniform, but the mission continues". The Washington Post. November 10, 2021.
2. "Goldman to Donate $20 Million to Nonprofits". The Wall Street Journal. December 9, 2010. (Goldman) .. donation, .. a three-year-old
3. "About". Retrieved March 19, 2015.
4. "Our Mission". The Mission Continues. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
5. "Core Values". The Mission Continues. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
6. "Volunteer veteran platoons to take on public service". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
7. "Service Platoon Program". The Mission Continues. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
8. "Operation Military City Salute". The Mission Continues. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
9. "Veterans beautify Detroit in week-long service marathon, volunteers encouraged to join in". Fox News. June 25, 2016. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
10. "Hundreds of Military & Veterans Volunteer to Rebuild & Revitalize Detroit in Nation's First-Ever Local "Mass Deployment"". March 4, 2017. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
11. "The Mission Continues connects Veterans, helps communities". January 15, 2020. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
12. "Service Leadership Corps". Retrieved June 24, 2020.
13. "FHG Commanding General Empowers Female Veterans". Retrieved June 24, 2020.
14. "2019: THE LAST WOMEN VETERANS LEADERSHIP SUMMIT". Retrieved June 24, 2020.
15. "Female veterans refurbish D.C. facility for homeless women". The Washington Times. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
16. "Women Veterans Leadership". Retrieved June 24, 2020.
17. "the NonProfit Times: Best Nonprofits to Work For 2013" (PDF). The Nonprofit Times. Retrieved September 22, 2013.
18. "NPT's Best Nonprofits to Work For 2014" (PDF). The Nonprofit Times.
19. "Outside's Best Places to Work 2014". Outside. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
20. "2011 Innovation Award Winners". Social Venture Network. February 16, 2012. Archived from the original on February 25, 2013. Retrieved September 22, 2013.
21. "Mission Continues Business Review in Saint Louis, MO - Eastern Missouri & Southern Illinois BBB". Better Business Bureau. Retrieved September 22, 2013.
22. "The Mission Continues Awarded Prestigious Social Change Grant". The Mission Continues. Retrieved September 22, 2013.
23. "The Mission Continues Receives Target's "Best of Bullseye" Award". The Mission Continues. Retrieved September 22, 2013.
24. "Founding Story". The Mission Continues. Retrieved September 22, 2013.
25. "For veteran volunteers, story is part of the work". Military Times.
26. Lee Enterprises (July 2, 2014). "STL's Eric Greitens steps down as veterans group chief". stltoday.com.
27. "The Mission Continues puts veterans to work on community projects nationwide". Harvard Magazine. November 2014.
28. The Editorial Board. "Editorial: Greitens drags the charity he founded into his ethical muck". stltoday.com. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
29. "Editorial: Greitens drags the charity he founded into his ethical muck". stltoday.com. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
30. Gorman, Steve. "Missouri governor charged with felony computer data tampering". Reuters. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
31. "Prosecutor dropping computer tampering case against Greitens". Politico. Retrieved September 22, 2013.

External links

• The Mission Continues
• 2012 Annual Report
• MSNBC Profile on The Mission Continues

Goldman donation