This post is by Tracy Hoover, Points of Light’s CEO.
Tracy Hoover
A friend emailed me this week, asking if I had watched the Academy of Country Music Awards the night before — and specifically what I thought of Tim McGraw’s show-stealing performance of “Humble and Kind.” According to my friend, it was “very Points-of-Light-y.”
Lately girl-power anthems and controversial rappers have featured prominently in my playlist. But all things are possible with YouTube, so I checked it out online. I noticed the lights were low when McGraw started singing, and it seemed nearly everyone in the audience started to wave their cellphone-flashlights. Certain there were at least “a thousand points of light,” I thought that must have been the “points of light-y” moment. But as I listened to the lyrics and watched the crowd react, I knew there was more to it.
Hold the door, say please, say thank you.
Don’t steal, don’t cheat, and don’t lie.
I know you got mountains to climb but always stay humble and kind
When the dreams you’re dreamin’ come to you
When the work you put in is realized,
Let yourself feel the pride but always stay humble and kind …
As McGraw sang, a line of people started arriving onstage, and as the lights went up, their outward differences were apparent – age, gender identity, physical ability and cultural and ethnic diversity. And in that instance, their common ground became apparent, too – as McGraw’s simple, profound call for kindness and humility resonated. Like rain on parched earth, that message must have been a welcome respite from the vitriol that is so pervasive in our national narrative right now. I found myself watching it again and again, and recognizing the many points of light – the singer and this message were definitely points of light that night, as were the individuals who came forward or just turned to the person beside them to nod and smile and embrace each other. On Twitter, #HumbleandKind started up, and my favorite tweet was this one:
Nice job @TheTimMcGraw In a world of 7 billion people could you imagine what we could accomplish if we were all #HumbleAndKind to each other
McGraw is part of a growing chorus of artists whose messages of purpose are resonating, and fans and follows are responding enthusiastically. For example, check out this video from Sugarland’s Kristian Bush, “Trailer Hitch.” The song became a wildly popular call to action for Goodwill Industries that inspired fans to “give it away” — whether that means money or the excess “stuff” we all have too much of — in order to help change someone else’s life. As Kristian put it recently, “Almost everyone knows someone who is struggling to make ends meet … and giving away what you no longer need can help someone. That’s pretty amazing to me.” I think he’s pretty amazing. If you’d like to help someone this way, search for a Goodwill near you.
Kenna performs “Sleep When We Die” at Points of Light’s 2015 Conference on Volunteering and Service in Houston.
Last fall, I met an incredible artist, Kenna, who seemed to personify this new generation of purpose-driven artist-activists. At Points of Light’s 2015 Conference on Volunteering and Service, Kenna’s talk about his fusion of art and activism ignited the crowd of 3,000 change makers. Their reaction to his song “Sleep When We Die” was just as strong as the ACM audience. And his response – equally memorable: “I want you to like my music,” he said “but I want you to love my purpose.” Check out his very cool talk and performance of “Sleep When We Die.”
Next week is National Volunteer Week – it’s a great time to celebrate volunteers. It’s also a great time to start volunteering and discover how your unique talents and interests can make a big difference – and like Tim, Kristian and Kenna, how you can marry your passion and purpose. Next week, I’m looking forward to sharing stories of some very special points of light. And again this year, we’re asking you to share your story on what inspires you to serve, with #NVW2016.
I’ve also decided it’s time for a new playlist, and in honor of National Volunteer Week, I’m starting mine with the three songs above. I’d love to know what songs and artist-activists inspire you – share them using #SongsThatInspire.
Thank you for the unique ways you are making a difference in lives and in communities – for being a point of light.
Kerry Sullivan, center, president of Bank of America’s Charitable Foundation, participates in a CEO panel during the Conference on Volunteering and Service Business Track.
Having a mantra – a group of words that hold special meaning for you – can both ground you and make you feel powerful.
In the days following Points of Light’s Conference on Volunteering and Service in Houston, it was terrific to hear from so many business leaders that attending the conference brought a renewed sense of power and inspiration that helped them embrace the challenge of being a change maker at their companies.
So, we at the Points of Light Corporate Institute went looking for five mantras from the conference’s Business Track to remind attendees of those moments of inspiration – at least until we all meet again for next year’s conference on June 27-29 in Detroit.
Enjoy!
“Volunteering is part of America’s infrastructure of opportunity,” – Joaquin Castro, U.S. Congressman (Texas), Opening Plenary
“Don’t be discouraged by life’s little stings. Get back up and spread your wings,” Mikaila Ulmer, 11-year-old CEO, Bee Sweet Lemonade, Business Track Opening, CEO Session
“You need to have patience for change and also the urgency to act,” – Emily Saunoi-Sandgren, manager, corporate social responsibility, Target, followed by, “But don’t let perfection get in your way,” from Anna Cunningham, manager, community investments, Starbucks, Workshop:From Cause Marketing to Purpose Driven Brands
“How can we use data not only to decide what kind of movie we want to watch, but also what kind of world we want to live in?” – Miriam Young, communications specialist, DataKind, Workshop:Using Big Data to Advance Social Missions
“The new 17 Sustainable Development Goals around poverty, hunger, education and gender equality are key to the success of future generations and the health of our planet,” – Sue Stephenson, vice president, Community Footprints, The Ritz Carlton Hotel Company, Workshop: IMPACT 2030: Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals through Employee Volunteerism
As you reflect on these mantras and get inspired to take the next step, we invite you to explore all the presentations, articles, highlights and resources from the 2015 Business Track on our resources website.
5 Things You Should Know About Using Data for Good
This post is by Miriam Young, communications specialist at DataKind.
As someone who has built her career engaging business, technology and data professionals in pro bono service to change the world, I could not have been more excited to participate in this year’s
, held a couple of weeks ago in Houston, as a panelist for the Using Big Data to Advance Social Missions session. In the session, we explored the many ways that nonprofits can use big data to advance their missions.
Clockwise from top left, Diane Melley, Crystal Barnes, Katherine Price, Corey Marshall and Miriam Young
When we talk about big data, we’re really talking about the scale of data generated by everything around us at all times. Today, data is constantly being produced from a variety of sources at an amazing velocity, volume and variety. It comes from cell phones, social media accounts, websites, satellites – you name it. But to extract meaningful value from big data, you need analytics capabilities, tools and skills. That’s where the volunteers come in.
Joining me for this discussion was a power panel (pictured above), including Crystal Barnes, vice president of corporate social responsibility at
, moderating the session.
If you couldn’t make it, here are my top five takeaways.
5. Full house for an 8:30 a.m. panel on data!? Who are these people?
Conference on Volunteering and Service attendees interact at the Using Big Data to Advance Social Missions session.
My kind of people. Professionals starting the day equally excited about changing the world using volunteer power as they are using the power of data. We had a mix of more than 80 corporate social responsibility (CSR) folks from companies like Humana, NetSuite and Capgemini, and nonprofit professionals from groups like VolunteerMatch, KaBOOM! and United Way, which made for a lively discussion about the ins and outs of using data for good.
4. There is humanity and a story behind the numbers.
Panelists and audience members alike shared many powerful case studies of how data can be used for the greater good:
Splunk4Good analyzed text messages from Hurricane Sandy to help the Federal Emergency Management Agency Innovation Team inform resource deployment for natural disasters.
Nielsen helped the United Nations World Food Programme more efficiently collect data to inform its work battling hunger by using mobile phone surveys.
The City of Houston is rallying citizens in a series of hackathons to help design solutions to make government services more efficient.
3. And what if my organization/the nonprofits we serve don’t have any data?
Got a website? You got data. Got social media accounts? You got data. There’s census data to learn more about the populations you serve, open data to make your city smarter, crowd-sourced data to give you on-the-ground insights, information from websites and PDFs that can be scraped into a usable format.
But you know what? Forget about data. Start with the
to measure poverty levels of villages in Kenya and Uganda using satellite imagery is a perfect example. They came with a question: Which villages should we expand to next? Our volunteers used satellite data to create a novel solution to answer it. You don’t need to know what dataset might be useful – you just need to know what question will help advance your mission.
P.S. We’d love to help you with this! Learn more about
Kudos to Crystal Barnes of Nielsen for hammering home a critical ingredient for any volunteer or data-for-good initiative – measurable outcomes. Before you think about the data or the tools, you must first surface the key question, need or opportunity you’re trying to address. Then decide how you’re going to measure what success looks like. Measurable outcomes help us learn, fail fast and iterate to do even better the next time.
1. What if we all worked together?
Measurable outcome of a successful panel? One that inspires action after everyone goes home. My favorite moments of the session were when opportunities for collaboration surfaced.
The workshop helped spark new ideas for folks and we’ve already heard from a few people thinking of ways they can join the Data for Good movement – from Blue Cross Blue Shield to our friends at
to NetSuite – who are thinking about how they can connect project managers to nonprofits to help in the “problem discovery” and scoping process.
Here’s to many more gatherings that help surface more collaborations – the only way forward is together.
If you want to learn more about the power of big data for social good, Points of Light has packaged all the tools you need to get started on this
Social Innovators in Atlanta and New Orleans – Check Out This Opportunity
The Points of Light Civic Accelerator is calling all social innovators – entrepreneurs and business, community and nonprofit leaders – in Atlanta and New Orleans to participate in a two-day, hands-on boot camp. Learn about and use innovation best practices to make better decisions, test solutions and solve problems more effectively.
From left, Innovate Houston participants Jaison Oliver, Stephen Love, Krid Fung and Mercedes Harris
The two boot camps round out a three-city series of Rapid Innovation Summits, which launched this month in Houston, coinciding with Points of Light’s Conference on Volunteering and Service. More than 40 participants brought diverse challenges to the Houston summit, exploring solutions with their peer innovators.
Highlights included a networking reception and a thought-provoking conversation between Jeff Reichman, founder of January Advisors, and Ayesha Khanna, founder of the Points of Light Civic Accelerator. See more about Innovate Houston here.
“I’ve never been more excited for a Monday morning,” said participant Mark Cueva, who works for the City of Houston. “I’m looking forward to putting these tools and ideas to work.”
For the summits, attendees are encouraged to bring real-life, organizationwide issues. For example, if you’re thinking of launching a new program, if you want to motivate your team or perhaps you’re trying to re-energize funding efforts, the Civic Accelerator encourages you to bring your problems to solve.
As an added bonus, Innovate Atlanta attendees will be able to join change makers at an exclusive Innovate Atlanta VIP Reception at Google Atlanta. This is a not-to-miss opportunity to network with one another, exchange ideas and build a community of social innovators.
For more information and to register for the Atlanta summit, visit bit.ly/InnovateATL. Hurry, “early adopter” pricing ends Oct. 30. Early registration has also opened for Innovate New Orleans.
After delivering an interactive, spoken-word performance, Grammy Award-winning poet J. Ivy urged attendees to “disrupt the status quo,” adding, “Being a change maker is about finding a course, igniting a spark and inspiring others to stop and take notice.”
One such change maker – Gabe Eggerling, who was inspired to serve after “reading a funny story to a little girl who told me that she didn’t have one book at home.” The experience moved Gabe, now starring in an Amazon Prime pilot called “The Kicks,” to create
honoree.
Gabe shared the story of 8-year-old Martin Richard, the youngest victim killed in the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013. Martin’s reputation for being a peacemaker inspired the recent
, Points of Light’s youth service enterprise – urged young people to spread kindness.
World-renowned chef José Andrés took up a cooking analogy to engage the audience on finding new ways of taking action for the greater good. “Sometimes those recipes, they have been written wrong,” said Andres, founder of the humanitarian organization
. “New recipes must be written if we want to be changing the world.”
José Andrés
De Andrea Nichols, director of Civic Creatives and alumna of the Points of Light Civic Accelerator, urged attendees to help create a pipeline of young leaders “to steer us into the future” and inspire change. Bill Basl, director of
, echoed that sentiment, calling on attendees to develop more ways for young people to enrich their lives through service.
Majora Carter, a Peabody Award-winning broadcaster who led the transformation of a New York City dump into a waterfront park, encouraged attendees to draw from their “legitimate and unavoidable impatience” to make communities better.
And, before singing a stripped-down version of his hit song, “Sleep When We Die,” musician and activist Kenna told attendees “find your crazy” – seemingly impossible ideas that both have personal meaning and do good for the world.
Near the close of the plenary, as Points of Light Chair Neil Bush and CEO Tracy Hoover presented the Daily Point of Light Award to Tyson Gersh, who is transforming a blighted area of Detroit into a thriving urban farm.
From left, Neil Bush, Tyson Gersh and Tracy Hoover
Then the announcement about the 2016 Conference on Volunteering and Service – next year in… Detroit!
Earlier in the day, the Business Track focused on the future. “These new 17
around poverty, hunger, education and gender equality are key to the success of future generations and the health of our planet,” said Sue Stephenson from The Ritz Carlton Hotel Company as a leader of the session, IMPACT 2030: Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals Through Employee Volunteerism.
Starbucks, Kaiser Permanente, PepsiCo and Target used their successes and failures to explore their organizational journeys as they evolve in the session led by the purpose guru Carol Cone, From Cause Marketing to Purpose Driven Brands. We are grateful for the generous support from Target as the Business Track demonstrated the immense change-making power of companies and their employees.
Kenna
The Together We Serve: Military and Veterans Forum, sponsored by BP, brought together community, military, private and nonprofit representatives for a discussion about how to use service to bridge the civilian-military divide. Ryan Manion Borek, president of the Travis Manion Foundation, spoke about how we can honor the fallen by challenging the living to serve.
Lt. Colonel Brian Gilman, a Marine, noted the need to break the notion of veterans as either “hero or broken.” Barry Mattson, executive director of The Mission Continues, and Koby Langley, senior vice president at the American Red Cross both spoke about the misconceptions of veterans, stating that every vet needs time to get to their “new normal.”
As we say goodbye to Houston, we’re planning to see you at next year’s Conference on Volunteering and Service in Detroit!
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Announcing the 2015 Corporate Volunteer Council of the Year
in Houston today, Points of Light honored the Greater Philadelphia Corporate Volunteer Council as 2015 Corporate Volunteer Council of the Year for serving as a primary local resource for encouraging, educating and connecting businesses that support employee volunteerism.
Kate Laepple Hertzog and Neil Bush
Corporate Volunteer Councils are local networks that businesses join to share best practices and address community needs through workplace volunteering. The Corporate Volunteer Council of the Year Award recognizes councils that have a clear purpose, activities that relate to that purpose and measurements for success. All entries are reviewed and winners selected by an awards committee comprised of national Corporate Volunteer Council leaders and convened by Points of Light.
The Greater Philadelphia Corporate Volunteer Council was presented the Corporate Volunteer Council of the Year award by Neil Bush, chairman of Points of Light, during the conference’s Business Track Luncheon. Kate Laepple Hertzog, manager of the council, accepted the award on the organization’s behalf.
Since its founding in 2011 by
, the Greater Philadelphia Corporate Volunteer Council has grown both in numbers and in impact. Its corporate members have opportunities to increase their skills and find new ways to engage their employees in order to better meet the needs of their community.
“The Greater Philadelphia Corporate Volunteer Council has provided me with the opportunity to connect with colleagues who are also focused on employee engagement. Through peer learning and sharing of best practices, I’m able to implement my knowledge to ensure our employees are giving back to the community in new and impactful ways,” shared Debbie O’Brien, senior vice president, market manager, Bank of America, and co-chair of the Greater Philadelphia Corporate Volunteer Council.
Led by an active steering committee that reflects its corporate members and managed by United Way, the council offers its members robust year-round programming that includes skill-building and issue-based sessions, along with monthly roundtable discussions that provide practical knowledge to use in members’ daily work. It also makes available satellite programming specifically for suburban members and small businesses.
“As a one-person community impact department at my company, I find the Greater Philadelphia Corporate Volunteer Council to be a fantastic resource,” said Jan Waldauer, manager of global corporate social responsibility and internal communication at Quaker Chemical Corporation. “Not only do I learn best practices from other companies, but expand my professional network as well as gain valuable insight into the Philadelphia-area volunteer space.
Conference Opens With a Call for Innovation and a Visit From President George H. W. Bush
in Houston resonated with thoughts on how to think about service in new and innovative ways, as Points of Light CEO Tracy Hoover issued the call to “mobilize every person in the world to be a change maker.” It recognized the great potential for change, as when Congressman Joaquin Castro told attendees, “The beauty of America is that there is an infrastructure of opportunity that helps us get where we want to go in life.”
Tracy Hoover welcomes attendees to the Conference on Volunteering and Service.
Points of Light Chair Neil Bush offered an impassioned plea to think differently about volunteer service, to move beyond the simple framework of more volunteers serving more hours. He also was joined by his father President George H. W. Bush, who founded Points of Light 25 years ago, and former First Lady Barbara Bush. “He challenged us all by saying any definition of a successful life must include service to others,” Neil Bush said of President Bush.
President Bush later joined his son center stage to honor sisters Maggie and Harper Cunningham, ages 10 and 12, from College Station, Texas, who created Books and a Blanket.
The plenary included a welcome by Houston Mayor Annise Parker and an engaging panel discussion, moderated by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jon Meacham and featuring three former chiefs of staff – Andrew H. Card, who staffed President George W. Bush; Mack McLarty III (President Bill Clinton); and John H. Sununu (George H. W. Bush).
Tracy Hoover, left, Neil Bush, center, and President George H. W. Bush present the Daily Point of Light Award to sisters Maggie and Harper Cunningham.
Hoover welcomed conference attendees and encouraged them to seek the solutions that will bring volunteers closer to their passions. “Let’s inspire each other, let’s learn from each other, let’s be disruptive together,” she said. “You’ve accomplished so much and there’s so much to be proud of.”
The day started with 1,000 volunteers kicking off
, a 24-hour bid to break the Guinness World Record for the number of children read to by an adult in a single day.
This Conference service project – sponsored by the
– brought volunteers to elementary schools throughout Houston. Neil and Barbara Bush joined volunteers at Edgar Allen Poe Elementary School, each reading to a classroom full of children and speaking out on the critical importance of literacy.
From left, Jon Meacham, Mack McLarty III, John H. Sununu and Andrew H. Card
Later in the morning, the Volunteer Solutions for America’s Education Crisis Forum examined areas where volunteers can help establish a strong STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) foundation and connect to African-American and Hispanic youth.
STEM education for girls can be transformative, noted Anna Maria Chavez, CEO of
. Girl Scout alums who have had these opportunities have had more success in their academic and professional lives, are more involved in their children’s schools and understand they have a voice in making positive change in their communities.
Corporate social responsibility practitioners dug into the key skills for success in their rapidly changing field during the Three Skills Every CSR Professional Will Need in the Next Five Years session. At the Understanding Power and Privilege in the Volunteer Experience session, participants examined how strong self-awareness of power and privilege can result in programs that yield sustainable social change.
Former First Lady Barbara Bush reads to children at Edgar Allen Poe Elementary School in Houston as part of the Read Across the Globe service project.
In the Employee Engagement: What’s Working and What’s Not? workshop, more than 200 corporate attendees came to a deeper understanding of how they can spark excitement for service within their organizations and inspire employees to drive social change. In the Strengthening Community Networks for Efficiency and Impact session, speakers explored how innovative volunteer networks can build stronger communities.
In the Going Global workshop, speakers discussed the challenges and opportunities for scaling volunteering globally, from operationalizing volunteering around the world to deepening impact through skills-based service.
In the days leading up to the conference, attendees gathered for special training sessions and events.
On Saturday and Sunday, the Points of Light Civic Accelerator hosted Innovate Houston, sponsored by Starbucks. The hands-on boot camp coached teams of social entrepreneurs and business, nonprofit and community leaders on using innovation best practices to make better decisions, test solutions and solve problems more effectively.
Through the weekend, volunteer managers participated in a new certification program for disaster volunteer coordination, which covered a variety of topics, including recruiting and assessing volunteers and social media in emergency management.
On Sunday, HandsOn Network affiliates – local volunteer centers across the globe – gathered to connect, learn and share ideas about volunteer recruitment and management. They also celebrated this year’s George W. Romney Award winner, Boston Cares (read more here).
In the afternoon, Repair the World hosted a summit to explore the state of service and volunteering in the Jewish community.
Faith was a topic of discussion into the evening, with America’s Sunday Supper, hosted by St. Martin’s Episcopal Church. The evening’s discussion, led by historian Jon Meacham and the Rev. Dr. Russell Jones, focused on how communities of faith can help improve the state of education.
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Boston Cares Wins Romney Award for Giving Kids in Need Beds of Their Own
Thousands of Greater Boston school children do not have a bed, which affects their self-esteem, ability to learn and likelihood of graduating from high school. This year’s George W. Romney Award winner, Boston Cares, decided to tackle this problem by creating the Bed Project, through which volunteers build beds for kids who need them.
From left, Neil Bush, chairman, Points of Light; Patrice Keegan, executive director, Boston Cares; and Amy Smith, Points of Light chief strategy officer and president, Action Networks
Each year during the Points of Light Conference on Volunteering and Service, HandsOn Network honors the outstanding work of an affiliate through the George W. Romney Award. The award is the pinnacle of excellence, presented to honor the collective success of an affiliate in making a meaningful difference through volunteering and service in their community and across the sector.
Boston Cares, which received the award in Houston on Sunday, sought to help children who have no choice but to share beds with family members, sleep on the couch or sleep on the floor.
In creating its Bed Project, Boston Cares located skilled woodworkers – Nick Roulleau of Mansfield Fine Furniture and Eli Cleveland of The Rough Cut – who donated their time to develop a toddler bed prototype that is easy for volunteers to replicate.
“One of the most exciting things about Boston Care’s Bed Project is that it can be replicated by our global network of over 250 affiliates, so they are not only helping children in Massachusetts, but around the world,” said Alison Doerfler, executive director of HandsOn Network, an enterprise of Points of Light.
The nonprofit built a partnership with the New England Regional Council of Carpenters, through which apprentices have handled much of the advance work of cutting, milling and fabricating the lumber – although volunteers can handle this stage of the Bed Project if need be, using a series of customized “jigs” designed by Roulleau and Cleveland.
On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2014, Boston Cares launched the Bed Project with a goal to build 500 beds for kids in 2014. Since then, close to 1,400 volunteers have produced 700-plus beds for children served by 22 community partners in Boston, Somerville, Lynn, Lowell, Worcester and other nearby communities. The goal is to hit 1,000 beds by the end of 2015.
“We truly appreciate the beds the Boston Cares Bed Project has made and donated in the past and look forward to receiving and distributing many more to families in need thanks to this amazing program,” said Donna Hunnewell, executive director of The Wish Project, a recipient of Boston Care beds. “What a unique and effective way to use volunteers to help families.”
The George W. Romney Excellence Award was established in 1996 to honor Gov. Romney of Michigan and his personal commitment to volunteer service. Romney was chairman and CEO of American Motors, a three-term governor and U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. He was also founding chairman of the National Volunteer Center and a founding member of the board and executive committee of Points of Light.
“It is a great honor to be recognized for our work,” said Patrice Keegan, executive director of Boston Cares. “We have been so inspired and motivated by other affiliates and past Romney Award winners. Boston Cares is excited to move the Bed Project forward and thanks HandsOn Network and Points of Light for this honor.”
Join Nancy Pelosi, Joel Osteen and Other Distinguished Guests at Our Conference in Houston
At Points of Light’s Conference on Volunteering and Service – the world’s largest gathering of volunteer, national service and civic leaders – thousands of people who really care about the future of volunteer service come together to learn from, share with and get inspired by one another.
One of the highlights each year is hearing from our distinguished speakers, leaders who are shaping the future of volunteer and service.
We’re excited to announce some of those powerful voices, below. (See a full list here.) Come hear what they have to say – join us in Houston, Oct. 19-21!
Nancy Pelosi
U.S. House of Representatives Democratic Leader
Nancy Pelosi Nancy Pelosi served as the first woman Speaker of the House, has led House Democrats for more than a decade and has represented San Francisco for 28 years. She led Congress in passing historic health insurance reform; key investments in college aid, clean energy and innovation; and initiatives to help small businesses and veterans. She is a powerful voice for civil and human rights around the world.
Joel Osteen
Pastor, Lakewood Church
Joel Osteen is a native Texan and Senior Pastor of Houston’s Lakewood Church, America’s largest Christian congregation. As one of the most influential ministries in the world, Pastor Osteen uses his global platform to serve others, a fact reflected in Lakewood’s commitment to humanitarian relief and development efforts around the world.
Anna Maria Chávez
CEO, Girl Scouts of the USA
Serving in multiple positions for President Bill Clinton and former Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano has informed Anna Maria Chávez’s dynamic leadership of Girl Scouts of the USA – a 2.8 million-member organization that offers girls a unique approach to developing their leadership skills.
Annise Parker
Mayor, City of Houston
In Annise Parker’s State of the Union address she said, “I woke up one morning and discovered I lived in a thriving, exciting, hardworking global village, surrounded by immigrants and refugees and transplants and visitors and natives. And we all belong.”
Kristian Bush
Grammy Award-winning founder, Sugarland
Kristian Bush, one half of platinum-selling country duo Sugarland, has been leaving his mark on music for more than two decades. A Points of Light Service Ambassador, Bush has also partnered with Goodwill Industries International to raise awareness of its message: Donate Stuff. Create Jobs. Using his hit song “Trailer Hitch,” he reminds fans all over the country to #GiveItAway.
For a list of all featured conference speakers, please click here.
Top 10 Reasons to Join Us at the 2015 Conference on Volunteering and Service
Thinking about coming to the Conference on Volunteering and Service? There are countless reasons to meet us Oct. 19 to 21 for the largest gathering of volunteer, national service and civic leaders. We’ve boiled it down to the top 10!
10. Value.
You won’t find an event that offers this much content and this many inspiring, A-list speakers anywhere else.
9. Relevance.
You’ll have opportunities to engage in in-depth discussions about solutions to the most important challenges you face in your community.
8. Connections.
You’ll reconnect with old friends and make new, like-minded, diverse friends and contacts from all over the globe.
7. Legacy.
Points of Light is commemorating our 25th year. Celebrate the work of our founder, George H. W. Bush, in his hometown of Houston.
6. Inspiration.
You will return home equipped with new plans, tips and tools to make your organization stronger.
5. Impact.
Whether you are new to your organization or a senior executive with years of experience, you’ll find content that will make a difference in your career and your community.
4. Diversity.
This is the largest convening body on the nonprofit sector, bringing together leaders from all over the world to help you learn and grow.
3. FUN!
Celebrities, music and celebrations will amp up your experience. You’ll also discover the Houston you never knew, complete with a volunteer project to break a Guinness World Record.
2. Progress.
You’ll hear from people who are working on some of the world’s toughest problems about their solutions for the future.
1. Replenishment.
You have spent your life taking care of others. Isn’t it time you invested in yourself? Get refreshed, recharged and ready to take on the world.
Click here to find out more about the conference. Register today to take advantage of the early bird rate. We hope to see you there!
