Elizabeth O’Brien Wins first Operation Homefront-Booz Allen Hamilton Innovation Award for Military Children

Seventeen-year old Elizabeth O’Brien of Aberdeen, North Carolina has been named the first ever recipient of the Operation Homefront-Booz Allen Hamilton Innovation Award for Military Children. Elizabeth accepted the award, given to honor “a military child who has designed a bold, creative solution to address a local, regional or global challenge” at Operation Homefront’s Military Child of the Year Awards ceremony, held last night.

Booz Allen Hamilton employees selected Elizabeth as the winner from among a group of finalists for the award. In presenting Elizabeth with the award, Executive Vice President Laurene Gallo said, “Quite simply, Elizabeth blew the competition away.”

Elizabeth began volunteering with the local nonprofit Military Missions in Action when she was 12 years old.  She collected donations for soldiers at first, but quickly shifted her focus to military children in need.   She created the Military Child Access Assistance Program to help military children who couldn’t afford accessibility items for their homes, like wheelchairs and wheelchair ramps.  In Elizabeth’s words, “We are caring for the children who desperately need the things that most people take for granted.”

Elizabeth has organized hikes and fundraisers to support her program, but would like to help more children.  To date she has raised over $7,000 and built 3 ramps for military families at Fort Bragg, in addition to providing several other home modifications for military children with special needs.  Elizabeth said “I want the help of Booz Allen because I want to give back long after my college career is over.  It’s a part of my life. I need to be selected for this award so that more military children are helped.” 

In addition to a cash prize, Elizabeth has won the opportunity to work with a team of Booz Allen consultants to help her achieve her vision and scale her project. Elizabeth and her family visited Booz Allen’s Innovation Center on April 13 and met her all-volunteer consulting team, which presented her with a plan to help her nonprofit. With the team’s help, Elizabeth helps to provide wheelchair ramps and accessibility items to disabled military children across the country.