Outreach Program Honored with 5000th Daily Point Of Light Award.

President Barack Obama and former President H.W. (George) Bush invited Outreach Program founders, Floyd Hammer and Kathy Hamilton to the White House on July 15, 2013 to present them with the 5,000^th Points of Light Award.

Outreach co-founder Floyd Hammer said, “It is a tremendous honor to be recognized in the White House. But we are just one of the many tens of thousands of points of light represented by the volunteers who have helped us facilitate the packaging of over 263 million meals for the hungry.”

Outreach co-found Kathy Hamilton delivered a speech at the White House and said, “We are honored to receive this award, but the people who deserve it most are the ones who work tirelessly each day without recognition to help the poor and hungry of the world.”

After retirement from successful business careers, the Floyd and Kathy were invited to the village of Nkungi, in Tanzania, East Africa to assist a colleague with the renovation of a leprosy hospital by adding an AID’s hospice. It was there they first witnessed children dying of starvation.  Kathy said, “Floyd we have to do something.  We cannot allow these children die like this!” They purchased two truckloads of maize and traded maize for the beautiful grass baskets made by the Mamas in the village.

The Outreach mission became and remains the fulfillment of those Four Promises: to provide safe water, food, medicine and education.

Since 2004, Outreach has facilitated the packaging of over 263 million meals by volunteers across the U.S. and Canada, and all those meals have all been given away.  They have repaired existing (well) bore hole pumps, drilled new wells, and created water purification systems both for village and individual use.  They have built Children Centers and schools in Tanzania which provide mid-day meals to nearly 2,000 children each school day. They are developing an 8,000 acre farm in Tanzania for research and demonstration purposes; to help train local smallholder farmers to produce better livestock and crops. They have taken over 1,100 medical professionals and support staff to Tanzania on medical missions.

Their business knowledge grew the organization from its roots in Union, Iowa, into an international nonprofit.

• Recipients of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals Artist and Athletes Award in 2013.
• Recipients of the prestigious 2013, 5000^th Point of Light Award jointly presented by President Obama and former President H. W. Bush at a White House ceremony.
• Recipients of Iowa Volunteer Hall of Fame award, 2014