Maxim Hot 100 Woman is a Hero to Hounds & Soldiers

You may know Bonnie-Jill Laflin as a sportscaster. Or a model and actress.

Or you may have seen her in the 2005 Fed-Ex Super Bowl commercial with Burt Reynolds, or on Ally Mc Beal, The Jamie Foxx Show, or Baywatch. You can’t miss the fact that she was selected as one of Maxim’s hottest 100 women in the world.

This 34-year-old Renaissance woman may just possibly be the hottest NBA scout out there. After all, she’s been front and center for the Los Angeles Lakers scoping out new talent since 2006.

The girl gets around.

What you may not know is that Bonnie-Jill actually spends a good chunk of her time helping charitable organizations, whether it’s running her own nonprofit Hounds & Heroes or going on USO and Goodwill Tours in Afghanistan and Iraq to help support and meet the troops.

This is not some Hollywood charity do-gooder who makes an appearance or cuts a ribbon because her agent said it would help further her career or soften her image. She doesn’t call attention to her efforts; Bonnie-Jill just quietly plows ahead to help, whether by volunteering her time, making a personal appearance, or donating much-needed funds.

For proof, check out her website where Charity is one of five tabs, and Support The Troops is another, giving a pretty strong indication of where her true passion lies.

Bonnie-Jill is the real deal.

Starting early

Bonnie-Jill founded Hounds & Heroes as a nonprofit clearinghouse to accept monetary donations from individuals and businesses, and then gives it all away to a variety of different military charities and animal welfare groups.

Among the organizations that receive funds from Hounds and Heroes are The Wounded Warrior Project, which helps provide a variety of physical, emotional, and tangible support for soldiers who return from service injured; Operation Baghdad Pups, which has since been updated to include Afghanistan, provides veterinary care for stray dogs that troops care for in war zones, and also helps coordinate the logistics of transporting soldiers’ new canine friends back to the United States; and Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, a refuge for adoptable — and unadoptable — animals in Kanab, Utah.

Laflin picked her charitable interests as most people do, for intensely personal reasons. "The military is close to my heart because both of my grandfathers served in WWII, where one received a Purple Heart as well as a Silver Star, and my uncle was a career Marine who served in Vietnam," she said. In fact, she performed in her first USO show when she was only 17 and often attended military functions as a girl because of her family members.

Like her passion for the military and the people who serve in it, she started helping animals at a young age. “I was always bringing home dogs, cats and other animals that needed homes,” she admits. “I’ve always loved all kinds of animals, and we always rescued pets through shelters. I was raised with all kinds of farm animals, so I was never big on eating meat. Since animals don’t have a voice, I want to be the voice for them.”

It’s safe to wonder how Laflin even has time for her own career when she describes the scope of her charitable work. "I’ve done 16 USO tours, with six to Iraq and Afghanistan, and I also visit veterans hospitals and military bases as often as possible," she says. "I try to pitch in at pet adoptions as often as I can, and I’ve appeared in a number of PETA campaigns. I also support other animal groups where I can petition or protest, whatever helps."

She adds that people are often surprised at how hands-on she gets, as well as the fact that she helps out because, as she put it, "It's the right thing to do," but she stresses that she can't help but get involved.

Given her almost full-time involvement with charities here and overseas, Bonnie-Jill has a wealth of stories and memories, but one in particular stands out. "Going to an actual war zone and seeing what actually happens to the soldiers and what they sacrifice for us and their country was eye-opening," she said. "It means so much for me to be able to bring a little piece of home to them."

Pitching in

Of course, Bonnie-Jill is thrilled when fans become involved in her causes by giving financial support, but she also realizes that even the smallest effort goes a long way. For one, if you’re in the market for a new animal companion, she stresses that you head to a shelter or humane group to rescue a pet. "Adopt, don’t shop," is her mantra.

For another, you don’t have to climb on board an aircraft carrier to support the troops. "Just go up to a soldier and say 'thank you,'" she said. "You’d be surprised how that goes a long way."

It's easy to follow Bonnie-Jill's example: just give of your time. "If you can’t give back monetarily, the best thing to do is to volunteer at an animal shelter or visit military hospitals," she says. "There’s always a way to give time instead of money."