Workshops for Warriors Takes First Place in San Diego Nonprofit Competition

SAN DIEGO - Oct. 16, 2013 - PRLog -- An event held Wednesday, October 9 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in La Jolla (Calif) offered a showcase of impactful nonprofit organizations that have found innovative ways to improve the San Diego community. As part of the Advance San Diego (http://www.socialventurepartners.org/san-diego/what-we-do/advance-san-diego/) nonprofit competition, Workshops for Warriors (http://www.workshopsforwarriors.org/) and fourteen other nonprofit finalists from the San Diego area were given three minutes to explain their vision, impact and plans for expansion to a panel of experts and to an audience of business leaders, philanthropists, community members and media.

A team of five judges and an audience of more than 300 people evaluated the 15 finalists as they presented their stories. The judges evaluated the presentations based equally on content, presentation and social impact.  Their votes accounted for 75 percent of the final scores and was combined with 25 percent of the audience votes to determine the winner.  Finalists were selected based on their ability to communicate their vision in a powerful way and on their potential to create significant social change.

“Workshops for Warriors is an innovator that has found better ways to change the lives of our military, our children and our world,” said Workshop’s Founder Hernán Luis y Prado. “We would have never been able to train, certify and place more than 90 veterans and wounded warriors without the support we have received from the manufacturing community. We want to thank our top donors, among them: UTC, the Gene Haas Foundation, the SME Education Foundation, the Harriet E. Pfleger Foundation, Flow International Corporation, Amada North America, Inc., Sandvik Coromant, Betenbender Manufacturing, Industrial Metal Supply, Scotchman Industries, Donaldson Company, Inc., CNC Software, SolidWorks, C&H Machine, Fish and Richardson, Bank of America, U.S. Bank, Grainger Foundation and Kurt Manufacturing.”

About Workshops for Warriors
Workshops for Warriors is the only accredited 501 (c)(3) nonprofit that trains, certifies and places veterans and wounded warriors into manufacturing careers at no cost to the veteran. With no federal, state or municipal funding, Workshops for Warriors offers 16-week courses that lead to internationally recognized credentials in welding, machining and fabrication.  It’s eight classes are completely filled with 64 veterans who are gaining skills and credentials through the American Welding Society, the National Institute of Metalworking Skills, SolidWorks and MasterCam.