$1 Million To Veterans Thanks To Uber

 

 50,000 military veterans have signed up with UberMilitary. This is a milestone in the history of Uber and now the company celebrates the moment by donating a large amount of money to veteran groups.

The mobile app Uber is donating $1 million to veteran groups, including Homes for Our Troops and Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors. The former builds homes for post-9/11 veterans and the latter is a nonprofit organization, which assists the families of those lost while serving.

Uber announced the news on Thursday after having launched the UberMilitary in September 2014. With UberMilitary, the company aimed at assisting veterans and military spouses to earn a flexible income by driving with Uber. Today, the company is happy to announce that over 50,000 people from the military community have signed with Uber and half of them already drive for the company.

The senior vice president of the company, Emil Michael, served as a special assistant to former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who is now the head of the advisory board for UberMilitary. Michael’s experience helped form UberMilitary.

Emil Michael explained that members of the military deserved a flexible income opportunity. “When you come back, maybe you’re studying for your next degree, maybe you have medical issues,” he said.

Post-9/11 veteran unemployment dropped to 5.8 percent the previous year. The data of the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that it was 7.2 percent in 2014.

In an effort to help veterans stand back on their feet again, Uber is not only offering a flexible income opportunity but is also planning to create a savings program, which will offer rewards to UberMilitary community members.

Uber wants to make the app more accessible to military passengers. One of the company’s plans is to build a program, which will enable drivers to gain more when they pick and leave passengers at a military base.