Points of Light

src: i.ytimg.com

Point of Light is a nonpartisan, nonpartisan international nonprofit organization headquartered in the United States dedicated to engaging more people and resources in solving serious social problems through voluntary services.

Each year, Points of Light mobilizes millions of people through affiliates in approximately 250 cities and partnerships with thousands of nonprofits and companies.

Video Points of Light

Histori

Points of Light was formed in 2007 by merging the Points of Light Foundation and Hands On Network . Encouraged by large donors and affiliates, the two organizations join forces to strengthen volunteerism, simplify cost and service and deepen impact.

The Points of Light Foundation was founded in 1990 as a non-profit organization in Washington, DC to promote the spirit of volunteering described by US President George HW Bush in his inaugural address in 1989, "I have talked about a thousand points of light, from all scattered community organizations like stars all over the country, do good. "

President Bush often used the theme "a thousand points of light", including in his State of the Union 1991 speech in which he said:

We have within our reach the promise of an updated America. We can find meaning and reward by serving the higher purpose of ourselves, the shining goal, the illumination of the Thousand Point of Light. And that is expressed by everyone who knows the unbearable power of a child's hand, a friend standing next to you and living there, a generous attitude of a volunteer, a correct idea.

In 1991, the National Volunteer Center, which began in 1970 as the National Voluntary Action Center, was incorporated into it. The combined organization was also known during the 2000s as the Center of Light and the Network of Volunteer Centers.

The expanded Foundation and network acts as a community hub to link volunteers with opportunities, work with local nonprofits and businesses to build and improve volunteer programs, and, overall, improve local infrastructure for volunteer communities.

The Points of Light Foundation received an annual allocation from the Corporation for National Services and Communities to manage some of the agency's programs, and administered the President's Volunteer Award program, created by President George W. Bush in 2003. The group also sponsors. conferences, offering training and other assistance to a network of volunteer centers, and volunteers recognized through the Daily Light Point award.

The Points of Light Foundation is actually not a grant-making foundation. It is involved in a variety of tasks, including managing a network of volunteer centers, involving volunteers in disaster recovery, supporting corporate volunteer boards and more.

At the same time as the foundation of the Cahaya Foundation, a group of young professionals in Atlanta started a group to connect volunteers to nonprofit organizations. Michelle Nunn joined this founding group as the first executive director of Hands On Atlanta in 1989. The nonprofit institute offers a volunteer model with flexible opportunities for people to engage in their community through "direct" projects such as working in a communal kitchen. , food bank or building a house. When the group held its first Hands On Atlanta Day in 1992, about 2,000 people volunteered.

In 2003, Nunn moved from Hands On Atlanta to become CEO of HandsOn Network based in Atlanta to expand the volunteer model to cities around the world.

In 2007, Points of Light Foundation initiated talks with the HandsOn Network to join through a merger to create a national organization with local affiliates focusing on volunteer work and services. They joined forces on August 11, 2007, to become Point of Light Institute. At the end of 2011, his name was changed to Points of Light.

Points of Light has about 250 affiliates in 22 countries and partnerships with thousands of nonprofits and companies. In 2012, Points of Light mobilized 4 million volunteers in 30 million hours of service worth $ 635 million. Points of Light receive the highest (4-star) rating in Charity Navigator in 2012, 2011 and 2010.

In 2013, Nunn took a leave of absence from the CEO to catch an unsuccessful run for the US Senate seat in Georgia in 2014. In 2015, Tracy Hoover was appointed CEO of Points of Light, with Nunn taking a place on the board.

Maps Points of Light

Daily Light Point Awards

President Bush created the "Daily Light Point Award" in 1989 to recognize ordinary Americans from all walks of life who take direct and consequential voluntary action in their communities to solve serious social problems. The President focused great attention on these individuals and organizations, both to honor them for their work and to call upon nations to join them and to redouble their efforts. At the end of his term, President Bush has recognized 1,020 Light Spot Points representing fifty states and addressing issues ranging from care for infants and adolescents with AIDS to adult illiteracy and from gang violence to vocational training for homeless people. The Daily Point of Light continues to be awarded by Points of Light and President Bush continues to sign all the awards.

President Bush paid attention to voluntary service as a means of solving some of America's most serious social problems. In The Point of Light Movement: Presidential Report to the Nation, President Bush wrote,

"Points of Light is the American soul, they are ordinary people who reach out to themselves to touch the lives of those in need, to bring hope and opportunity, attention and friendship, and to give them generously to themselves, this extraordinary individual shows us not only what is best in our inheritance but what we all are called to be. "

On July 15, 2013, President Barack Obama welcomed President Bush to the White House to celebrate the 5,000 Daily Light Point Awards. They honored Floyd Hammer and Kathy Hamilton of Union, Iowa, for their work on establishing Outreach, a nonprofit that provides free food to starving children in 15 countries.

The Daily Point of Light Awards include:

Christian Thomas Lee, classic American concert guitarist and art collector for his work in bringing art to tens of thousands of children in rural downtown and rural schools.

Israel Idonije, for his foundation works to support thousands of children through after-school programs, sports camps, and medical missions in West Africa, Winnipeg and Chicago.

Joseph Hanna, founder of Bunker in Baghdad, for his work to collect and send new and used golf equipment to soldiers around the world and to wounded soldiers in the US.

Voluntary Partners from Sacred Heart Hospital for their support from their hospital colleagues to provide excellent patient care.

Linus's project for their mission embraces vulnerable children with hope and healing through handmade quilts.

The "Once River" Project from Bryant Ranch Elementary School to restore the original habitat of the Santa Ana River.

Derrius Quarles who founded Million Dollar Scholar to help high school students find scholarships

src: gmscmiami.com

Program

The organization manages a number of important programs including the HandsOn Network, which leads around 250 volunteer action centers; generationOn, which helps schools, children and families volunteer in their communities; The Community Blueprint, which works with non-profit organizations to meet the needs of veterans and military families; Billion Changes, which set the company to promise billions of dollars in skills-based volunteer services to nonprofit organizations; and Civil Accelerator, which invests in start-up of civilian companies.

The Extra Mile - Points of Light The Volunteer Pathway honors renowned volunteers with a series of bronze medals that form a one mile walking path, just blocks from the White House in Washington, DC There are 33 recognized people, including Booker T. Washington, Jane Addams, John Muir, Clara Barton, and Martin Luther King, Jr.

The National Volunteer Week is an annual event designed to thank volunteers for their services and encourage others throughout the United States to volunteer.

The HandsOn Network works in partnership with local organizations and schools to create a "hands on" service project that generates tangible benefits in the community. This network enlarges the corps of hundreds of thousands of volunteers who join to address the needs of communities around the world. The HandsOn Network allows them to choose from projects that connect the needs of the community with their time and interests. They train and train volunteers to lead other volunteers.

POINTS of LIGHT - LED LIGHT SHOW short demonstration. - YouTube

src: i.ytimg.com

Events

All Together Now: Celebration Service

Point of Light honors President George H.W. Bush and volunteers on March 21, 2011 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. President Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush joined President George H.W. Bush highlighted the role of volunteer role services in people's lives. This marks the first time the four former presidents have come together since the inauguration of President Barack Obama in January 2009. President Obama is on his way to South America and is recording a video message for the event. The Tribute to the Bush elder - called "All Together Now: A Celebration of Service" - featuring singers Carrie Underwood, Darius Rucker, and Garth Brooks, and broadcaster Jim Nantz.

The Presidential Forum on Services

On October 16, 2009, President Obama held a Presidential Forum in the Office hosted by former President George H.W. Bush and the Light Spot at George Bush Presidential Library Center at Texas A & amp; M University. The event celebrates the contribution of over 4,500 award winners of the Daily Point of Light and honors President Bush's service legacy and civil engagement.

At the Presidential Forum, President Obama said,

Governments can build the best schools, with the best teachers - but we can not run the PTA, or accompany the field trips, or guide the children after school, or have them sit and do their homework at night. We can pass the most comprehensive health reform bill - but Congress can not be on the ground in our community that takes care of the sick and helps people lead a healthier life. The government can give our troops the equipment they need, and the fees and benefits they get, and no one works harder at doing so than Secretary Gates - but can not be there to offer home-cooked food to a thin stretched military family, or to ensure our veterans get the respect and respect they deserve in their community when they come home.
Ultimately, when faced with the challenges we face, the need to act always exceeds the limits of government. While there is so much that the government can do and it should be done to keep our families safe, and our planet clean, and our markets free and fair, there are many things that governments can not and should not do. And that's where it is active, involved citizens enter. That is the purpose of service in this country. And that is the point I want to emphasize today: that service is not separate from our national priorities, or secondary to our national priorities - it is integral to achieving our national priorities. That's how we will face challenges in our time.

Conference on Volunteering and Services

Since 1992, leaders from the nonprofit, nonprofit, government, Hollywood and military sectors have gathered for the annual Conference Points on Volunteering and Services. In 2012, approximately 5,000 people attended plenary sessions featuring former First Lady Barbara Bush, Second Lady Jill Biden, Points of Light CEO Michelle Nunn and actor Kevin Bacon.

Create Day of Difference

Make A Difference Day is the nation's biggest service day, created by USA Weekend magazine and held in partnership with Points of Light on the fourth Saturday of every October. An estimated 3 million volunteers spent the 22nd day of Make A Difference in 2012 helping their communities in various projects ranging from fund-a-thon fundraising to beach cleaning. Martin Luther King, Jr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Martin Luther_King MartinLuther_King MartinLuther_King MartinLuther_King Day

Each year Points of Light honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with service projects across the United States as part of MLK Day of service. In 2013, Vice President Joe Biden and his family joined 10,000 volunteers at the Point of Light service project at D.C. Armory to collect 100,000 "care kit" thanks to US military personnel, disabled veterans, and civilian first responders.

International Volunteer Year

In the US, the Foundation of Light Dots and the International Junior League Association (AJLI) are partnering to convene and lead the 2001 International Steering Committee of the 2001 International Steering Committee. Committee members include the National Volunteer Board Center, the National Council on Voluntary Workplace, the Association for Volunteer Administration, the National Association of Parents and Teachers, and Make a Day of Differences. The US IYV website, www.iyv2001us.org , was launched in September 2000.