Daily Point of Light

Breanna McGowan has the heart of a missionary. While volunteering at Outreach orphanage in Ghana for Projects Aboard, she genuinely cared for the children. She wondered how much more improved their futures would be if they only had the resources, and even spent her souvenir money on food for the orphanage. Therefore, when she returned to the United States, she had a goal: to make a tangible difference. Breanna’s work in Ghana inspired her to start a foundation called All’s God Children Got Shoes, which sends school supplies and shoes to the children in Ghana.

Any other ordinary 16-year-old high school junior would be more worried about other tasks like what to wear to prom or what college to apply to.  But Nicole Muller is no ordinary 16-year-old high school junior.  Founder of the Neighbors-4-Neigghbors food drive (fall 2009), Nicole has help fill a depleted food bank in Charlottesville, Virginia while maintaining a GPA of 3.96 (out of a 4-point scale) and taking AP and Honor classes.

Although he’s still in school to become a doctor, Grant Reed didn’t wait for a diploma to begin helping his community to heal. As a student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus, Grant created the Illini Medical Screening Society (IMSS). IMSS is a student-run mobile health clinic that provides free medical screening service to the underserved and uninsured residents of Champaign County.

When dealing with the well being of the community, Adner Marcelin has no boundaries. A friend once told him that he could not invest his personal finances in his community. He simply said, “If it will help one person improve their situation, then it improves the community that I am a part of. That’s money well spent.” Adner, 22, strives to make a positive influence in his community. He has mentored young people with Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Big Bend and the NAACP Youth Council to make a difference with others.

One of the greatest gifts a volunteer can give is not just a dollar, a lesson, or a bit of their time, but a new feeling or confidence in the person they are helping. Gloria Owczarski’s Day of Beauty does this by beauty treatments to kids with special needs. Using her own experience with the special needs population as inspiration, she has inspired others to do the same. Growing up with a sister with Down Syndrome, Gloria has always had an interest in the welfare of the special needs population. Already a swim couch for the Special Olympics, Gloria decided she could do more.