Robert Reeg
Blue Star Families
Blue Star Families serves as a bridge between families and service organizations that are striving to help make military life more sustainable. It was a major partner for the 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance and has been integral to the success of the Community Blueprint Network. Points of Light worked with Blue Star Families and the White House Joining Forces initiative to create the “serve” component of the Joining Forces website through Operation Honor Card and All for Good. The two organizations also worked together on the planning of a gathering at White Oak of military and civilian leaders to create a plan to build bridges between the two sectors and cohesion at a local level to benefit veterans, service members and their families. Blue Star Families also serves on the National Advisory Council that guides Points of Light military initiatives including the Community Blueprint Network.
Hands On Greater Portland
National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NVOAD)
National VOAD is a nonpartisan, nonprofit association dedicated to be the forum where organizations share knowledge and resources throughout the disaster cycle – preparation, response and recovery – to help disaster survivors and their communities. The organization partnered with Points of Light and HandsOn Network at the 2012 National Conference on Volunteering and Service as part of the Get HandsOn campaign and as a national presenter with the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes. National VOAD has been instrumental in collaborating and connecting resources and partners with HandsOn Network during times of response and recovery. In addition, National VOAD participated in A Billion + Change’s disaster session focused on corporations with skills-based volunteering programs focused on disaster. This year, National VOAD will partner with Points of Light on the disaster track at the 2012 National Conference on Volunteering and Service, and provides ongoing support for emergency preparedness programming.
Lan Diep
Colonel David Sutherland
HandsOn Twin Cities
Boys and Girls Clubs of America
Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) is a network of some 4,000 community-based sites serving four million young people each year. The organization was an activation partner for the 2012 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service, engaging nearly 5,000 youth volunteers who organized a variety of projects in their local communities. This included cards to military service members, book drives, fundraisers for homeless shelters, neighborhood revitalization efforts and assemblies that educated youth and families about Dr. King’s legacy and his belief that everyone can serve. In all, Boys & Girls Club members provided more than 24,000 hours of service during MLK Day. In recognition of its importance, BGCA has also included leadership and civic engagement as one of the organization’s three areas of focus in its long-term strategic plan.