Shauna Fleming Parisi ’11 awarded 2016 Albert Schweitzer Rising Star Award

The values and life story of Dr. Albert Schweitzer inspire many Chapman University students, who pass by the bust of the humanitarian physician outside the Argyros Forum. Shauna Fleming Parisi ’11 was no different. She remembers reading about Schweitzer in a freshman leadership class and occasionally gave that large bronze bust a pat for good luck when she passed by.

So when Parisi received an email from Chapman telling her that she had been selected to receive the 2016 Albert Schweitzer Rising Star Award, she was a bit stunned.

“To be able to be recognized by the Albert Schweitzer Institute is something that’s very humbling. That was above all the biggest emotion I felt,” says Parisi, founder of
 A Million Thanks, a support group that has sent nearly 8 million letters to U.S. troops around the world.

The Rising Star award is given to an inspirational young alumni who like Schweitzer has found a way to invest their humanity in service to others. The award is given annually at commencement ceremonies each May – coincidentally National Military Appreciation Month, a particularly special time for A Million Thanks.

Since she founded it in 2004, Fleming’s organization has helped send 7.6 million letters to active military service people, as well as reservists and veterans – nearly all of them handwritten, even though the organization offers letter writers a digital option. She credits the A Million Thanks’ success to the simplicity of the project and people’s desire to genuinely offer thanks and gratitude to the nation’s service people.

“It’s a really easy way for people who have no connection to the military to find a connection and be able to say thank you in a few short sentences and send it to us and we take care of the rest. It’s a real easy organization to be part of,” she says.

And the organization is growing. Recently A Million Thanks announced two new initiatives. “Grant A Wish” supports injured military veterans by granting wishes that make their lives more enjoyable, and “Fund A Scholar” supports need and merit-based scholarships for family members of fallen veterans.

Fleming says the same conviction that inspired her and her sorority sisters to create the world’s largest thank-you card on Wilson Field continues to grow, too. As she told graduating seniors in her comments at Convocation 2016: “This life is not about you. It’s about the people around you and how you serve them.”

The 2016 Albert Schweitzer Award of Excellence was also presented during Commencement Weekend 2016. Read about honoree June Scobee Rodgers in Happenings.