"Visiting museums gives you a sense of 'I belong here.' If you come into a community and your habit is to go to the museums, that becomes your territory, and that's a very rich territory. When we were stationed in London, my children were in the kindergarten and 4th-grade age range. The museums are free, and we lived in central London, and after school we would go to the museums many days. As we traveled, we would go to different cities and the first thing we’d do is go to the museums, and it gave them a sense of real mastery of their surroundings. It also gave them a deep connection to this community in a way that's uplifting, and inspiring, and mind expanding, and an overall plus." —Kathy Roth-Douquet, CEO of Blue Star Families

As founder and CEO of Blue Star Families, a nonprofit that serves active-duty military, Guard and Reserve, veterans, and their families, Kathy Roth-Douquet considers herself a creative professional. She, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, developed the idea for Blue Star Museums, a program that offers active-duty military personnel and their families free admission to participating museums during summer months. Read the complete story in the latest issue of American Artscape: In Celebration of Artful Lives.