This Veterans Day, DoorDash is broadening its financial empowerment work as we honor and celebrate Veterans for their service. We are proud to announce a new partnership with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Zoomo to empower homeless and formerly homeless Veterans currently receiving VA homeless program services to become financially self-sufficient through new flexible earnings opportunities and financial literacy education. This pilot program is part of our new Pathways to Success initiative – a slate of programming to help people facing barriers to traditional employment access flexible earnings opportunities on the Dasher platform. Our Pathways to Success pilot with the VA is launching in Los Angeles and will expand to additional states in the coming months.
“Our partnership with DoorDash provides Veterans with meaningful employment, an opportunity to build connections with their community, and a sense of purpose and motivation to rebuild their lives,” said Jacob Larson, supervisory vocational development specialist at the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System. “We know that having a job can make a monumental difference in a Veteran’s life, and we are looking forward to the work ahead with DoorDash.”
To power this partnership, DoorDash will provide fully subsidized access to e-bikes for Veterans, financial empowerment resources, and provisional access to the Top Dasher program to maximize earnings opportunities for participants. The e-bikes will be provided by our partner, Zoomo, who will also service the e-bikes and provide safety training and onboarding for e-bikes.
“At DoorDash, we are deeply grateful to Veterans for their service and are proud to expand access to earnings opportunities for some of the most vulnerable Veterans,” said Laura Curtis, who oversees Government Relations for the Western U.S. at DoorDash. “As part of our ongoing financial empowerment work, this partnership is an opportunity for us to help provide them the tools to achieve financial independence and access to permanent housing.”
“When I heard about the DoorDash Zoomo partnership I was really excited about the opportunity to be the first of a groundbreaking program that supports Veterans,” said Jeremy M., Army Veteran.
For people who are experiencing or who recently experienced homelessness, the cost of transportation can be a major barrier to their ability to earn income. To eliminate this barrier for participants, DoorDash will fully subsidize e-bike access for participants through our partner Zoomo, and cover insurance costs. Each e-bike is equipped for making safe deliveries and includes a helmet, cargo rack, 8-hour battery, integrated e-lock, gearing, suspension for comfort, and easy charging. To help ensure veterans keep more of their earnings and have permanent access to transportation, participating Veterans will own the bikes outright at the end of the pilot program.
“We’re honored to play a part in DoorDash’s ongoing efforts to support Veterans, and thank those who continue to serve. This campaign aligns closely with Zoomo’s goal of making safe, affordable e-bikes accessible to all and transitioning every urban mile to light electric vehicles. We constantly strive to break down barriers to sustainable mobility, and we’re so excited to offer our e-bikes, with ongoing servicing support, to Californian Veterans. Along with DoorDash, we’re thrilled to play a small part to support the lives of Veterans who have served so many,” said Dustin Kerns, General Manager United States, Zoomo.
Participants will also have access to the GoalUp financial empowerment curriculum and bilingual financial coaching through the Caminos initiative that were developed by DoorDash with the National Urban League and UnidosUS, respectively. Both of these programs are designed to empower people to set and achieve their financial goals and build generational wealth through resources such as financial literacy courses on credit, savings, investment, and more.
Additionally, eligible Veterans can sign up for DasherDirect, which enables instant access to earnings on a prepaid debit card that comes with cash rewards and its own banking app. Participants will also receive provisional “Top Dasher” status during the pilot term, giving them enhanced flexibility to dash anytime, anywhere.
DoorDash is proud to support Veterans and their families throughout the year in a variety of ways. Last year, DoorDash launched the Veterans@DoorDash Employee Resource Group to support employees who are Veterans through shared experiences, career development, and Veteran recruitment. As part of the Department of Defense’s Military Spouse Employment Partnership, we provide career opportunities for military spouses. Additionally, DoorDash has taken the Veteran Hiring Pledge and is actively committed to hiring Veterans. As part of our ongoing work to broaden food access, Project DASH powered the delivery of weekly meals as part of a year-long-program to Veterans experiencing food insecurity through a partnership with the United Way of Northeast Florida and the VA. DoorDash has also donated Community Credits to the Elizabeth Dole Foundation in the U.S. and Royal Canadian Legion in Canada so Veterans, families, and caregivers can have access to the meals and essential items they need.
If you are a Veteran who is homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness, we strongly encourage you to contact the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at (877) 4AID-VET (877-424-3838) for assistance. It is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors who can talk with you right now and connect you with your nearest VA for assistance.
The post Helping Veterans Achieve Financial Independence: DoorDash, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and Zoomo Launch Pathways Financial Empowerment Initiative appeared first on DoorDash Newsroom.