The Power of Nourishment in a Thriving Community

Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Vidhya Shivakumar. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.

Vidhya Shivakumar is so passionate about the power of community that she has dedicated her life’s purpose to volunteering as much as she can to meet the needs she sees. A core volunteer with Nourish America, a nonprofit her daughter founded, she plays a key role in advancing the organization’s mission to provide organic, allergy-friendly food to families in need. Whether it’s purchasing bulk organic goods, helping deliver donations to food banks or supervising teen volunteers at events, Vidhya brings personal conviction and commitment to every aspect of her work.

Beyond her work with Nourish America, Vidhya also takes time twice a month to cook meals for a local shelter that supports unhoused individuals. She personally purchases the groceries, prepares nutritious meals and helps serve them with warmth and humility. This consistent act of kindness reflects her deep belief that everyone deserves nourishment, of both the physical and emotional varieties.

Vidhya’s dedication to service is also rooted in her spiritual life. For more than a decade, she has volunteered at Sai Datta Peetham, a Hindu temple and community center in Edison, New Jersey. There, she contributes approximately 40 hours each month making flower garlands, cooking meals for temple visitors and organizing donation drives for school supplies and groceries. Her long-standing commitment earned her the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award for surpassing 4,000 hours of service.

Whether she’s feeding families, mentoring volunteers or beautifying sacred spaces, Vidhya Shivakumar continues to uplift her community with grace and generosity. Through her work, she reminds us all that service—when done with heart—can nourish not just bodies, but hearts and minds too.

Tell us about your volunteer roles.

I’m from a small town in Southern India. I grew up in community, around grandparents and cousins, and knew about the power of sharing and providing for others from a very early age. My husband and I came here with my oldest daughter when she was a baby, and we lived in New York for a time, uptown, in Flushing, in Queens. We knew no one here. Then, we moved to New Jersey. I don’t have any family members here in America, so I feel like my community is my family here. And I want to help provide for them in any way I can.

But as a stay-at-home mom, I can’t always help financially, so I like providing for others by sharing my time. I can make their day a little brighter by providing them a warm meal. I like giving my time to the community. When my daughter was in high school, she started Nourish America to help people with food insecurity. I help buy the food with donations and carry the food to the food pantries. I help set up for fundraisers, like an Art Café fundraiser. I also help organize the youth volunteers.

Additionally, I volunteer with a homeless shelter nearby. Once or twice a month I cook a meal for unhoused people. I learned how to cook the types of food they want by researching on the internet. I make rice, pasta, fruit salad. They really like my vegetarian chili. I like to see them leaving happy, with good food.

Our Hindu community center is here as well, and they do a lot of charitable work. I want to be a part of whatever service they’re doing. I’m always in for that; I love to help. I cook for people coming into the community center, clean the shared spaces, make flower garlands, help with clothing drives. I’m happy to spend my time helping people. It’s always my goal.

Why is food insecurity, in particular, important to you?

When we are hungry, we look for whatever food is there. When I came to this new country, it was a new place. We struggled, at times, with food insecurity. I thought, if I could help people facing this problem, I’d be very happy to do that. But I couldn’t do it myself, so I joined a team that could. I wanted to do my part in this type of service and contribution to the community.

What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?

I love to see people happy. I love to see them smiling. I love to see people getting the food they need, or the jackets and other clothing from the drives we do.

What have you learned through your experiences volunteering?

I learned to cook new types of cuisine! Beyond that, service is my way of showing gratitude toward this country and fulfilling my duty as a citizen. With my family’s support, including my husband Shivakumar, and my daughters Shreya and Shruti, I would love to do this for the remainder of my life. They uplift me, and I’m grateful that doing this is a real possibility for me.

Why is it important for others to get involved with causes they care about?

I think everybody should spend some of their time in service and volunteering. Our society needs people who want to contribute. Our society needs time, money, other types of contributions. That’s how our communities benefit.

Additionally, kids are getting inspired when they see us volunteer. I believe that as parents, we should teach them these good values. When we pass these values on, generation after generation, we can form teams of people who join arm-in-arm to help each other. We keep these values of generosity and service at the forefront as we raise the next generation.

Any advice for people who want to start volunteering.

If your intention is good and you are kind and loving toward people, you can work toward community welfare. You can join a team, you can find an opportunity that fits you, but it involves first coming forward to help people.

What do you want people to learn from your story?
Be kind to others. Prioritize others’ needs. If we think about others’ needs, if we gather together and work toward meeting those needs, then we can make a meaningful impact on the community as a whole.

Do you want to make a difference in your community like Vidhya? Find local volunteer opportunities.