Amplifying the Voice of Volunteerism

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

As a dedicated volunteer social media manager on the marketing committee for the Association of Leaders in Volunteer Engagement (AL!VE), Bekah Aisenbrey has turned the organization’s online platforms into a thriving hub of activity. Her work has been building a type of virtual porch – where professionals can gather, share and grow. By dedicating roughly 15 hours per month to crafting content and strategy, she has ensured that those who lead volunteers never feel they are leading alone.

Bekah supports the 1,055 organization members who serve as volunteer engagement managers. These professionals are part of the backbone of the nonprofit sector, overseeing thousands of volunteers across the globe. And when she empowers one manager through information and community, Bekah indirectly touches the lives of the countless volunteers they lead.

In fact, she became the narrative voice of the recent 2026 National Summit on Volunteer Engagement. Stepping into the role of marketing co-lead for the steering committee, she helped capture the energy of the event, creating and distributing real-time content that brought the summit’s mission to life for both those attending and those watching from afar.

Through Bekah’s lens, marketing is an act of advocacy – something she is passionate about instilling in her two-year-old daughter. Read on to hear more of her inspiring story.

Tell us about your volunteer role.

I volunteer as a member of the AL!VE marketing committee, specifically as their social media manager. I started about three years ago, and in the last year and a half, I’ve become the social media manager, and it’s just fun. I get to tell the story of the work that AL!VE does. Lately, for instance, we did the 2026 National Summit on Volunteer Engagement, and I was part of the steering committee for that. We worked behind the scenes to share highlights or promote it. It was fun to see how we were able to have that event and share the great work that volunteer engagement professionals do, and just having a network and a place for them.

I think most of my volunteer position is really about working with the other committee members throughout AL!VE to promote the benefits of being an AL!VE member, networking for volunteer engagement professionals and trying to move that profession forward. As an organization that tries to strive to move the profession forward for volunteer engagement professionals, we have great resources for communities of practice within different areas, like healthcare, AmeriCorps, local associations and more. We have events, we have trainings for volunteer engagement professionals or those in the nonprofit world, we have different committees to be involved in. We have a lot of volunteers within the organization too.

What inspired you to get started with this initiative?

I learned about AL!VE through my full-time position. We are members of AL!VE and so I knew they had volunteer opportunities. In my full-time position, I was given some marketing tasks to do just because we needed to get some things done, and so I found a love for doing more creative tasks in that sense, and I wanted to really build on those. I found that their marketing committee was looking for volunteer opportunities, and so I signed up and got involved that way. I just found it really fun to learn from others, but also network with volunteer engagement professionals from all around the country and learn from them and be able to implement some of the things that I’ve learned through volunteering into my work as well.

Why is this issue so important to you?

I think sometimes volunteer engagement professionals might, especially within their organization, feel kind of alone, or like no one else is doing the work that they’re doing. And AL!VE really does provide that networking opportunity to learn from, connect with and ultimately see that you’re not alone. I think that’s a really big reason that I wanted to get involved, is showcasing the importance of volunteer engagement professionals and volunteers. The impact they make and how important it is to organizations to have volunteers and dedicated staff for them. Being involved with AL!VE just ties into the full-time work that I do. Being able to volunteer with something that I really enjoy was what enticed me to first get involved with them.

What are your long-term plans or goals for the organization?

I’ve loved my volunteer role and I continue to enjoy growing in it, so I think just continuing to find new ways to tell the story of the work that AL!VE is doing and building on that creativity is my goal.

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

For me, it’s been really seeing the summit come to life. I saw it behind the scenes – I wasn’t able to attend – but being able to see everyone share our posts and use them to promote that they were attending. That was really cool, to see our work being used to really get attendees there and share the story when they were there.

On a more personal level, I’d say it’s doing some of the work with my daughter, who’s two. She gets to sit there with me while I’m doing some of the work, and she gets to see that. Having her grow up seeing her mom volunteer – not only be a volunteer coordinator, but be a volunteer myself – it’s rewarding. She’s sat with me before and done her own little marketing project! She’s coloring a page while she watches me work on social media posts or create different graphics. It’s been fun to watch her see all of it and get involved in her own way.

What have you learned through your experiences volunteering?

Step outside your comfort zone. I don’t think that this is a volunteer position I thought I would ever do. Marketing was never my go-to – it was kind of thrown at me – and it was something I was really excited to do, but have learned to be more confident in over time. I’ve built confidence knowing that the ideas I have can be accepted or that they will work. I’ve learned to build my confidence in my creativity, and enjoy just knowing that not everything has to be perfect, but can still be helpful, useful and effective.

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

Individuals who are really passionate and love the cause they’re volunteering with bring that energy and purpose to the work. And so it really is all about the passion for the cause. Someone who’s passionate is really going to put their all into it. I think if you have passionate people, then they’ll be more committed, and they’ll be there to really build the program that you’re looking to build.

Any advice for people who want to start volunteering?

Find something you’re passionate about. Just commit to making the time for it. Any time is great. Following through with that commitment and believing in the work that you’re doing is important. When you’re volunteering, you’re making an impact on the organization that you’re volunteering with, but you’re also ideally finding joy in it. It has the potential to be really meaningful and rewarding for both the volunteer and the organization itself.

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