Brian Buhman Honored at White House

from the inbox:

TODAY, Wednesday, April 24th, the White House honors Brian Buhman as one of seventeen people who are Hurricane Sandy “Champions of Change.” This Champions event highlights people and organizations directly involved in response and recovery efforts following Hurricane Sandy.  These hidden heroes implemented innovative, collaborative solutions to meet the unique needs of communities and neighborhoods as they worked to rebuild after the devastating effects of this disaster. 

“As soon as a disaster hits, we see citizens come together to help those in need. Time and again, we have seen the courage and heroism of first responders, organizations, and ordinary people in providing relief, recovery, and care, and these Hurricane Sandy champions of change are no exception. From providing up-to-the-minute news, to assisting with long-term recovery to showing compassion to neighbors to donating vital supplies, these ordinary heroes are an inspiration to us all,” said Paulette Aniskoff, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Public Engagement.  

The Champions of Change program was created as an opportunity for the White house to feature groups of Americans – individuals, businesses and organizations – who are doing extraordinary things to empower and inspire members of their communities. 

Brian Buhman, Team Rubicon: Disaster Response Veterans Service OrganizationEast Greenville, PA
Brian Buhman is a Marine Corps veteran who served two tours of duty in Iraq. His desire to continue his service by helping his community and other veterans led him to join Team Rubicon, a disaster response veterans service organization in 2011. Since March 2012, he has been a State Coordinator for Pennsylvania. During Hurricane Sandy, Brian stayed in Pennsylvania to help the residents in his community affected by the storm. Through his partnership with Volunteers Active in Disasters (VOAD), Brian started tree clean-up operations before the storm had ended and continued leading teams for the next three weeks. Since then, he has helped organize two clean-up weekends with the help of his VOAD partners. While working a full-time job, Brian volunteered over 150 hours for clean-up, assessments, and planning.