Points of Light Blog

Change Notes: Points of Light Conference Highlights – My Top 10 List

Change Notes: Even in Divisive Times, Service and Volunteering Bring Us Together as One America

Change Notes: A Presidential Library Opening Prompts Thoughts of Legacy and Service

Friends, They get together around openings and, well, closings. That is to say, current and former presidents seem to gather only for…

Change Notes: Look for the helpers

Friends, Last week, as so many of us tried to make sense of the terrible events in Boston, this message from the…

Change Notes: An investment in volunteer service, from one President to another

Friends, President Obama's 2014 budget includes a small investment for those who care about volunteer service and a big tribute to the…

Change Notes: It just takes a minute to join the largest commitment of pro bono service in history

Friends, This story doesn't start well. Here's the headline from the Chronicle of Philanthropy: "Foundation Giving Won't Rise Much this Year." And…

Change Notes: What will you bring to the table?

Friends, The flyer a colleague sent me lists the facts: More than 16 million children in America are at risk of hunger.…

Change Notes: Points of Light and the Pursuit of Happiness

Friends, When I first met President George H. W. Bush, the honorary chair of Points of Light, six years ago, I was…

Change Notes: 125 Reasons to Celebrate Volunteer Service

Fulfill HOPE with service stint

Written by Michelle Nunn, CEO of the Points of Light, and republished from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Georgia’s HOPE scholarship is one of…

Change Notes: Civic Accelerator Gives Today’s Start-Ups a Boost

Change Notes: The Presidential Citizens Medal goes to one of my heroes

  Friends, I'm happy to join a chorus of celebrants in paying tribute to our nation's most passionate advocate for national and…

Change Notes: Five Years Later, Reflections on a Merger

Friends, When President George H. W. Bush described his vision of 1,000 points of light, I was one of a handful of…

Change Notes: General Colin Powell, Alma Powell Kick Off Points of Light’s Sunday Supper Series to Bring People to the Table

Friends, The word "supper" means different things to different people, but for me it evokes memories of a big Southern fried chicken…

Change Notes: Vice President Biden Joins Points of Light on Day of Service

For Leadership, Look Beyond Washington

After Hurricane Sandy, Real Work Continues

Friends, In a parking lot in Far Rockaway, New York, a school bus is the volunteer staging site. Volunteers check in and…

Change Notes: Acts of Charity Lead Us to Acts of Justice

There’s often a fine line between individual acts of caring and systemic change – a line we cross often in a world…

Why IBM Is America’s Most Community-Minded Company

The Next Greatest Generation

Post written by Michelle Nunn, CEO of Points of Light and author of Be The Change. Over the next five years, more…

Change Notes: In good times and bad, demonstrating the best of the American spirit

Friends,  As millions of people along the east coast begin to mourn those who died and assess the damage wrought by Hurricane…

Change Notes: Stepping Up to Support Veterans

Friends, After serving nearly nine years in the Navy, Liz Perez returned to civilian life in San Diego feeling good about a…

Change Notes: Target Builds Brighter Futures

Friends,  Target believes that every child deserves a bright future. Since 1946, Target – a longtime partner to Points of Light –…

Change Notes: Service Brings a Kinder, Gentler Vibe to D.C.

Friends,  It's not often you see famed international musician YOSHIKI, in the dark glasses, mingling with NBA legend Dikembe Mutombo. Or see…

Change Notes: Every Day I Serve

Friends,  Last year, on the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, Matt Segneri rose before dawn to help plant 3,000 flags…

Change Notes: Tromping Westward

Friends,  One of the things I sometimes read about is the homogenization of our nation's communities. After travelling across the country for…

Walk, Talk, Drink Coffee: Creating Community Spaces in Seattle

Civic Spark in Portland

A Generational Effort to Create, Preserve and Sustain Our National Parks

Change Notes: AmeriCorps ‘Champions of Change’ Honored at White House

A Well-Deserved Reputation in Minneapolis

Not-So-Secret Salamanders in Milwaukee

Business Behind the Scenes in Chicago

Michelle Visits Battle Creek

Coney Island Hot Dogs…in Detroit

Michelle Nunn’s Be The Change Book Is Reissued

Michelle Visits Columbus and Cincinnati. Collaboration is Key to Collective Impact

Michelle Nunn continues her cross-country trip and meets Russ Porter, a Point of Light in Cincinnati. My family has continued our cross-country…

Beginning in Buffalo – Michelle Nunn’s Trip Cross-Country

Michelle Nunn’s Reflections From Chautauqua Institute

Chautauqua Institute is quintessentially and uniquely American. In the words of David McCullough, "There is no place like it. No resort. No…

Michelle Nunn’s Cross-Country Trip to Discover People at the Center of Change

For a month this summer, Michelle Nunn, CEO of Points of Light, is taking a cross-country trip to learn from the people…

Change Notes: National Conference on Volunteering and Service Creates Turning Point

Friends, Points of Light convened the 2012 National Conference on Volunteering and Service recently in Chicago, bringing together more than 5,000 civic…

Change Notes: GenerationOn Celebrates Youth Service

Friends, More than 300 civic, nonprofit, government and entertainment luminaries came together in New York City for  generationOn’s Annual Benefit on May…

Change Notes: A Turning Point to Put People at the Center of Change

Friends, The 2012 National Conference on Volunteering and Service is the largest convening of volunteer, national service and civic leaders in the…

Change Notes: American Express Engages Volunteers to Help Preserve New York City

Friends, American Express, a Points of Light Leadership Partner, is engaging volunteers in a whole new way this summer – to help…

Change Notes: When University of Phoenix Employees Volunteer, Everybody Wins

Friends, Points of Light is pleased to count University of Phoenix among its Leadership Partners. In 2011, its parent company, Apollo Group, and…

Change Notes: Celebrating People In Action for National Volunteer Week

Friends, Sunday marked the start of National Volunteer Week. Points of Light will lead the nation in a celebration of people doing…

Change Notes: Congratulations to Wendy Spencer, CEO of CNCS

Friends, Last night, the U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed Wendy Spencer as the next CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service…

Change Notes: President George H. W. Bush’s Points of Light Vision

Friends, Throughout human history, underlying the sweeping reforms and essential institutional responses to disaster, to poverty, to environmental degradation, and to all…

Change Notes: Japan One Year Later

Friends, Sunday will mark one year since Japan was hit with a devastating earthquake and tsunami. Nearly 16,000 people lost their lives.…

Change Notes: Supporting a Bipartisan Legacy of Service

Friends, Demand for volunteer support is higher than ever. The waiting list for those seeking to serve through AmeriCorps, for example, has…

Change Notes: The Eli J. Segal Entrepreneurship Award

Friends, Eli Segal was an architect of the modern national service movement and an extraordinary civic entrepreneur. An aide to President Bill…

Change Notes: Reflections on MLK Day

Friends, This weekend, I joined with millions of Americans to reflect and act upon Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s words and life.…

Change Notes: Resolve to Serve in 2012

Friends, The New Year is always a great time for clean slates, aggressive goals and personal resolutions to be good and do…

Change Notes: The Spirit of the Season

Friends, This is a Season in which we turn our attention to children. We are delighted and refreshed by their capacity to…

Change Notes: Points of Light Calls on Americans to Unite in Honoring Veterans

Friends, Nowhere is the uniquely American ideal of service more evident than among our military men and women and their families. As…

Change Notes: Three Million Give Back on Make A Difference Day

Friends, Last Saturday, 50 women in Florida held a baby shower for someone they had never met: an Arkansas woman widowed this…

Change Notes: Looking Back At Our Work

Friends, For many of us, September feels like the beginning of a new year – the start of school, back to work,…

Change Notes: 50 Years of Global Impact

      Friends, On Sept. 22, 1961, Congress approved legislation creating the Peace Corps. This organization was born not of politics,…

Personal Reflection on the Day of Service and Remembrance and 9/12

Michelle Nunn, CEO of Points of Light Institute and Co-Founder of HandsOn Network personally reflects on the 9/11 National Day of Service…

Change Notes: Four Year Anniversary Reflections on Points of Light Institute

Anniversaries are always a good time to reflect upon the past – what we have learned and also what we want for…