- Brian Lamb : At some point I noticed you were on the Points of Light Foundation board, but you go back to either your father starting the volunteer organization that merged into Points of Light?
- Governor Mitt Romney: Well, my dad began a group, I think it was first called Volunteer. And the idea was to help people connect with volunteer opportunities. His idea was to set up offices around the country, some affiliated with the United Way, others independent, where people would know what volunteer opportunities were available in the community.
And then people could come in and say, look, I have got so many hours and afternoons, what do you have for me? And they would try and put people together with volunteer opportunities. And he campaigned for that hard.
About the same time, President George H.W. Bush came out with the idea of the points of light and the Points of Light Foundation. It had a very similar concept. And the thought was, let’s put these two together where George Romney’s Volunteer organization could combine with the Points of Light Foundation and promote volunteerism, bring together -- one of the things was to bring together all the presidents, all the living presidents to promote volunteerism, something my dad championed and worked for.
He passed away just before that conference. And I was invited to step on the board and work with the Points of Light Foundation. It was a source of great honor for me to stand where my dad had stood, and to see this convocation of great leaders and people from around the country talk about volunteerism.
And the Points of Light Foundation continues to help the nation find opportunities for people to serve one another.
Comments (0)
You don't have permission to comment on this page.