HUGE THANKS TO POINTS OF LIGHT FOR A MAGICAL TRIP TO THE UK!

Last week, I had the privilege of traveling to London as a representative of the Daily Points of Light organization, a nonprofit started by George H. Bush and continuing in the Bush family, to encourage civic engagement and community service in the United States. Points of Light has since expanded to the UK and Commonwealth, becoming an international mission honoring and celebrating citizens who contribute to their communities in meaningful and significant ways. A highlight of our trip was joining the two other US Point of Light honorees (Max Surprenant and Daniel Craig), along with Points of Light leaders (Interim President and CEO Diane Quest, Senior Manager, External Affairs Brenda Solis, and Senior VP, External Affairs Beth Pann) at a private lunch with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his family at 10 Downing Street. I was fortunate enough to be seated next to surprise guests from the US: Dr. Jill Biden and her granddaughter, Finnegan!

From left to right: Finnegan Biden, Max Surprenant, Dr. Jill Biden, Daniel Craig, me, and Jane Hartley (US Ambassador to the UK).

An especially powerful moment was connecting with Dr. Biden about St. Jude’s lifesaving work; she recently visited the hospital to get an inside look into St. Jude’s efforts to evacuate and treat children fighting cancer in war-torn Ukraine. We also discussed the lifesaving mission of St. Jude Global. This was a conversation I’ll remember forever!

I also spoke with the US Ambassador to the UK, Jane Hartley (also so welcoming and inspiring and wearing all red below), Pierce and Sarabeth Bush who shared stories of their shared work with Boys and Girls Clubs, impassioned Points of Light Co-Founder Gregg Petersmeyer, and the Prime Minister’s wife, Akshata Murty, a Stanford Business School graduate who met the Prime Minister there! We shared our love for Stanford and she wished me the best as I plan ahead for the fall. Talk about alumni connections! 😊

I GOT CAUGHT BY THE International paparazzi!

I was showing Finnegan Biden something on my phone when they snapped this photo!

We spent the next day participating in a UK-wide event called The Big Help Out, celebrating the government’s encouragement of volunteer work and service. We were assigned to plant blue and purple flowers in Green Park, to symbolize the river that once flowed through the park during the late Queen Elizabeth’s rule. I loved learning from the Green Park volunteers about Queen Elizabeth’s impact, and we talked to some local reporters about our volunteering efforts.

Overall, I was blown away by this entire experience and could not be more grateful to Brenda, Diane, and Beth, the women from Points of Light who made this once-in-a-lifetime experience possible. They are powerful figures in the nonprofit sector and are now added to my list of female mentors paving the way in a field of interest to me. I was also honored, as always, to represent other young people devoted to service, as well as championing St. Jude’s global mission to rid the world of childhood cancer!

Thanks for your interest and support!

~Hollis