Great school with outstanding instructors. This school gave me the confidence I needed coming out of the Marines after 12 years. I became a welder, got a job as a Maintenance tech, moved up to being an operator and ultimately became the Safety Manager. It all started with Work Shop for Warriors.
Why we support Workshop for Warriors
We must never forget why we are free. America is a very unique country in history. We are the only capitalist democracy to last more than 200 years. We only have to look back to 9-11 to realize that we are the envy and target of every evil regime in the world. Russia, China, many middle eastern countries would all like for the United States to be at their mercy. There is only one reason we are not, our military. We are grateful for every person who puts on a uniform to defend our freedoms. Our freedom to determine our own path, our freedom of speech and of religious choice. These and many other freedoms do not exist in many countries and only the United States is big enough and strong enough to defend freedom, not only here but around the world.
Workshops for Warriors provides an opportunity for those who defend us and our freedoms a way to transition back to civilian life. It gives them a path to support their families. Soldiers don’t want a hand out, but sometimes they need a hand up. It seems to us the least we can do is help our hero’s find a secure skillset to provide for themselves and their family. This is what Workshop for Warriors does.
The fact that we support welders and technically skilled workers who in turn provide for our families, it makes great sense to support Workshop for Warriors, who train soldiers for those positions. We also know that there is a big need for technically skilled workers in our society, this seems to complete a sort of cycle where everyone benefits. We hope that Workshop for Warriors can continue to grow and support more of our veterans.
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Why we support Workshop for Warriors
We must never forget why we are free. America is a very unique country in history. We are the only capitalist democracy to last more than 200 years. We only have to look back to 9-11 to realize that we are the envy and target of every evil regime in the world. Russia, China, many middle eastern countries would all like for the United States to be at their mercy. There is only one reason we are not, our military. We are grateful for every person who puts on a uniform to defend our freedoms. Our freedom to determine our own path, our freedom of speech and of religious choice. These and many other freedoms do not exist in many countries and only the United States is big enough and strong enough to defend freedom, not only here but around the world.
Workshops for Warriors provides an opportunity for those who defend us and our freedoms a way to transition back to civilian life. It gives them a path to support their families. Soldiers don’t want a hand out, but sometimes they need a hand up. It seems to us the least we can do is help our hero’s find a secure skillset to provide for themselves and their family. This is what Workshop for Warriors does.
The fact that we support welders and technically skilled workers who in turn provide for our families, it makes great sense to support Workshop for Warriors, who train soldiers for those positions. We also know that there is a big need for technically skilled workers in our society, this seems to complete a sort of cycle where everyone benefits. We hope that Workshop for Warriors can continue to grow and support more of our veterans.
This is the best Veteran organization I know of. Started by a veteran family (in San Diego) to help veterans gain a skillset to join the workforce at no cost to the veteran.… Learning stackable credentials in two highly needed industries: Welding and Machining. In just 16 weeks.
Our brothers and sisters can confidently seek employment - trained via their respective nationally-recognized bodies: the American Welding Society (AWS), the National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS), Mastercam University, Solidworks, Immerse2Learn, and the National Coalition for Certification Centers (NC3).
If you’re a transitioning military member or veteran in need of a skillset that will keep you employed, check out the QR code below
Over the years our company has provided advanced training resources to help out with WFW mission. A recent visit to their San Diego location was incredible, the students desire to learn about ways there learning's can be applied to the industrial world is fantastic. I am often directing companies looking to hire skilled personnel to the WFW site.
During this visit our team purchased about 20 bicycles which we assembled on site and then donated to the children of the Veteran students.
I first met the folks at Workshops for Warriors while on a west coast business trip. I was initially impressed by the staff and their dedication to their mission. But it was only after meeting with a class of veterans that I knew this place was special.
One by one each student told me briefly about their service history and why they were at Workshops for Warriors. As one transitioning marine explained it to me: “As a ‘bulk fuel specialist’ at a marine air base, I was well qualified to pump gas when I got out. I wanted more. I wanted a real career.” My wife & I have been supporters ever since.
Workshops for Warriors makes a difference in the lives of our veterans. WFW gives our vets concrete skills to add value to our nation's industry leaders. I love being a part of an organization with such a clear mission and tangible contribution to our country's manufacturing base.
I wanted to give back to honor my parents love for veterans and I found this organization to fit best. I know they would love Everything they do for Veterans in form of education which my parents were big fan of. Thank you. Max.
I met several members of the Workshops for Warriors team and they are indeed, incredible, capable professionals who are making a real difference for veterans!
This organization gives back to the community by investing in our veterans. They train them with machining and welding skills that enable them to rebuild our nations manufacturing force. The workplace culture is awesome.
Heard about Workshops for Warriors through a friend and toured the facility. Hearing their students talk about how Workshops for Warriors has helped them discover new passions in manufacturing and set them up for job success after they've honorably served our country is incredibly inspiring – you can truly see your donation at work!
We first saw this organization on an TV episode of "Street of Dreams" and we were hooked! We have been monthly donors to this organization for almost a year now. From what we learned, they have an extremely successful program and actually TRAINS recently discharged VETS so they can not only find work after serving our country, but have skills that can take them forward in the world for years and years!
Our only hope is that this organization can be duplicated over and over again, with the same success, throughout the country. It is chance for our hard working men and women, who have protected our country whilst they served, to continue to contribute to their country and have a safe and happy life.
My wife and I are donors. We gladly donate for a couple reasons. First, as a veteran myself, I remember when I was nearing the end of my enlistment and wasn’t sure what I was going to do. Fortunately, I received a job offer the same week I got out of the Marine Corps. So I understand the anxiety a lot of veterans feel. The Workshops For Warriors take veterans and soon-to-be veterans in and teach them a valuable skill and even help them get job placement. For this alone, I would donate to them.
Secondly, my wife volunteers in the neighborhood where Workshops For Warriors is located. They are constantly offering her any assistance she needs, but furthermore, they assist the citizens in the community, even if they are not veterans. They’ve helped neighbors carry things to their homes, fix things, install things. They are just great neighbors that go above and beyond for their community.
I attended a pre-covid graduation ceremony at Workshops for Warriors and was incredibly impressed with this organization. All of the graduates had completed the CNC or welding programs and were off to work in American manufacturing jobs. Just awesome!
I heard about Workshops for Warriors through a couple friends who invited me to go on a tour of the facilities to see how the organization helps veterans gain career/work options after serving in the military. I was thoroughly impressed by the commitment of this organization to train these veterans and decided to join my friends to help this organization in a tangible way...the idea was to make a healthy meal for the students while they were studying. Galley Girls was born; we serve a meal once a week to the students and I am proud to be able to help these young veterans in this way...it is my way of saying “Thank you for your service to our country”. Denise Bohlken
An outstanding opportunity; providing training in highly needed technical skills for our warriors who are leaving the service and entering the workforce. Without this organization, hundreds, if not thousands, of our young men and their families who have sacrificed so much would be without any marketable job skills. I am grateful to be a very small part of this endeavor by being one of their “Galley Girls” who serve the students a home cooked meal every Wednesday. Without exception, each and every one says a hearty “thank you” as they are served. They are my hero. Workshops for Warriors is THEIR hero!!
A few of us from Rancho Santa Fe Rotary visited Workshop Warriors. Not only has their very large presence changed the landscape and perception of the challenges are of Bario Logan. It was far beyond anything we expected. You must simply visit this site to appreciate what they have accomplished. In my twenty years of community service I have never seen anything like this.
Don Meredith
Past President RSF Rotary
Love this place and what it stands for, especially as a surviving spouse of a fallen soldier. It brings me so much happiness and peace to know that my late-husbands brothers and sisters in arms are being supported after their time in the service. They have given so much, and this organization honors that commitment in a truly honorable and substantial way, for which I know all of us Americans are grateful.
I was introduced to Workshops for Warriors in July 2012. My role, VP of Outside Operations at machine tool manufacturer Haas Automation has allowed me to make connections with technical-training institutions across the Country and worldwide. What I saw at Workshops for Warriors (WFW) impressed me as a genuine, grass-roots effort to make a difference by providing training for veterans in the San Diego region. They had all the makings of a successful training program: location (adjacent some the nation's largest military bases), demand from industry (machinists and welders are in huge demand nationwide), and a dedicated team.
As the nation's largest manufacturer of machine tools, we felt it was imperative at Haas Automation that we throw in our support for this growing effort. We provided machines for WFW's training programs and dollars for support. We watched over the next few years as the organization grew, mainly due to the hard work and dedication of founders, Hernán and Rachel, and their staff. When I was asked to join the Board of Directors, the only question (to myself) was whether I could put in the time and effort required to keep up its founders and staff. It was one of the best decisions I could make. As a Board Member, a non-paid voluntary role, I've had the pleasure of working with a wonderful group of fellow Board Member as well as everyone at WFW.
The future of WFW looks great with plans to develop an efficient, purpose-build campus on its current site in San Diego. This is critical to meeting the needs of training the many veterans on our waiting list and better meet the needs of employers. As a Board, we've accepted that this new campus will take a great deal of resources and have committed fully to raising the funds to make this project a reality.
I look forward to many more years of success with WFW as America's preeminent veteran training center.
I have to tell it like it is, Its tough out there as a veteran, people appreciate what you have done, but more often than not, that is where it ends. I found myself out of the service without a job, and a freshly broken leg from a wild night, no income. I picked myself up, brushed off the self pity got a job and pushed myself to the limit, worked very hard to get ahead in life. So what does that have to do Workshops for Warriors, well i am the night welding instructor, I took all I have learned from getting a job and applied it to training veterans. It's not only a training center for job skills, it's a confidence course for life skills. I also have the pleasure of being a older brother, friend, father figure to most of the students. Teaching at Workshops for Warriors has been the best thing that happened to me in my life. I would be lost without.
Thank you for reading this, Tim Palm
Workshops for Warriors is rebuilding American advanced manufacturing, one veteran at a time. I've had the privilege to serve on their Board of Advisors since 2015. It's been an amazing way to "do something good", and to say thank you to the men and women that sacrifice so much by serving in our military and protecting our freedom!
When you take the tour of the facility (highly recommended), you immediately are drawn in to the energy and passion of the students, the staff, and especially the teachers. You hear first hand from the students how the skills and certifications they are learning are positively impacting their lives - giving them hope and a bright future for them and their families. Workshops for Warriors is building futures for our veterans!
I hear from graduates like Pablo, who landed a great job in Texas as a Design Engineer as a result of the SOLIDWORKS and MasterCAM skills he learned at Workshops for Warriors - earning well above the living wage in the area. I stay in touch with Dylan, a graduate who took his CAD-CAM skills to NJ, and he's now a CNC Programmer with a bright future for his family.
It's a story that is so easy to share with people - I tell it to as many people as I can; and they often ask "How can I get involved, too?" I can honestly say I've gotten so much happiness out of my involvement with Workshops for Warriors, I'm truly blessed to have found them.
Workshops for Warriors is a great organization that helped me and countless others get a great job. The instructors and staff are very friendly and ensure everyone gets the most out of the school.
Workshops for warriors is an awesome organization! They definitely give veterans and transitioning military an advantage in the advanced manufacturing sector.
Workshops for Warriors changed my life. Up until my attendance of the program I was bouncing from job to job with no clear direction. Workshops gave me a path and the tools I needed to create a career worth talking about. Upon graduation of the Machining For Warriors course I was offered a position as a TA and have loved every second of working here.
This non -profit provides real, tangible benefits and unlike many other well-meaning veterans groups, it delivers.
I could give a flowery speech, but WFW is better served by saying that they tore down every single wall between my potential and my success. I came to workshops 10 years after my discharge and I was severely underemployed. My GI Bill was depleted as well and good luck navigating Voc Rehab. When I left workshops after 4 months of training I had a job waiting for me where I made twice the money with good benefits and job security, and this was just one of opportunities I was presented.
I made friends that I still talk to and on my first day of work I was prepared and even though I was the greenest guy there I did a great job and I have passed my first review with flying colors. This time last year I did not have the highest hopes or expectations. This year I am Christmas shopping, my bills are paid, my family is taken care of.
I cannot stress enough that the small amount of time and education benefits will be life changing.
Workshops For Warriors helped me get my dream job! They have made it possible for me to open new doors in my career and the skills I learned here will follow me forever. Thank you to my instructors Pat and Scott. A big thank you to Keisha for helping me during and even after I graduated. I encourage any transitioning soldier or veteran looking to get into an advanced manufacturing job as a machinist or welder to strongly consider this organization. You won't regret it.
I live in Barrio Logan. Workshops for Warriors has helped out my community so much. From organization a community clean up to lighting up dark alley ways. WFW has improved the neighborhood. The number of transients in the community has reduced significantly.
I have known Workshop for Warriors for six years and can say that i have been consistently impressed with how well they fill their mission of “Building the advanced workforce of tomorrow - one veteran at a time.” (Excuse my paraphrasing). But more than a mission, with WfW it is also a passion,
This organization takes its mission very seriously, and is an excellent steward of all of the support it receives, and truly bend over backwards to help its student veterans, from whom they never charge a dime. I cannot say enough great things about what they are achieving for veterans, and make it a point each year to set aside a portion of my philanthropic budget to support them. I encourage anybody looking for a way to help transitioning veterans to look into this organization and tour their facility if possible.
Review from Guidestar