Arianna Huffington Celebrates New Book at The Jefferson

A group of well known reporters and journalists gathered at The Jefferson Hotel in Washington, D.C. to celebrate Arianna Huffington’s latest book, Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder. Hotel owner and businesswoman Connie Milstein hosted the party along with Gail MacKinnon and Rachel Pearson. 

Huffington, best known for her news website The Huffington Post, was inspired to write the book after spending time in the hospital due to a fall caused by exhaustion and a lack of sleep.

“The motivation for writing the book was my own burnout, and then looking around and seeing how many millions are burned out. And then, asking the questions that we stop asking after college, ‘What is the good life? What is success?’ And if you think about it, we define success, in search of these two metrics of money and power, and in this town, especially power. And this is like trying to sit on a two legged stool. Sooner or later you fall off. Nothing wrong with these two metrics. It’s just that you need the third leg of the stool,” Huffington said during the party.

Since The Jefferson underwent renovations and reopened in 2009 it has hosted a number of notable events, including a dinner between President Obama and GOP senators, a book launch for Mark Shriver’s A Good Man, and a farewell party for former United States Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano. 

Blue Star Families Celebrates the Month of the Military Child

This month Blue Star Families recognizes Month of the Military Child through a variety of events held around the country. As the nation’s largest chapter-based military families support organization, Blue Star Families embraces this unique time to honor and support military children.

“Our military children show tremendous resilience and have been through innumerable separations, especially during this past twelve-plus years of war,” said Kathy Roth-Douquet, CEO of Blue Star Families. “The Month of the Military Child is a great way to honor our military kids and show our appreciation for their contributions to the military community.”

Events hosted by Blue Star Family this month include letter-writing campaigns via Operation Appreciation, Books on Bases literacy events, community festivals, circus events and more! Visit Blue Star Families for a complete list.

For those military families who do not live near one of these even locations, Blue Star Families encourages parents to help their child go online and print the Military Child Certificate of Appreciation. 

Blue Star Families Receives Be a STAR Grant

Blue Star Families, the country’s largest chapter-based support organization for military families, recently received the first-ever Be a STAR (Show Tolerance and Respect) grant for its MilKidz Club program. The MilKidz Club provides all military children, regardless of rank, branch of service, or military installation, with resources, mentoring and opportunities that will empower them to become leaders in their community.

Be a STAR is an anti-bullying initiative founding in 2011 with The Creative Coalition and WWE. The initiative’s goal is to use education and awareness to encourage young people to treat others with tolerance and respect. With the grant, Blue Star Families will incorporate Be a STAR’s lessons of Courage, Responsibility, Dignity, Friendship, Advocacy, Resiliency, Empathy, Identity and Morality into its monthly programs and after-school activities.

“Blue Star Families appreciates the support of The Creative Coalition and WWE, allowing us to help even more students learn how to Be a STAR,” said Sheri Robey-Lapan, Blue Star Families’ Senior Director of Programs. “Our military children show tremendous resilience each time they enter a new school… By incorporating Be a STAR lessons in our MilKidz Club and after-school activities, more military and non-military students will better understand what their fellow students are going through.” 

Blue Star Families Partners to Create Spouse Ambassador Network

Last week the United States Department of Defense deepened its commitment to helping military spouses find jobs by launching the Spouse Ambassador Network, which will be a new arm of the department’s Spouse Education and Career Opportunities program. The Spouse Ambassador Network is made possible by SECO’s Military Spouse Employment Partnership and several military support organizations, including Blue Star Families, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the National Military Family Association. More than 200 businesses have joined the partnership as well, pledging to hire military spouses.

The Spouse Ambassador Network was created in collaboration with military spouses. “Well-networked” military husbands and wives were asked what career information and resources would be helpful to them when looking for jobs. As a result, the SECO website offers articles, links, networking opportunities, skill assessments and access to personality assessments that could guide spouses when making a career choice. The career center will be accessible 24/7 on the Military OneSource website and will even offer individuals the ability to transfer their LinkedIn profiles to the SECO site.

“[The partner companies] recognize the value of military spouses, and that they have the kinds of skills and talent that most employers are looking for in the 21^st century,” said Meg O’Grady. “They’re resilient, flexible, natural team players, and tend to be very local. Our employers have told us that bringing a military spouse into their organization creates a real value for that business.”

Disney Donates Books to Blue Star Families' Books on Bases Program

Blue Star Families has an exciting new partnership! Recently, the non-profit committed to supporting and empowering military families, partnered with the Walt Disney Company to grow its Books on Bases program. In June, more than 250 Army and Marine Corps family members from Joint Base Fort Myer-Henderson Hall near Washington, DC, received free books from Disney. Mickey Mouse made a surprise appearance at the event, where families also took part in group readings and craft activities.

Books on Bases was created by BSF as a way to positively impact the lives of military children through the power of reading. A healthy love of books can help military children cope with absent parents, frequent moves and other life changes. Other partners and supporters of the program include BAE Systems, Sleeping Bear Press, Operation Paperback, United Concordia and Random House. To date, the program has touched more than 150,000 lives and Disney’s donation of more than 30,000 books will go a long way to help the program continue to grow and prosper.

Connie Milstein is a member of the Blue Star Families Board of Directors and a Washington, DC local. She has been a long-term supporter of active duty military members, military families and our country’s veterans. 

HDI Brings International Film Exchange workshop to Iraq

The Humpty Dumpty Institute recently partnered with the Iraqi Independent Film Centre to host a workshop in Baghdad for young Iraqi filmmakers. The event was funded by the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad with additional help from Human Film UK/NL and Iraq Al-Rafdin. The Baghdad training was part of the International Film Exchange, an HDI program that trains promising filmmakers from around the world and encourages them to use the power of film and television to highlight important social issues.

The theme of the workshop, which took place May 1-10, was “Telling the Story.” The workshop’s instructor was California-based filmmaker Bill Megalos, who has been producing and directing feature films and documentaries for more than 30 years.

“This is my first trip to Iraq,” Megalos said. “I am moved by the dedication and enthusiasm displayed by these young filmmakers who work under difficult circumstances and with limited resources. I’d like to see more organizations like the Iraqi Independent Film Center and more programs like HDI’s International Film Exchange so Iraqis can tell their stores to the world as they rebuild their country.”

HDI’s President Ralph Cwerman was also pleased with the success of the training program.

“When we first proposed an International Film Exchange program for Iraq, there were concerns that Iraqi filmmakers might not be ready for a program of this type. Based on the results of this workshop, they clearly are," he said. "We look forward to expanding the International Film Exchange to more countries in the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere.”

Connie Milstein is a one of the founders of the Humpty Dumpty Institute and continues to work with the non-profit as Chairman Emeritus.

Fourteenth Annual Heart's Deligh Wine Auction Takes Place Next Week

Mark your calendars! The 2013 Heart’s Delight Wine Tasting & Auction will be taking place May 1-4 in Washington, D.C. Started by the American Heart Association in 1999, Heart’s Delight is widely recognized as one of the most exclusive destination events in the country. Since it began, Heart’s Delight has raised more than 11 million dollars for the American Heart Association. Next week master winemakers, culinary greats and a number of distinguished guests will celebrate, and bid on, an amazing selection of food and wine to add to this total. 

The party kicked off on Tuesday, April 23, with the Hall of States Reception held on a rooftop overlooking the Capitol building. Members of Congress mingled with Heart’s Delight guests at the event, which also included a live auction. The evening’s honorary chairmen were Senator Saxby Chambliss and Congressman Mike Thompson. 

This week guests will be treated to a presentation on American wine, intimate wine dinners, both live and silent auctions, and a virtual wine cellar tour. This year’s chairman is Nicholas E. Calio, President & CEO of Airlines for America. 

Connie Milstein was honored to be the 2010 Heart’s Delight Chairman. She and her husband, Jehan-Christophe de La Haye Saint Hilaire, are longtime benefactors of the American Heart Association. She was recognized at the 2010 Vintners Dinner by David Markiewicz, the American Heart Association’s Executive Vice President. He praised her dedication and generous support of heart research. Earlier that year, the Vivian and Seymour Milstein Family Heart Center opened at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital thanks to generous contributions from Connie and other members of the Milstein family.