Take part in annual service moments that help people show up together—from MLK Day of Service and Global Volunteer Month to National Volunteer Week, 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance, and Family Volunteer Day. These shared moments make it easy to serve.
Brief Overview
Volunteering is a way to connect to purpose, strengthen community, and turn care into action. Points of Light helps individuals and families find meaningful opportunities, start projects on their own, join shared moments of service, celebrate changemakers, and keep growing their impact over time.
Find a Volunteer Opportunity Near You
Search in-person, virtual, and family-friendly volunteer opportunities through Engage. Users can search by location, cause, or interest to find organized opportunities that fit their schedules and values. Whether someone is looking for one-time service, ongoing help, or family volunteer opportunities, this is the clearest first step.
Start a Volunteer Project
Not every act of service needs to begin with a formal host organization, but every act of service should begin with listening. Explore project ideas designed to help kids, teens, adults, and families respond to real needs in their communities, from wherever they are. Each one is built to connect your time and effort to what local organizations and neighbors have told us they actually need.
Meet Our Latest Daily Point of Light Honorees
Read recent honoree stories and see how everyday people are turning care into action.
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Where Music Becomes Medicine
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Grace Sun. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light. At 15, during the loneliest days of the pandemic, Grace Sun sat down at her piano and began playing over Zoom for isolated older…
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WORKING TO ELIMINATE PERIOD POVERTY
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Maanya Pandey. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light. Growing up, Maanya Pandey would hear her mother’s stories about how inaccessible and expensive period products were in her native…
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Mentorship and Community on Chicago's West Side
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Andrew Coram. Read his story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light. Andrew Coram began volunteering with Erie Neighborhood House in 2022 because he was looking for a way to channel his time toward something meaningful. And he found…
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Access to Education is this Volunteer's Mission
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Claire Wang. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light. Claire Wang grew up hearing that her beloved grandmother had to leave school in the second grade to join…
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Water Safety: Spreading Knowledge That Saves Lives
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Kate Casciato. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light. It is often assumed that everyone knows how to swim at a certain age, but that’s not always the case. Geographic location, historical segregation laws,…
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Feeding the Community, Not the Landfill
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Jiya Patel. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light. Jiya Patel, a 17-year-old rising senior, is deeply invested in her high school. She plays on the school golf team and serves…
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A Backpack, a Community and a Mission to Help Children
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Bill Vaughan. Read his story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light. In 2022, UPS Capt. William “Bill” Vaughan was on a routine layover in Cologne, Germany, when he encountered thousands of Ukrainian families fleeing…
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A Vital Resource in Times of Emergency
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Oleg Smirnov. Read his story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light. Oleg Smirnov, a 27-year-old Tesla Project Manager, embraces volunteering as a way to explore potential careers while helping out his adopted country. Born in Russia, Oleg…
