Veteran Fellowship Program Secures Dozens Of Internships

One year after unveiling the Veteran Fellowship Program, an initiative led by nonprofit organizations Veterans in Media & Entertainment (VME) and Got Your 6, and backed by numerous entertainment partners, the group announced today that it had secured dozens of paid internships for veterans and helped numerous others land full-time jobs in Hollywood during its first year.

The initiative was led by founding entertainment partners 21st Century Fox, 44 Blue, A+E Networks, CBS, The Ebersol Lanigan Co., DreamWorks Animation, Endemol Shine North America, HBO, Lionsgate, Live Nation Entertainment (including its House of Blues, Ticketmaster, Insomniac and Roc Nation groups), NBCUniversal, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, United Talent Agency, Valhalla Entertainment and Viacom.

Since launching last November, the Fellowship Program secured 35 individual paid internships for veterans and thus far, five have turned into fulltime jobs. The Program has also added several new entertainment partners, including TNT/TBS and A Really Good Home Pictures.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has also joined forces with VME as a new grant partner and has connected the Fellowship Program to its academic grant recipients to help expand the pipeline of student veterans who can apply for the initiative. Since the initiative launched, Got Your 6 has become a part of the Bob Woodruff Foundation, leveraging the power of storytelling and the partnership of the entertainment industry to help veterans and their families thrive after their time in uniform.

Karen Kraft, chair, Veterans in Media & Entertainment, said: “We are very proud of the great work that has been accomplished during the first year of the Veteran Fellowship Program. Our entertainment partners from across Hollywood have all stepped up to create opportunities that have allowed veterans to gain invaluable experience in a wide array of production and studio disciplines. And the fact that our veterans have been able to turn many of these internships into full-time positions is a testament to the success of the program. We look forward to working with our colleagues at Got Your 6 and across the entertainment industry during our second year that we are embarking on now.”

“At Got Your 6 and the Bob Woodruff Foundation, we continue to focus on veteran employment and education as a strategic investment priority,” said Anne Marie Dougherty, executive director of the Bob Woodruff Foundation. “We are proud to stand with our entertainment industry partners in support of creating more opportunities for veterans, in Hollywood and around the country.”

Supported by a grant from the national empowerment organization Got Your 6 and retailer Macy’s, the Veteran Fellowship Program is administered by Veterans in Media & Entertainment, the leading professional organization for military veterans working in the entertainment industry. VME works with industry partners to collect open position descriptions, curate veteran candidates for the positions and supports veteran fellows through weekly check-ins and networking and educational events with other veterans throughout Los Angeles.

For their participation, industry partners pair veteran fellows with mentors, organize monthly internal education meetings, and host industry-side networking events on a rotating basis to bring together the entire class of Fellows. For information about the Veteran Fellowship Program, email [email protected].