Points Of Light Conference Convenes In The Motor City Bringing Together Thousands Of Global Changemakers

Featured speakers include Mike Duggan, Mayor of Detroit; Hill Harper, award-winning actor CSI:NY and author; and special remarks by Lonnie Ali during a tribute to the late Muhammad Ali

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Points of Light

Jun 22, 2016, 12:48 ET

DETROIT, June 22, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The 2016 Points of Light Conference on Volunteering and Service kicks off on Monday, June 27 at Detroit's Cobo Center. The conference, the largest of its kind in the world, brings together nonprofit, government, business and civic leaders from across the globe to learn, connect and be inspired. Thousands of service-minded attendees from across the U.S. and 36 countries will gain the knowledge, resources and connections needed to galvanize the power of people in their own communities to create change. The conference will run through June 29.

"Detroit is the perfect place for the changemaking sector to come together – it is a shining example of how social innovation, cross-sector collaboration and citizen engagement can drive change," said Tracy Hoover, president and CEO, Points of Light. "The city sets an inspiring backdrop for learning from those leading transformation in Detroit and all over the world, sharing what works to impact critical issues, and connecting to solve shared problems."

Headline speakers include singer-songwriter and humanitarian Maya Azucena; UPS chairman and CEO David Abney; Tonya Allen, The Skillman Foundation's president & chief executive officer; Dave Bing, former mayor of Detroit and retired Hall of Fame basketball player; Neil Bush, chairman of Points of Light; Phillip Cooley, co-owner of Slows Bar BQ & Ponyride; Mike Duggan, mayor of Detroit; Rabbi Dorit Edut, president of the Detroit Interfaith Outreach Network; Mike Ellison, actor, recording and performance artist; Tracy Hoover, chief executive officer of Points of Light; Hill Harper, award-winning actor CSI:NY and Limitless, philanthropist, and best-selling author; Dhani Makalani Jones, former NFL football linebacker; William F. Jones, Jr., CEO, Focus: HOPE; Asia Newson, Detroit's youngest entrepreneur and CEO and co-founder of Super Business Girl; Alessandra Orofino, executive director and co-founder of Our Cities; Brittany Packnett, executive director, Teach for America and member, President's Task Force on 21^st Century Policing and the Ferguson Commission; Jackie Parker, president of the GM Foundation; Pat Pontius, executive director, White House Council Strong Cities Strong Communities; Veronika Scott, founder of 'The Empowerment Plan'; Yara Shahidi, scholar, philanthropist and actress in ABC's award-winning series Black-ish; Michael Smith, special assistant to the President and senior director of Cabinet Affairs for My Brother's Keeper at the White House; Wendy Spencer, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service; Tosha Tabron, vice president, relationship manager, JPMorgan Chase & Co.; Christian Vanizette, founder of Make Sense; and Lonnie Ali, the wife of the late Muhammad Ali, who will join us for a special tribute to her husband's life work as a humanitarian and global changemaker.

The UPS Foundation and JPMorgan Chase are co-title sponsors of this year's event. The conference offers 11 learning tracks featuring more than 100 workshops led by highly-respected experts offering innovative solutions and lessons. Participants will gain knowledge about concrete strategies to impact critical issues including community resiliency, education, economic opportunity, and disaster response and recovery. The conference business track will reveal and explore winning strategies to accelerate and grow corporate citizenship and volunteer programs.

Conference participants will fill 5,000 backpacks with school supplies and a healthy snack as part of a hands-on service opportunity sponsored by General Motors, an impact-level sponsor. The backpacks will be distributed throughout greater Detroit to children, grades K-12, during United Way for Southeastern Michigan Meet Up and Eat Up events. These events are designed to provide children with access to free, nutritious meals throughout the summer. For more on this event, visit www.volunteeringandservice.org.

About Points of Light
Points of Light – the world's largest organization dedicated to volunteer service – inspires, equips and mobilizes millions of people to take action that is changing the world. Through affiliates in 250 cities across more than 30 countries and partnerships with thousands of nonprofits and corporations, Points of Light engages 4 million volunteers in 30 million hours of service each year. For more information, go to www.pointsoflight.org.

Points of Light's Conference on Volunteering and Service is the world's largest service-related convening of nonprofit, government, business and civic leaders. With The UPS Foundation and JPMorgan Chase as the title sponsors, the 2016 Points of Light Conference on Volunteering and Service will be held June 27 – 29 at the Cobo Center in Detroit, Michigan. For more information, go to www.volunteeringandservice.org and follow us on Facebook.

SOURCE Points of Light