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PSA, Proud Sponsor of MISSION 500 and the SECURITY 5/2K

MISSION 500 and the SECURITY 5/2K
By George Fletcher

Mission 500 is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving the needs of children and communities in crisis. By using our intimate knowledge of the security industry, Mission 500 has helped focus industry efforts on sponsoring children in World Vision’s program—with 100 percent of funds raised going directly to World Vision’s humanitarian efforts. Through corporate sponsorships and donors, on a daily basis, we now feed, educate, clothe and provide hope to over 700 children. World Vision and Mission 500 work together around the world as well as in the US.

Since Mission 500 launched in 2007, the security industry has contributed over US $750,000 in cash and over US $500,000 in gifts in kind (mostly media placements) to provide for the vital needs of some of the most underprivileged children around the world. A group of 26 Industry professionals in North America commit time on Advisory and Executive boards as volunteers to promote Mission 500’s initiatives. Additionally another 24 in Brazil, Colombia and Mexico commit time to promoting local initiatives involving sponsoring children in those countries.

In 2008, ISC West Expo agreed to support Mission 500 and they provided a space for us to promote our cause. We proposed other ways to promote our efforts and one day Ed Nichols (Event Director at the time) indicated that Tim Purpura (Publisher of Security Systems News) had approached him with an idea about a 5K-charity walk/run at an ISC Expo. In 2010 we all came together to launch the inaugural Security 5K Race at the ISC West Expo in Las Vegas. So it is a collaboration between organizing sponsors United Publications, publishers of Security Systems News and Security Director News; Reed Exhibitions, proprietors of ISC Expos; and Mission 500.

From the beginning we were overwhelmed by the level of interest, and the positive response by all involved. By 2012 we added a 2K walk to the event to broaden the participation. In April 2013 we hosted our fourth event, securing the participation of over 670 participants, raising over $90 000 in the process. The breadth of participation is impressive: people from almost 40 states, 15 countries and men and women from age 18 to 70! Runners are able to do their own fundraising with personalized fundraising pages provided by Security 5K organizers. In 2013 Mike Perkins of Anixter was the top fundraiser with over $6,700, and this earned him a once in a lifetime trip to visit a World Vision project in Tanzania. In 2014 we will commemorate our 5^th anniversary by rewarding the top 5 fundraisers with a trip to a World Vision project in Mexico.

The Security 5K has thus become our biggest fundraising event and we are very proud to announce that PSA Security Network has joined as a 2014 event sponsor. We are excited to partner with your organization on a great cause.

Mission 500 is also trying to spread awareness about Corporate Social Responsibility throughout the industry and other initiatives have been the introduction of its annual awards to acknowledge those who are making a difference. The Mission 500 “Humanitarian award” and the CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) award.

The purpose of the Mission 500 Humanitarian Award is to honor individuals in the security industry who make important contributions to those in need. Past recipients include Alan Forman, Barb Holliday, Mary Jensby and Michael Keegan. The purpose of the Mission 500 CSR Award is to honor companies in the security industry who make important contributions to those in need.Pelco by Schneider Electric was the first recipient in 2011, and since then Vivint and Convergint Technologies have received the award. Both awards are handed out at the Security 5/2K awards ceremony to be hosted on April 3 in the Sands Concourse area in front of the ISC West Expo main entrance.

Mission 500 will also be involved in a number of other initiatives at ISC West. These currently include the AIREF golf tournament sponsored by ESA, an HID-sponsored school kit build, a pasta feed sponsored by Qolsys, a pledge by Altronix to donate $2 to Mission 500 for every visitor card swipe at its both, a COPS Monitoring event benefiting Mission 500, and a Pelco hospitality event featuring Mission 500.

For more information on how to support Mission 500, please email me at at pr@mission500.org , or call 305-321-3193.