Bridging the Gap, Opening Doors for Veterans
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Serving Those Who Served since 2015

They Held the Line.We Hold the Door.

Providing the Military Community with Salute to Service Programs and Services after Honorable Service to our Nation.

Bridging the Gap for Veterans is a veteran-led 501(c)(3) serving veterans, transitioning service members, first responders, and their families through career, business, and community programs provided at no cost to eligible participants.
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Opening Doors

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Cost to Veterans

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Reached

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Partner Employers

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In Uniform

  • 11B Infantry Squad Leader
  • Motor T Operator
  • Communications Chief
  • Hospital Corpsman
  • Supply NCO
  • Crew Chief
Bridging the Gap for Veterans logo mark: soldier and civilian silhouette split by a vertical gap

Your Experience Has Value. We Help Others Recognize It.

Military service builds leadership, technical expertise, discipline, decision-making, logistics, communication, and operational skills that civilian employers need.

The challenge is not whether that experience has value. It is making sure the civilian world understands it.

Bridging the Gap helps members of the military community translate what they have done into what comes next.

In Civilian Life

  • Operations Supervisor
  • Fleet Logistics Lead
  • IT Infrastructure Manager
  • Patient Care Coordinator
  • Procurement Manager
  • Maintenance Director
Bridging the Gap for Veterans logo mark: soldier and civilian silhouette split by a vertical gap
A veteran in a camouflage uniform with an American flag patch works on a laptop alongside other participants at a career workshop

2015

Founded and led by military veterans

Who We Are

The Gap Is Real. So We Built the Bridge.

Transitioning out of military service means more than changing jobs.

The uniform comes off. The structure changes. And years of leadership, technical training, responsibility, and real-world experience suddenly have to be explained to employers who may have never served.

That disconnect can cost veterans opportunities. Bridging the Gap for Veterans was created to close it.

Founded and led by military veterans, we understand the transition because we have lived it. We work on both sides of the table: helping veterans prepare for civilian careers and business ownership while helping employers and community partners recognize the value military experience brings.

Today, that mission extends across career transition, entrepreneurship, community support, veteran-friendly businesses, and corporate partnerships.

Those who served our Nation honorably deserve more than a handshake. They deserve a competitive advantage.

Read Our Story

How We Help

Salute to Service Programs

Ten Programs. Three Fronts. One Mission.

Whether the next step is a civilian career, business ownership, community support, or a new professional connection, Bridging the Gap provides practical programs built around the needs of the military and first responder community.

Career & Business

Turning Military Experience Into a Competitive Advantage

Transitioning to civilian life should not mean starting your career from scratch.

Whether your next mission is building a civilian career or launching a company of your own, our career and business programs provide practical training, direct employer connections, mentorship, and entrepreneurial resources to help you move forward.
Flagship

Patriot Ambassador Network

Veteran-Friendly Businesses Supporting Veterans & First Responders

Our flagship program, bringing veteran-friendly corporations and businesses together to actively support the military and first responder community.

Participating businesses join the network as Ambassadors, creating opportunities for cross-promotion, community visibility, veteran and first responder discounts, and stronger connections between businesses and those who served.

Explore the Patriot Ambassador Network

Veteran-Friendly Employers

Companies Actively Hiring Military Talent

We connect qualified veterans with companies that understand military experience and are committed to hiring from the military community.

Rather than sending candidates into another online application queue, we help create more direct pathways between veterans and employers looking for the leadership, technical skills, discipline, and experience military professionals bring.
See Who Is Hiring
Patriot Ventures Business Resource Center seal

From Boots to Business

Patriot Ventures Veteran Entrepreneurship & Business Resource Center

For veterans and first responders ready to build something of their own.

The Patriot Ventures Business Resource Center provides mentorship, business development resources, branding and marketing support, funding navigation, professional connections, and additional guidance for starting and growing a business.
Explore Patriot Ventures

Community Programs

Support That Goes Beyond the Workplace

Service does not end when the uniform comes off, and neither does our commitment to the people who wore it.

Bridging the Gap supports programs designed to strengthen veterans, first responders, and their families beyond career transition.

Back the Blue

Scholarships for First Responders & Their Families

Providing scholarship opportunities to help first responders and their families pursue education, professional development, and new opportunities.
Apply Now

Veteran Pet Adoption

Connecting Veterans With Companion Animals

Helping veterans connect with companion animals and supporting successful pet adoption within the veteran community.
Support the K9s

Meals of Valor

Sharing Meals. Honoring Service. Telling Their Stories.

Meals of Valor is a documentary-style film series that brings veterans together over a shared meal to tell their stories of service, sacrifice, and resilience, honoring their experiences while connecting the military community with the public.

Learn More

Commander Program

Veteran Leadership, Mentorship & Continued Support

Creating additional opportunities for connection, mentorship, assistance, and continued engagement within the veteran community.
Take Command

Coffee Platoon®

Coffee With a Cause

Businesses enlist, purchase coffee, and help provide it to military units, veteran organizations, police departments, fire stations, EMS crews, and other groups serving their communities.

Through Coffee Platoon®, everyday purchases become another way for companies and communities to stand behind those who serve.
Enlist Your Company
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Business Programs

Powering the Mission Through Corporate Partnership

Supporting the military community requires more than hanging a “veteran-friendly” banner.

Bridging the Gap provides businesses with practical ways to turn everyday operations, sponsorships, and corporate participation into ongoing support for veterans, first responders, and their families.

Swipes for Stripes

Veteran-Supporting Merchant Services & Payment Processing

Turn everyday credit card transactions into everyday support for the veteran community.

Powered by Slice Merchant Services in partnership with Bridging the Gap for Veterans, Swipes for Stripes gives participating businesses an opportunity to redirect a portion of processing-related revenue toward veteran programs and services.

Every swipe becomes a salute.
Switch and Support

Corporate Sponsorship

Fund Veteran Programs & Military Initiatives

Partner directly with Bridging the Gap to help support career transition programs, scholarships, community initiatives, veteran assistance, and other mission-driven programs.

Corporate sponsorship opportunities also give participating organizations a meaningful way to demonstrate their commitment to veterans, first responders, and the communities they serve.
Explore Sponsorship Opportunities
Bridging the Gap for Veterans logo mark in white

Our Impact

A Decade of Opening Doors to Veterans

Since 2015, Bridging the Gap has worked to turn military experience into meaningful civilian opportunities while building a broader network of employers, entrepreneurs, volunteers, donors, and community partners.

Veterans Coached

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Helping veterans and transitioning service members translate their experience, prepare for civilian opportunities, and strengthen their path forward.

Partner Employers

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Building connections between military talent and companies interested in hiring from the veteran community.

Seminars Delivered

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Providing hands-on career transition preparation to veterans and transitioning service members.

Businesses Launched

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Helping veteran and first responder entrepreneurs turn ideas into businesses of their own.
Numbers do not tell every story, but they help show the scale of what this community has built together.
View Our Success Stories
A service member in uniform shakes hands with a civilian in a suit in front of an American flag

Flagship Program

Patriot Ambassador Network

Veteran-Friendly Businesses Supporting Veterans & First Responders

The Patriot Ambassador Network connects veteran-friendly businesses and corporations with the military and first responder community through active participation, discounts, cross-promotion, and community support.

Participating businesses join as Ambassadors, helping expand a trusted network of organizations committed to those who served.

Explore the Patriot Ambassador Network

For Employers

Don't Just Say You're Veteran-Friendly. Show Up.

Build a Direct Military Talent Pipeline Through Coffee Platoon®

Veterans bring leadership, technical expertise, discipline, adaptability, and proven problem-solving ability to the civilian workforce.

But genuine veteran advocacy goes beyond placing a badge on a careers page. It requires participation.

Through Coffee Platoon® and Bridging the Gap employer partnerships, companies can support veteran career programs while creating opportunities to connect with transitioning military talent.

Direct Talent Connections

Meet prepared veterans and transitioning service members looking to bring their military experience into civilian organizations.

Hiring Events

Participate in career seminars, networking opportunities, and live interviewing events designed to bring employers and military talent together.

Community Recognition

Demonstrate your commitment to those who served by becoming part of a broader network of businesses and organizations supporting the military community.

Meaningful Sponsorship

Help fund career transition programs and community initiatives that create opportunities for veterans and transitioning service members.

Become an Employer Partner
Visit Coffee Platoon®

In Their Words

Success Stories From Those We Serve

Every number represents a person.
  • A veteran who finally got the interview.
  • A transitioning service member who learned how to explain years of military leadership to a civilian employer.
  • An entrepreneur who turned an idea into a business.
  • An employer who discovered an entirely new pipeline of talent.
  • Those stories are what Bridging the Gap is ultimately about.
A veteran is fitted for a suit jacket at Operation Suit Up
Stories coming soon
Video testimonial

Veteran Career Stories

See how veterans and transitioning service members turned military experience into civilian career opportunities.
Community members and business owners at a veteran business ribbon cutting
Stories coming soon
Video testimonial

Patriot Ventures Stories

Meet veteran and first responder entrepreneurs building businesses and creating opportunities of their own.
A soldier in uniform meets with an employer in an office
Stories coming soon
Video testimonial

Employer Partner Stories

Hear from employers building stronger connections with the military community.
View All Success Stories

Get Involved

Stand With Those Who Served

Our veteran and community programs remain accessible because individuals, businesses, employers, volunteers, and community partners choose to support the mission.

There are several ways to become part of the mission.

01.

Donate

Help support career transition programs, business resources, scholarships, community initiatives, veteran family assistance, and other programs serving those who served.
Give Now

02.

Volunteer

Mentor a transitioning service member. Participate in a seminar. Conduct mock interviews. Support an event. Or lend your professional experience to the mission.

A few hours of your time can help change someone’s career trajectory.
Sign Up to Serve

03.

Partner

Hire veterans. Sponsor a program. Join Coffee Platoon®. Support Patriot Ventures. Participate in Swipes for Stripes. Or become part of the veteran-friendly business community.

There are many ways for an organization to help create opportunities for veterans, first responders, and their families.
Explore Partnership Opportunities

Common Questions

Clear Answers for Veterans, Employers & Partners

Whether you’re looking for veteran support, ready to hire military talent, or interested in supporting the mission, here are answers to some of the questions we hear most often.

848.895.3500

Not sure which program is right for you?

Do veterans have to pay to participate?

No. Bridging the Gap’s programs for veterans, transitioning service members, first responders, and eligible family members are provided at no cost to participants.

There is no application fee, tuition, or placement fee for these participant programs. They are supported through donations, sponsorships, fundraising initiatives, and partnerships.
Bridging the Gap serves military veterans, transitioning service members, National Guard and Reserve members, first responders, and members of military and first responder families through different programs and initiatives.

If you’re unsure which program is right for you, call 848.895.3500 and our team can help point you in the right direction.
Employers can partner with Bridging the Gap to connect with veterans and transitioning service members through career programs, employer introductions, hiring events, and other military talent initiatives.
Become an Employer Partner
Our office is located at:

2600 Highway 35 Manasquan, NJ 08736

Career seminars and other programming are delivered through military installations, college campuses, partner locations, and virtual opportunities that allow Bridging the Gap to serve participants beyond New Jersey.
Bridging the Gap for Veterans Inc. is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Eligible charitable contributions may be tax deductible as permitted by law, and donors receive appropriate contribution documentation for their records.
Make a Donation
Bridging the Gap for Veterans logo mark in white

Opening Doors for Veterans

Your Next Mission Starts Here.

Whether you are preparing for a civilian career, building a business, looking for military-friendly employers, searching for community resources, or ready to support those who served, Bridging the Gap can help you take the next step.
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