WASHINGTON, Nov. 9, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- SCORE – www.score.org – mentors to America's small businesses, is grateful on this Veterans Day, to those men and women currently serving in the U.S. military, those who have served previously, and to their families for their commitment to our nation. Upon their return, many veterans and their spouses continue to serve our country as small business owners in their respective communities. SCORE's 12,000+ volunteer small business mentors stand ready and take great pride in helping veterans transition from military life into the civilian realm of small business ownership that will help lead to the revitalization of our economy.

"SCORE mentors are men and women who have been through the trials just as veterans have. Veterans have been out there. They know what it took to survive in their world. SCORE mentors are the same people who have fought those wars except in the business world," said Aurico CEO Joel Golberg, winner of the 2012 SCORE Award for Outstanding Veteran-Owned Small Business.

This year, SCORE's Veteran Fast Launch Initiative - http://vetsfastlaunch.org/ - has provided veterans with over 5,000 scholarships to attend SCORE workshops and seminars.  As a cornerstone of the White House's Joining Forces Initiative, SCORE's Veteran's Fast Launch Initiative has contributed to reducing veteran's unemployment by nearly one fifth since Veterans Day 2011 from 7.7% to 6.3% according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' October 2012 jobs report.

"Mentoring people from all branches of the services, with active duty, veterans and spouses, I have found that they bring an extremely high level of desire, commitment, talent and flexibility to learning and to starting small businesses. It is a great pleasure to work with them," said 7 year SCORE DC Chapter mentor and military veteran, Walter Abbott.

"Veterans have the training, discipline, and perseverance that make for great small business owners and valued employees," says SCORE CEO Ken Yancey. "As the American economy continues to rebuild after the recession, veterans and their families will play a key role in this nation's success as they did during their time of service at home or abroad. SCORE is committed to helping our veterans just as our veterans have worked tirelessly for us."  

With more than 340 SCORE chapters nationwide, SCORE stands ready and willing to assist our veterans as they return home. SCORE mentors provide millenniums of business experience in hundreds of industries through face-to-face mentoring sessions or online with email mentoring. Both are available at www.score.org/mentors. 

About SCORE
Since 1964, SCORE has helped more than 9 million aspiring entrepreneurs. Each year SCORE helps launch 58,000 new businesses and create 71,000 jobs. SCORE provides small business mentoring and workshops to more than 375,000 new and growing small businesses annually.

For more information about starting or operating a small business, call 1-800/634-0245 for the SCORE chapter nearest you. Visit SCORE at www.score.org. Connect with SCORE at www.facebook.com/SCOREFans and www.twitter.com/SCOREMentors.

Contact Information 
Shalini Karnani Bonjour
800/634-0245
media@score.org 

SOURCE SCORE