Culver City Observer -

Founder and Executive Director of IAVA Paul Rieckhoff to speak at the May 2nd West Los Angeles Chamber First Wednesday Breakfast Speech will kick off a discussion of the Memorial Day Walk for Warriors 5K

The West Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and New Directions, Inc. will sponsor the May 2 Chamber breakfast featuring Paul Rieckhoff, the Founder and Executive Director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA).

America’s first and largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, IAVA strives to build an empowered generation of veterans who provide sustainable leadership for our country and their local communities. IAVA’s programs support new veterans in the core areas of health, education, employment and community-building.

Rieckhoff will speak about IAVA’s work on behalf of veterans and the unique challenges facing the 2.4 million veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. According to a recent report from the Department of Labor, young male veterans ages 18 to 24 had an unemployment rate of 29.1 percent in 2011 - almost double the rate of male non-veterans in the same age group.

Rieckhoff’s speech will kick off a conversation about Walk for Warriors, a family-friendly Memorial Day 5K (3.1 mile) walk and run in West Los Angeles benefitting veterans and providing, among other services: counseling, job search assistance, transitional housing, financial management education and family reunification.

Walk for Warriors will take place on May 28 at 8 a.m. on the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs campus.

“Walk for Warriors provides an accessible – and truly fun – way for the community to get behind our veterans” said Gregory Scott, President and CEO of New Directions Inc.

Walk for Warriors is a partnership of the West Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and New Directions, Inc., a not-for-profit organization providing comprehensive services for the veterans of Los Angeles County.

To register, start a team, or learn more about Walk for Warriors, visit http://www.walkforwarriors.org.

To register for Paul Rieckhoff’s May 2 speech at the West Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce breakfast, visit the chamber website at: http://www.westlachamber.org/event or call (310) 441-2900.