Robert Kraft to keynote campus's inaugural Salute to Service Awards

The campus will honor contributions to civic engagement and public service at the first-ever Salute to Service award ceremony on Wednesday, Nov. 14 at 6 p.m. at the Boston Harbor Hotel.

 

The event will recognize Robert Kraft, chairman and CEO of the Kraft Group and the New England Patriots, Liz Walker, founder of Walker Group, LLC and co-founder of My Sister’s Keeper, and Dr. Robert Littleton, founder of the Evergreen Center, for their volunteer leadership and professional achievements. Steve Buckley, Boston Herald sports columnist and host of Press Box, will emcee the event. Proceeds from the event will provide scholarship funds for two current UMass Amherst students.

 

“UMass Amherst has a long and distinguished history of public service, dating back nearly 150 years to our founding as the state's public land-grant university,” said Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy. “Educating students and conducting research to benefit the Commonwealth and its people, as well impacting the nation and the world in our increasingly global society, permeates what we do everyday at UMass Amherst.”

 

Kraft will be the recipient of A Salute To Service Legacy Award for his long-standing philanthropic support of charities throughout New England. From the stage, Kraft will also engage in a topical conversation with Buckley, who is a UMass Amherst alumnus.

 

Kraft began his business career with the Rand-Whitney Group, Inc. of Worcester, a company that converted paper into packaging for various industries. He later acquired the company. In 1972, he founded International Forest Products, a trader of paper commodities that now does business in more than 90 countries. Kraft is widely recognized as one of the most successful owners in professional sports. As chairman and CEO of the New England Patriots and investor/operator of the New England Revolution, Kraft has helped change the culture of professional sports in New England by delivering 10 conference titles and three league championships in the past 16 years. Over the past four decades, the Kraft family has been one of New England’s most philanthropic families, donating more than $100 million in support of local charities and civic affairs. 

 

The event will also focus on the civic contributions of Walker and Littleton, who will be presented Salute to Service Awards.

 

Walker will be saluted for her excellence in public service. Walker is an award-wining television journalist, a documentary film producer, and a dedicated humanitarian. Walker co-founded My Sister’s Keeper, a grass-roots initiative in Sudan that advocates for women and children who are trying to rebuild their lives and country. A 2005 graduate of Harvard Divinity School and an ordained minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Walker has chosen to combine her communication skills with her passion for serving the world.

 

Littleton will be honored for his continued service to improving the quality of life for the people of the Commonwealth. Founded in 1982, the Evergreen Center is a non-profit residential school, serving children and adolescents with autism and severe developmental disabilities. Littleton has dedicated more than 30 years to creating an integrated learning and living environment where students can achieve their maximum potential. In addition to the Evergreen Center, Littleton also founded the Criterion Children Enrichment, a private, non-profit agency dedicated to the provision of high-quality early childhood education and support to families with young children. The organization offers community-based development enrichment groups, childcare, early intervention and newborn home visit programs. Criterion Children Enrichment has grown to more than 12 locations statewide and serves approximately 5,000 families each year.