Leader Pelosi Honors Veterans with Art + Service
Presidio of San Francisco (November 9, 2012) — The public is invited to participate in Veterans Day 2012: A Celebration through Service + Art this Veterans Day, Sunday, November 11, beginning at 9:30 am. Hosted by the Presidio Trust and NCIRE – the Veterans Health Research Institute, the event will provide opportunities for civilians and veterans to work side by side on community service projects to celebrate the contributions of Bay Area veterans and the military history of the Presidio. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi will deliver welcoming remarks.
“On Veterans Day, Americans pause with reverence to honor all the men and women in uniform in our nation’s history who have served in our armed forces and sacrificed on behalf of our nation,” Congresswoman Pelosi said. “We particularly pray for those who gave, as Abraham Lincoln said, ‘their last full measure of devotion,’ and for their families. We also recognize that many of our men and women in uniform have come home from the battlefield forever changed, and we recommit to meeting their needs.”
Veterans will lead a community event to create military-themed paintings celebrating the importance of self-sacrifice and civic engagement. The finished products will be donated and displayed at local veteran service centers throughout the Bay Area. Volunteers from throughout the area are invited to participate in the art project as well as writing thank you cards for veterans at the San Francisco VA Medical Center, engage in park stewardship activities, and tour the rehabilitated headquarters of the new National Center for Service Innovative Leadership (NCSIL) at Fort Scott.
“Community understanding of the military experience is deeply intertwined with Veterans health,” says Robert Obana, Executive Director of NCIRE – The Veterans Health Research Institute. “These Veterans provide a profound expression of military values through their art, and we are excited to help them showcase their work throughout San Francisco.”
Activities will take place at Fort Scott, the site of the Presidio Trust’s recently-launched National Center for Service Innovative Leadership (NCSIL). A new initiative of the Presidio Trust, the NCSIL will repurpose the historic Fort Scott campus into an institute dedicated to developing cross-sector leaders to achieve greater impact on our nation’s most pressing challenges.
“The student veterans leading today’s projects remind us all to recommit ourselves to giving back to our nation’s military families and our communities” says Craig Middleton, the Presidio Trust’s Executive Director. “The Trust is proud to host this important event in the Fort Scott as a way of building upon the Presidio’s 200-year legacy of service to the nation. ”
Schedule of Events
DATE
Veterans Day – Sunday, November 11, 2012, beginning 9:30 AM
LOCATION
Fort Scott Parade Ground, 1201 Ralston Avenue at Kinzey Street, San Francisco, CA 94129(Map)
TIME
9:30 – 10:00 AM – Volunteer / Attendee Check-In Refreshments
10:00 – 10:30 AM – Welcome Program
10:30 – 12:30 PM – Service Art Activities
The Presidio Trust (the Trust) is an innovative federal agency created to save and transform the Presidio of San Francisco, an historic American place steeped in service. The Trust was established by the United States Congress in 1996 to administer the Presidio, a former army base and new urban national park site located at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge.
An initiative of the Trust, the National Center for Service Innovative Leadership (NCSIL) will advance service to community and country as a means of addressing our most intractable social problems. Located at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge, the new NCSIL will offer programs in leadership development, research, and convening to help purpose-driven leaders achieve greater impact in their communities.
NCIRE – The Veterans Health Research Institute is a scientific community of clinicians and researchers bringing the power of modern medicine to the health of our nations Veterans. Over 200 principal investigators – academically affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco and based at the San Francisco VA Medical Center – contribute expertise and knowledge to a thriving community of collaborative scientific discovery. For more information on NCIRE, visit: www.ncire.org.
The Veterans Health and Integration Program is an NCIRE initiative which provides support to Veterans transitioning from combat duty to civilian life via scientific research and cultural events. A collaborative effort between musician John Mayer, NCIRE, Veterans, scientists and clinicians, the VHIP develops new resources based on the demonstrated needs of the current generation of military service personnel. The program has produced a series of cultural events and four new scientific research projects in 2012.