Hollywood and Veterans Come Together to Help Feed Los Angeles Children

The Mission Continues Teams With Got Your 6 to Bring Hollywood And Veterans Together For Service Project To Help Feed Los Angeles Children

Producer J.J. Abrams, Entertainment Industry Executives, And Celebrities 
Celebrate Veterans Day With Service at Universal Studios Hollywood

National veterans nonprofit The Mission Continues, alongside the Got Your 6campaign, is kicking off Veterans Day weekend with a community service project that unites military veterans, entertainment executives and celebrities. The service project event will benefit food-insecure children in the Los Angeles community.

On Friday, Nov. 9, hundreds of veterans, members of the entertainment industry, and community volunteers will gather at Universal Studios Hollywood for “Veterans Day 2012: Celebrating Leadership and Service.” Together, The Mission Continues and Got Your 6 will lead the event that spotlights veterans’ roles as community leaders as they work side-by-side with volunteers, including producer J.J. Abrams (“Revolution,” “Lost”) to fill thousands of backpacks with food for local children.

“Veterans Day is a chance to recognize our country’s service members not only for the leadership they exhibited in military service, but also for their desire to continue their service here at home,” said Eric Greitens, Chief Executive Officer, The Mission Continues. “Through events like this one, we hope to inspire communities across the country to embrace veterans as critical community assets who bring about positive change every day.”

Before the service event, Bad Robot Productions and NBCUniversal will host The Mission Continues and Got Your 6 at a welcome breakfast for veterans and volunteers at Universal Studios Hollywood. Following remarks from Greitens, Abrams, and NBCUniversal President and COO Ron Meyer, veterans and volunteers from the entertainment community will spend the morning filling more than 5,000 backpacks for food-insecure children in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Veterans and celebrities will then deliver the care packages to more than a dozen schools throughout the Los Angeles area.

“When veterans and the entertainment industry team up, it’s a powerful force for social good,” said Chris Marvin, Managing Director, Got Your 6. “This event is just an example of the ways in which our veterans stand ready to help and serve at home. But, more importantly, it enables veterans to personally and directly connect to their community through service.”

The backpacks, donated by jcpenney, will be filled with food and other household staples to support some of the more than 640,000 children in Los Angeles County who are food insecure.

 About The Mission Continues  - The Mission Continues challenges veterans to serve and lead in communities across America. The organization was founded by former US Navy SEAL Eric Greitens in 2007 when he returned from his final deployment to Iraq, fueled by the deep belief that veterans are civic assets.  The Mission Continues offers six-month community service fellowships to veterans, awarding over 500 fellowships to date.  The organization does not offer charity; rather, it challenges returning service members to utilize their tremendous skills and leadership to continue serving our country at home. The Mission Continues is also the lead organization for the Got Your 6 campaign veterans leadership pillar. For more information, please visit http://www.missioncontinues.org.

About Got Your 6 - Got Your 6 is a campaign designed to change the conversation in America such that veterans and military families are seen as civic assets and leaders who will reinvigorate our community.  The campaign combines the reach and resources of the top American entertainment studios, networks, guilds and agencies with the expertise and commitment of more than two dozen non-profit organizations. Got Your 6 also enjoys the partnership of organizations such as Goodwill Industries and The Mission Continues.  Through an extensive media footprint and a set of substantial service commitments, Got Your 6 will ensure successful reintegration of veterans into civilian life.  For more information, visit www.gotyour6.org.  Be the Change, Inc., an independent 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, is the organizing body and fiscal agent for Got Your 6.