When You’re Ready To Teach Veterans, Get Them Ready For You

Those who attended the Minnesota teacher conference heard a dynamic presentation by David-Dorian Ross, CEO of Taijifit, about a brand new program called T’ai Chi for Veterans,offered through the Veterans Administration Community Care Network (VA CCN). Taijifit is managing a network of instructors (including many TCC teachers) for Optum, the VA CCN’s healthcare service provider.

I became really excited about this program when DDR stepped up to the microphone at the conference, and I was “in” without knowing any details. Since conference time we’ve received additional information via the TCC Guide’s newsletter and the TCC Teacher’s Circle Facebook page about the program’s natal stages. David-Dorian Ross (aka DDR) is ironing out kinks on a daily basis so all information has yet to be revealed.

I’ve been working on getting classes going since the conference and I am pleased to say that my new vets-only classes commenced a few weeks ago. Regardless of the sometimes-confusing, administrative twists and turns before “opening day,” my students and I are now experiencing joy and ease.

The following roadmap describes how I’ve promoted my classes and made friends with my local “VA universe.” Many of us have stressed about the bureaucratic process of getting up and running with Taijifit; however, networking and promoting your classes to your local veterans community may be more important. (Think of it this way: what’s the good of being onboard with Taijifit if you have no students?)

When pitching a class to a possible venue (VFWs, American Legion Halls, Mason Lodges, and Fire Stations are natural fits but don’t forget churches, libraries and such), you may want to provide a letter of introduction to lend credibility. Stephen Thompson will soon have a PDF example and editable version available on TCCCommunity.net.

Introduce yourself to as many VA employees and veterans as possible. Taijifit markets classes but they can’t be as effective in your neighborhood as you can. Get comfortable with marketing yourself. Join veterans’ support groups and keep your eyes peeled for veterans’ health fairs.

Consider creating a meetup.com group listing for your veterans classes. (Meetup charges a fee.) Meetup is a great way to advertise classes and through it, Taijifit can transfer the participants’ data into MindBody, the software program Taijifit uses to make billing and payments operate more smoothly and quickly.

If you have a website, create a dedicated page for this program so veterans can easily understand this class versus your others. Add a Call to Action button to your homepage and TCC page (if you have one) so veterans can quickly jump to the right page. When adding these classes to your website, indicate that they are “for veterans only.” It’s too complicated to blend vets and civilians in one class. If you need patriotic artwork for your flyers or website, Stephen will also make those available for downloading. Flags work well but overlaying a flag with words is not permitted.

Create flyers or banners to advertise classes. Stephen will soon post language and images that have worked for me; use whatever you like.

Two important contacts include David-Dorian Ross (ddr@taijifit.net) and Rosy Perez, Executive Assistant: (rp@taijifit.net).