When Recognition Became a Movement

When Recognition Became a Movement

Three Military Spouses. One Unexpected Connection. Millions of Acts of Kindness.

It started with recognition.

In May 2019, Maria Reed, Samantha Gomolka and Jessica Manfre arrived at the Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year celebration as accomplished military spouses from three different branches.

Maria had been named the Armed Forces Insurance Army Spouse of the Year. Samantha was the Armed Forces Insurance National Guard Spouse of the Year. Jessica was the Armed Forces Insurance Coast Guard Spouse of the Year.

They had never met before.

What they didn’t know was that being brought together to celebrate their individual accomplishments would ultimately lead to something none of them had planned: the creation of a nonprofit and a movement that would inspire millions of acts of kindness.

Sometimes the Right People Just Find Each Other

Military spouses understand the value of connection.

They move frequently. They build new communities. They learn to find their people quickly. And when they find someone who understands the unique experience of military life, friendships can form almost immediately.

That is what happened with Maria, Samantha and Jessica.

Their time together through the Military Spouse of the Year experience created a connection that continued beyond the awards. During a subsequent visit to Armed Forces Insurance, the women spent more time together, talked about the work they were doing in their communities and began exploring what might be possible if they combined their talents.

They weren’t sitting around trying to create a nonprofit.

They were simply three military spouses asking a bigger question:

How can we use what we’ve been given to give something back?

That question would change the trajectory of their lives.

The Idea Wasn’t About Money

As Giving Tuesday approached, the women saw an opportunity to put a different spin on a day typically associated with financial donations.

What if giving didn’t have to mean writing a check?

What if it could mean an act of service?

A handwritten note.

A meal for a neighbor.

Helping a family.

Volunteering.

Paying attention to someone who needed to be seen.

One small act that might inspire another.

The concept became GivingTuesdayMilitary—a campaign designed to encourage military families, veterans, service members and supporters to make intentional acts of kindness part of their Giving Tuesday experience.

The first-year goal was ambitious:

One million acts of kindness in 24 hours.

They didn’t know if they could do it.

They tried anyway.

And then something remarkable happened.

They Didn’t Just Reach the Goal. They Changed the Scale of the Idea.

The campaign generated approximately 2.5 million acts of kindness in its inaugural year—more than twice the original goal.

But the number wasn’t really the story.

The stories behind the number were.

Military families were helping other military families. Volunteers were finding creative ways to serve their communities. People were discovering that they didn’t need a large budget or an official title to make a difference.

The idea was spreading because it was accessible.

Everyone could participate.

And then the movement received a very different kind of validation.

From Military Communities to a National Audience

The idea was so compelling that Maria, Samantha and Jessica were invited to share their story on The Kelly Clarkson Show.

There they were—not simply talking about military spouses or military life, but talking about something universal:

kindness.

The story had traveled far beyond the room where three Military Spouses of the Year first met.

A concept that had begun with a few military spouses had become a national conversation about the power of giving back.

The Kelly Clarkson Show appearance became one of several national media opportunities that helped amplify the movement. The campaign was also featured by outlets including TODAY and ABC News.

And Then Came Inspire Up

The success of GivingTuesdayMilitary revealed something bigger.

The founders weren’t interested in creating a one-day campaign.

They wanted to create a culture.

A culture where people looked for opportunities to help.

Where military and civilian communities worked together.

Where service wasn’t limited to a particular day, organization or cause.

That vision became the Inspire Up Foundation.

Along with Stacy Bilodeau, the 2018 Armed Forces Insurance Coast Guard Spouse of the Year, the founders built a nonprofit focused on education, empowerment and community building by bringing military and civilian communities together.

The name itself captured the philosophy:

Inspire someone else to do something good. Then let that person inspire someone else.

The Ripple Effect

The most interesting part of the Inspire Up story isn’t the organization itself.

It’s the ripple effect.

One recognition created three new relationships.

Those relationships created an idea.

The idea created a movement.

The movement created millions of acts of kindness.

And those acts inspired people who may never have heard of Inspire Up, never met its founders and never knew the story behind the movement.

That is the power of community.

And it is also the power of recognizing people who are already making a difference.

What Recognition Can Make Possible

The Military Spouse of the Year program was created to shine a light on military spouses who were strengthening their communities.

In the case of Maria, Samantha and Jessica, that recognition did something more.

It put three changemakers in the same room.

Armed Forces Insurance didn’t create the idea behind Inspire Up. The vision belonged to the women themselves.

But by creating an experience that brought accomplished military spouses together, the program helped create the conditions for an unexpected collaboration.

And that collaboration became something much larger than an award.

It became a movement.

The Lesson for All of Us

There is an important lesson in the Inspire Up story.

Sometimes the greatest impact of recognition isn’t what happens on the day someone receives an award.

It’s what happens afterward.

It’s the relationships they form.

The ideas they exchange.

The people they meet.

The confidence they gain.

And the possibilities they begin to see.

Maria, Samantha and Jessica were recognized because they were already making a difference.

Then they met one another—and discovered they could make an even bigger difference together.

That is the real power of recognition.

You don’t always know what you’re setting in motion when you give someone a platform, introduce them to the right people or simply tell them, what you’re doing matters. It’s an opportunity to impact other lives, too.

Sometimes, you’re recognizing a leader.

Sometimes, you’re connecting a future collaborator.

And sometimes, you’re helping ignite a movement.

**Inspire Up began with three military spouses being recognized for the difference they were already making.

What happened next is the part nobody could have predicted.**