Supporting Veteran colleagues and communities

In a time where good corporate citizenship is pivotal to the world around us, our Community Impact team continues to take the lead – helping Vizient improve our partnerships with our providers and communities and working alongside our Diversity Networking Associations (DNAs) to deliver expertise and compassion where it’s most needed to create long-lasting change.

Giving back to veterans in our communities

Supporting veterans entering the civilian workforce

Hire Heroes USA empowers U.S. military members, veterans and military spouses to succeed in the civilian workforce. Through one-on-one career counseling and individualized resources, Hire Heroes transition specialists help clients achieve career readiness and employment that is financially sustaining and professionally rewarding.

“We’ve been working alongside Hire Heroes USA for many years, and it’s incredibly rewarding supporting veterans as they transition to civilian life – helping them assess how their military skills translate to corporate jobs,” said Rand Ballard, chief customer officer and U.S. Army veteran. “It’s about finding a good company fit where veterans can leverage their skills, experience and strategic mindset to help organizations achieve their goals.”

In 2024 Vizient continued its support of Hire Heroes in their efforts to recruit, train and place veterans into available positions within the health care industry. For veterans living with PTSD or with another disability, support transitioning into a safe, stable work environment can be life-saving. Ensuring that veterans and their families have access to healthy work environments and economic stability impacts the health of the community and Vizient is proud to support this work.

Volunteering to help veterans nationwide

The veteran community is faced with numerous obstacles that make it more challenging to access vital resources – such as food, housing, mental health care and medical care in general. Vizient is proud to partner with several nonprofits that offer services and support for veterans and their families to help end health disparities in our communities. During our annual Community Day event, Team Vizient volunteered with the following organizations on various projects designed to support veterans.

Equest – Dallas

Our employees partnered with Equest personnel to beautify their campus. Equest provides equine facilitated activities, therapies and counseling to children and adults with physical, cognitive, sensory, coping, social and learning disabilities and to veterans with adjustment challenges. The services provided include physical and occupational therapy, equine facilitated counseling, therapeutic carriage driving, therapeutic horsemanship and competition. Volunteer tasks included a variety of projects like stable chores, gardening, securing fencing, clearing trails to prep for riders, preparing for Ridefest and assembling angel tree ornaments.

The Bridge – Dallas

The Bridge is a Homeless Recovery Center for individuals without a home in Dallas County. Their doors are open twenty-four hours per day, seven days a week, and it’s the only shelter in Dallas providing day shelter services to all adults experiencing homelessness. The Bridge offers basic services including hot showers, nutritious meals and haircuts, as well as intensive services such as physical and mental health evaluations and care management services for over 800 guests daily as well as 300 guests at night. Team Vizient helped with a variety of housekeeping updates, including painting, gardening and donation sorting.

Greater Chicago Food Depository – Chicago

One in five veteran families experience food insecurity in the U.S. (compared to one in eight families on average). Vizient employees across the country volunteered at food banks, pantries and depositories – like the Greater Chicago Food Depository – to pack, sort and distribute meals for neighbors facing food insecurity. The Greater Chicago Food Depository distributes approximately 90 million pounds of food throughout Cook County annually. GCFD is continuously expanding their services to reach people where they are: growing their mobile outreach, tailoring meals for specific dietary restrictions and building their network of partners.

Meals on Wheels – Chicago and Dallas

Two thirds of Meals on Wheels clients are on fixed incomes below the poverty line, with one third receiving less than $1000/month. In addition to facing severe food insecurity, one in three Meals on Wheels clients are experiencing feelings of loneliness and isolation. Having a relied-upon, weekly contact with a Meals on Wheels volunteer or staff member is not just critical for seniors’ food security, but also for their mental and physical health. Local Meals on Wheels programs serve more than 475,000 veterans annually. In Dallas and Chicago, Team Vizient showed up for Meals on Wheels clients by delivering nutritious foods and hosting a fun BINGO lunch for local seniors.

Soldiers’ Angels – Dallas

Employees created red, white and blue fleece blankets for our First Response Backpacks, which are given to injured U.S. Soldiers. Soldiers' Angels provide aid and comfort to the men and women of the United States Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and their families and strive to improve the lives of a growing veteran population. Each year, hundreds of thousands of our 'Angel' volunteers assist veterans, wounded and deployed personnel and their families in a variety of ways.