The Mission Continues

The Mission Continues^[1] is an American 501(c)(3) national nonprofit organization^[2] that aims to empower military veterans to apply their skills and leadership abilities to benefit under-resourced communities. Established with the recognition that veterans possess a unique drive and dedication to serve, the organization seeks to harness these qualities to foster community development and support. By providing veterans with the tools and opportunities to continue their service beyond the military, the organization addresses the dual challenges of veteran reintegration and community underdevelopment.^[3] They connect veterans with under-resourced communities, helping veteran volunteers collaborate with nonprofit partners.^[4][5]

The Mission Continues

Founded	August 2007; 18 years ago (2007-08)
Type	Veteran Service Organization, Nonprofit
Headquarters	St. Louis, MO, United States
Location	St. Louis, Missouri
Area served	Nationwide
Method	Professional Development, Leadership Development
President	Mary Beth Bruggeman
Chief Strategy Officer	Susan Thaxton
Chief Marketing and Development Officer	James Gillen
Chief People Officer	La Costa Moore
Board of directors	Len Kortakaas
Website	www.missioncontinues.org

Programs and Initiatives

• Service Platoon Program

Led by volunteers who are veterans, they coordinate projects tailored to local needs.^[6] As of March 2023, service platoons are active in 40 cities.^[7]

• Annual Mass Deployment Since 2016, veterans from across the country alongside local partners volunteer in a single city for a week.^{[8][9][10][11][12]}

• Women Veterans Leadership Program In April 2016, The Mission Continues launched the first Women Veterans Leadership Summit ^[13] and due to its success, it was pivoted towards a full-fledged program.^[14][15][16]

Awards

The organization was named one of the 50 Best Nonprofits to Work For in 2012, 2013^[17] and 2014.^{[18][19][20][21][22][23]}

History

Formerly Center for Citizen Leadership, the organization was founded in 2007 by Republican politician Eric Greitens.^[24][25] Mary Beth Bruggeman is the current President.^[26][27]

Political controversy

Eric Greitens stepped down as CEO in July 2014 to pursue political aspirations in Missouri;^[28] Greitens was accused of improperly taking The Mission Continues list of donors and his campaign was fined in 2015.^[29] On April 20, 2018, Greitens was charged with felony computer data tampering, related to the same incident.^[30] The charges were later dropped.^[31]

See also

• Team Rubicon