About SOSA
The Secretary of State Award for Outstanding Volunteerism Abroad
Honoring Foreign Service volunteers whose work creates lasting impact worldwide.
SOSA honors Foreign Service employees and members of the Foreign Service community whose volunteer work creates lasting, community-centered impact at posts worldwide. Established in 1990 by Secretary of State James Baker and his wife Susan, and administered by AAFSW across the United States' extensive network of some one hundred seventy embassies and one hundred consulates worldwide — work that reflects diplomacy's highest ideals.
For more than three decades, SOSA has recognized extraordinary volunteer service across continents and fields, from classrooms built for the deaf and recycling cooperatives launched where none existed to the first organized animal-rescue and shelter systems in places without prior protection. These efforts share a common thread: members of the Foreign Service community have chosen to serve above and beyond.
The full reach of this tradition — spanning hundreds of posts worldwide — extends far beyond what any single award program can capture.
SOSA remains the Department's foremost recognition of volunteer service by employees, Eligible Family Members (EFMs), and Members of Household (MOHs) whose initiative strengthens mission communities and deepens engagement with host nations.
Each year, diplomatic missions across all six Regional Bureaus submit nominations recognizing exceptional volunteers in their communities. A selection panel of representatives from AAFSW, the Global Community Liaison Office (GCLO), and each regional bureau evaluates nominees against criteria including scope and reach, sustainability, ingenuity, and leadership. Winners receive a certificate signed by the Secretary of State and a cash award, and are honored at an annual ceremony in Washington, D.C.
The award recognizes three Areas of Service: outstanding contributions to the host country community, exceptional support to the mission community, and remarkable service during emergency situations. Above all, SOSA honors work that endures — initiatives that take root, continue beyond a single tour, and reflect the highest ideals of diplomacy and humanitarian leadership.
The Annual Ceremony
Recognition at the Department of State
Each year, awardees and their families gather in the Benjamin Franklin Diplomatic Reception Rooms in Washington, D.C. to be honored for extraordinary service to their host communities and missions abroad.
Image Credit: U.S. Department of State, 2024 Award for Outstanding Volunteerism, Secretary of State Award for Outstanding Volunteerism Abroad (SOSA), 2024. View source
Both Foreign Service officers and their loved ones' efforts better the lives of their neighbors and strengthen the ties that bind our people. They show fundamentally American values: respect for other cultures, a belief that everyone deserves to live with dignity, the spirit of service to the people of our nation and the world.
25th Anniversary Celebration
Volunteerism by members of our Foreign Service community is not just a kindness. It is an essential and underappreciated dimension of American foreign policy.
Susan Baker · SOSA Co-FounderPast Award Ceremony Highlights
2022 SOSA Award Highlights
2023 SOSA Award Highlights
2024 SOSA Award Highlights
2025 SOSA Award Highlights
To view the full award ceremonies, visit the AAFSW YouTube Channel →
Our Legacy
Nearly Four Decades of Recognizing the Service of the Foreign Service Community
Across thirty-five years, the SOSA program has gathered the quiet extraordinary acts of Foreign Service families and made them visible. The stories in this volume — bicycles for refugees, classrooms for the deaf, recycling cooperatives, animal-welfare clinics — remind us that diplomacy is not only made at the negotiating table, but also at the kitchen table, in the schoolyard, and on the road between posts. We are grateful to every awardee, every honorable mention, and every family who has chosen to serve beyond what was asked of them.
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1990
SOSA established
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2012
Earliest available records referenced
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2022–2025
Legacy Report period
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2026
SOSA: A Living Tradition published by AAFSW
The Hon. James Baker (former Secretary of State) and his wife, Susan Baker, founders of the Secretary of State Award (SOSA).
Founding Vision
They Saw What Others Overlooked
When Secretary of State James Baker and his wife Susan traveled the world during his years of service, they witnessed something extraordinary — diplomats and their families quietly transforming communities, one volunteer project at a time. Remarkable work that went almost entirely unrecognized.
That observation became a conviction, and that conviction became SOSA.
About AAFSW
The Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide (AAFSW) is an accredited 501(c)(3) nonprofit association supporting U.S. Foreign Affairs employees and their families. AAFSW administers the SOSA program and provides advocacy, scholarships, community programs, and global support networks for the Foreign Service community. AAFSW administers the Secretary of State Award for Outstanding Volunteerism Abroad in partnership with organizations that share its commitment to recognizing service, strengthening community, and celebrating the global impact of Foreign Service volunteers.
Our Partners
The SOSA Legacy Report: A Living Tradition was made possible through the generosity and collaboration of organizations that share AAFSW's commitment to recognizing the extraordinary contributions of the Foreign Service community. These partners have helped sustain and elevate the SOSA program across four years of remarkable service.
GCLO (Global Community Liaison Office) — for its continuing support throughout the SOSA process, and for its broader work advocating for the entire Foreign Service community through direct services, the worldwide Community Liaison Office program, and quality-of-life resources for employees and families. state.gov/global-community-liaison-office
Una Chapman Cox Foundation — for its continuing support of AAFSW and the SOSA Legacy Report, and its broader work strengthening the effectiveness and professionalism of the U.S. Foreign Service through fellowships and professional development. uccoxfoundation.org
ADST (Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training) — for its work documenting SOSA awardees and the oral histories of spouses and partners, as part of the world's largest collection of U.S. diplomatic oral histories. adst.org
Press Coverage
SOSA in the News
Voice of America, Federal News Network, and the U.S. Department of State have covered SOSA ceremonies and winners since 2011.
View All Press Coverage →Continue the Legacy
Stand with the Foreign Service community
AAFSW advocates for, supports, and celebrates the people behind American diplomacy worldwide.