Al Berman, MBCP
President, DRI Foundation
How do you Change Lives? The DRI Foundation’s mission statement has a very specific goal, that of improving the lives of a diverse group of individuals. How do you make a difference? It is easy to just donate money to an organization that helps those affected by disasters. Hit the donate button on their website, enter your credit card information and you’re done. It is hard to make sure that the money actually reaches those who need it. To do this requires a substantial amount of effort and dedication. To find these organizations, the DRI Foundation does not wait for requests—it proactively seeks out those who need our help. Whether it be orphans in Ukraine, Women in Africa, residents of Puerto Rico devastated by nature, or rescue and comfort animal organizations, we strive to provide funding for the underfunded, those who may have no other sources of help. That is what our Giving Committee does all year long. Thank You, Sheri and Frank.
Want to give back to those who have protected this country? Start with an awareness program to alert veterans and military personnel that they have a career in resiliency. A career that utilizes their special skills. Create a program that correlates their military experience with their civilian counterparts. Conduct information sessions. Fight through governmental red tape. Explain that the Veterans Outreach Program is totally free and that we want nothing in return. Then trek around the world to provide training, certification, and job placement help. Do this for over 350 people every year. Thank You, Jerry, Catherine, Chris, and Alan.
Want more diversity in the resilience profession? Go out and build the largest membership organization in business continuity. Convince women that this is a career that will improve their lives and that of their families. Have the Women in Business Continuity Management create an awareness program, an application program, and a mentoring program to help these women with their special needs. Provide free training, certification, job placement help and even pay for childcare while they attend classes. Thank You, Mitzi, Robyn, Marsha, Karina, Aubrey, Melody, Camila, and Diane.
Help certified professionals help pay for the rising cost of higher education? Create a program that provides scholarships to high school seniors. Expand it to higher education undergraduates. Find volunteers to read through the dozens of applications each year. Make awards that help change the lives of students who use the funds to be able to go to the institutions that will shape their future. Thank You, Rosemary, Mike, Steven, Donna, and Jim.
Spend time doing something to help the community. Enlist volunteers, provide transport, and food. Build a barrier out of clamshells to prevent erosion, pack tons of food to help those who need it to survive, help build shelter for those in desperate need, plant trees to better protect against land erosion, plant and harvest community garden crops, repair veteran housing and do whatever is needed. Thank you, Bonnie, Michele, and Maria.
This is what Changing Lives looks like. All volunteers. No one gets paid.
Thank you all who help and support the DRI Foundation and these life-changing programs.
Sincerely,
Al Berman
President, DRI Foundation
To read the latest Annual Review, click here.