page_title: John M. Noel
section_title: Philanthropic efforts
hierarchical_section_title: John M. Noel / Philanthropic efforts
context_page_description: John M. Noel is an American entrepreneur and philanthropist best known for founding Travel Guard International, the world's largest travel insurer and a division of the American International Group subsidiary, Chartis.
  Noel was the President of Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection until he stepped down in 2015, and former Chairman and CEO of the Noel Group, a family of worldwide companies and investments located in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, that operate under the credo, “Our direction is led by our values.” John Noel and his wife, Patty, support numerous charitable efforts domestically and internationally.
context_section_description: In 1993, John and his wife, Patty, established the Make A Mark Foundation. Partners donate time, abilities, and finances to build clinics, schools, and orphanages in developing countries worldwide, with a focus on AIDS orphans in sub-Saharan Africa. Make A Mark created Nyumbani Village in Kitui, Kenya, in 1993, making it the largest orphanage of its kind in the world. The village houses almost 1,000 AIDS orphans along with grandparents who also lost children to AIDS. Noel worked with the Kenyan government to create Nyumbani using a self-sustaining model that employs the melia tree to produce lumber and generate revenue and food forests to provide fruits and vegetables to eat and sell. The food-forest effort is a project of Trees 4 Children, a Make A Mark initiative that applies business solutions to problems of sustainability and subsistence. Make A Mark is expanding the Trees 4 Children model to villages around the world.
  In Wisconsin, the Noels co-founded the local Boys and Girls Club, are major benefactors of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and have helped launch seed schools in Milwaukee and other urban areas. In recognition of their philanthropic endeavors, the Noels were awarded the Franklin Covey Humanitarian Service Award, given to “outstanding individuals who reach out to improve the quality of life for individuals, groups or humankind.” They have also received the Stevens Point Area Public School District Community Service Recognition Award and the William C. Hansen Distinguished Service Award, and been recognized for their contributions to Nyumbani Village.
  In October, 2009 at the State of Wisconsin Area Council Conference in Milwaukee, John Noel was awarded the prestigious "President’s Volunteer Service Award" for his volunteer work associated with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Portage County.  An initiative of the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation, the President's Volunteer Service Award is issued on behalf of the President of the United States to recognize the best in American spirit, and to encourage all Americans to improve their communities through volunteer service and civic participation. Established in 2003, this award was created by President George W. Bush to give Presidential recognition to individuals, families and groups who meet requirements for volunteer service, measured by the number of service hours performed over 12-months.
caption: Trees 4 Children volunteers plant melia trees in Kenya.
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