was filled with memorable moments, but one that stood out in particular was this year’s Youth Summit. In case you missed it, here’s a recap of what went down… Don’t forget to mark your calendar for June 14-16, 2023 so you can be in attendance at next year’s Conference.
with the day’s Daily Point of Light Award for her efforts in environmental conservation.
“With the right support, young people, you are changing the world,” Natalye said, before handing things off to President and Board Chair of KPMG Foundation Anita Whitehead. Anita introduced the various ways the KPMG Foundation has revitalized its mission and poured funding into equity and diversity efforts, committing millions of dollars to this focus.
, 2021 Time Kid of the Year and Ambassador for Kindness, who spoke about his personal journey and gave helpful advice to any young person looking to make a change.
“Sometimes, I have to admit, it’s not easy seeing a problem so large and figuring out how to go out there and make a big impact on that problem,” shared Orion. “But I think that with a little determination, perseverance, courage and compassion, you can really do anything.”
He encouraged young people who see problems they want to fix to be proactive, reaching out to adults who can help them secure the resources they need to contribute their talents and energy to that issue. He also encouraged adults with resources to support kids with a vision, as the power to change the world lies in this type of collaboration.
Following Orion’s chat with Anita, four members of the Points of Light Youth Council—
—and Generation Amazing Youth Advocate Sayed Alam—joined a moderated panel discussion. Each spoke about their individual civic journeys and shared touching moments from their experiences.
From fostering hope in communities through uplifting words and gestures… to reinforcing the message that we are never alone, but supported… to releasing one’s ego in volunteering and learning to be a team player… these five leaders passed on a wealth of knowledge and encouragement for all the civically engaged youth in attendance. “Embrace the vulnerability of not knowing what you’re doing,” shared Adom Appiah.
One theme highlighted again and again was the importance of listening and learning before acting. Several Points of Light Youth Council members spoke about how their nonprofits or initiatives had changed as the leaders themselves continued to learn and grow.
Eleanor Ann Schoenbrun talked about “allowing the experience to evolve” with her – changing what she was doing as she continued to learn more and more, and honoring the people sitting across the table from her, even if she disagreed with them.
Hearing from community members about what would help them most, instead of assuming that they already knew what was most supportive, was illuminating for these leaders. Many times, they made strategic decisions for their volunteer projects or even revamped the structure of their nonprofits based on the feedback they heard from those they were directly working with.
While this year’s Youth Summit featured a powerful group of young leaders, Points of Light is committed to uplifting youth voices every single year at the
. So don’t miss next year’s conference in Chicago June 14-16, 2023—save the date now so you can join us in person.
Supporting Young Volunteer Leaders: How to Help Youth Become Passionate and Engaged in Community
When we think of leaders, we are not always thinking about those under 25. However, we know that Generation Z, those born after 1996, are already leaders making substantial changes in our society and there’s a lot we can learn from them. In our civic engagement research, we found that Gen Z was the most civically engaged generation. These young leaders are setting the new standard for civic engagement, leading the way through actions like:
advocacy through social media
using their purchasing power
making employment choices based on the impact a company has on the world
While those in the generation following, Generation Alpha (born 2011-2025), are still developing as leaders, they’re following in similar footsteps with the support of their parents. In fact, in a
by Civic in partnership with Hart Research Associates, 99 percent of parents prioritized developing character, integrity, and finding happiness over getting a good job and being prepared for college. We know that volunteering and giving back in meaningful ways helps young people in attain these attributes and there are ways adults can help young people reach their world-changing goals.
Supporting the Civic Life Development of Young People
Here are a few ways to help young people you know based on where they are in their leadership journey.
For the developing volunteer leader (typically Generation Alpha):
Include them in tasks to help them build confidence. Researchers Lucía Alcalá and Sheina Lew-Levy found that delegating daily tasks to our youngest helpers rather than allowing them to sit on the sidelines can build confidence in their ability to contribute and may encourage them to be more helpful later in life. This can include asking them to help by bringing you supplies or making them responsible for a part of a project.
Lead by example to help them envision their future. Whether it’s volunteering in the community or being kind to neighbors and strangers, seeing adults they look up to modeling helping behaviors sets an example for young people on how they can work to address issues in their community. It can even be doing things you’re already passionate about, like Daily Point of Light honoree Wendy Wu, a piano teacher who shares her love for music and volunteering with students of all ages.
Help them learn about various ways to give back. There are a lot of great books you can read with young people or shows you can watch that address the impact of giving back. After reading and discussing Kids Who Are Changing the World (You Should Meet) with my own six-year-olds, they decided that they’d like raise funds for a local family shelter so that the children living there can have toys to play with. You can find more resources in the Youth and Family Corner of the Volunteer Issue of Civic Life Today.
For the independent volunteer leader (typically Generation Z):
Help them feel more fulfilled by directly connecting them to ways to help others. It’s not an understatement that the isolation and loneliness brought on by the COVID-19 shutdowns have substantially impacted the mental health of young people. Research has shown that volunteering positively impacts social and emotional health and gives young people a sense of belonging. You can direct older youth to in-person opportunities through our platform Engage or instructions on how to build their own activity through our Virtual Volunteering toolkit.
Understand that the issues that may be of most concern to young people may not be your top issues. Recognize the areas that young people are most concerned about and help them address those issues in ways that resonate with them. It’s important to remember that their world view may be different and supporting their vision for the future will help them actualize it. One activity you can do to get everyone on the same page is our Courageous Conversations
Empower them by looking to them as true leaders and experts. Allowing youth to truly lead the change they want to see can have greater impacts than adults alone can produce. Frances Leung and Nicole Kim, who are bringing Gen Z BIPOC youth together to make youth activism communal and accessible through their work with the Nonstandard Project, are examples of young people leading work and having a real impact.
For all youth:
Give guidance and be supportive of ideas.
Depending where young leaders are in their development, they may need varying levels of guidance. Be supportive of their ideas and look to use the
approach when helping think through ways to strengthen their projects.
Finally, be an advocate for young volunteer leaders. Help others understand the importance of youth voice, youth guidance and youth as true co-leaders in your volunteer program development and implementation. The work we do with them ensures they’re ready to continue to lead for decades to come in areas beyond volunteering.
4 Ways to Recognize Volunteers and Keep Them Engaged
Recognition is one of the easiest and most cost-effective strategies when it comes to retaining your volunteers and growing your volunteer programs. Whether you are a nonprofit organization or a company growing your employee volunteer program, recognizing the efforts of your volunteers go a long way to making people feel engaged and appreciated!
In Points of Light’s civic engagement research, 43 percent of respondents said they agree or somewhat agree that it was “important to receive recognition, even just a ‘thank you’” after volunteering. Now more than ever, recognizing volunteers who have been helping during these unprecedent times can really mean so much. There’s no better time to thank them!
Here are a few ways you can recognize your volunteers and keep them feeling passionate about and dedicated to your mission.
Send an electronic “thank you” to your volunteers and include a personal touch. When individuals are affirmed for their actions specifically, rather than generally, they feel a deeper level of appreciation as well as authenticity from the organization. This could be as easy as an email or text, or as personalized as a handwritten card or video greeting. Give the volunteer a “shout out,” preferably using their name and citing their specific type of volunteer work.
Use social media and employee channels to increase storytelling. Not only is storytelling a fantastic way to keep your volunteers engaged, but it has the power to reach all types of audiences if distributed via social media channels. Use social media – or even email newsletters or internal employee portals – to recognize volunteers who are contributing to your cause. Humans love human stories, so include some fun details about the volunteer you are spotlighting and why they care about the mission. Plus, uplifting stories of others can inspire people to take action.
Honor your volunteers with an award. This one can be as simple or grand as you’d like it to be based on your organization’s resources and volunteer retention goals. A printed or digital certificate of achievement is a great way to honor a volunteer’s efforts. Want to go a little further? Consider a gift certificate or incentive for most volunteer hours in a time period. External recognition is always a special moment for volunteers. Points of Light’s Daily Point of Light Award began 30 years ago and has honored volunteers every weekday since. Additionally, the President’s Volunteer Service Award allows organizations to recognize their most exceptional volunteers based on annual hours served.
Host a team event to recognize outstanding volunteer efforts. While we might not be gathering en masse right now, that doesn’t mean your organization can’t host a recognition event. You can create a virtual event to celebrate your volunteers, which is a great time to distribute awards to individuals or to thank them with a small, personal speech. You might opt to have your top two or three volunteers share their story with the virtual group. Events like these — even the ones that take place on-screen rather than in-person — can go a long way to boost morale and inspire your volunteer community.
If you’re looking for some assistance with your volunteer recognition processes, the Points of Light team is here to help. We can provide you with some tangible ways you can recognize your volunteers with minimal cost and effort. Learn more about our recognition programs here.
Commonwealth Point of Light Spreads Essential Supplies in the Gem of Africa
she knew it would eventually be adaptive to meet the evolving needs of her village. She started off collecting and distributing shoes to young people in the remote villages of Botswana, but in time, Madibana realized that she could help create bridges between her community and essential items like sanitation pads and hand sanitizer — especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Madibana returned to Botswana, known as the Gem of Africa, in 2012 after finishing her master’s degree on scholarship in media and communications in England. As part of her scholarship, Madibana committed two years after her studies to her choice of community service. She took community service to the next level by creating the Nayang Association, and hopes to turn it into a full social enterprise.
“This charity is my baby,” Madibana said. “We still have villages where lacking shoes is very rampant — kids literally travel to school without shoes and we’re talking about a country that is like a semi-arid desert.” she added.
The Nayang Association’s Soles for Souls program has collected and distributed more than 6,000 pairs of shoes for kids and students in remote villages of Botswana.
Remote students commonly walk miles back and forth to school in broken shoes or barefoot, even in the winter months, to make it to class every day. To meet this need for suitable footwear, Madibana created one of the main Nayang Association’s programs, Soles for Souls, and has collected more than 6,000 pairs of shoes for kids and students.
While building relationships with teachers of partnering schools, Madibana realized that teenage girls can miss around 50 days of school every year if they don’t have proper sanitation pads. This unmet issue became something she wanted to be a part of solving, and the Nayang Association has distributed more than 10,000 pads to girls in need since 2015.
Before Madibana began her work, it was common for teachers to spend their own money on resources like shoes and pads for their students.
Her spirit of community service has not gone unrecognized. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom awarded Madibana with a
for her service and dedication to being a global leader of transformative change.
The Nayang Association operated throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, but the charity followed CDC guidelines and were unable to guarantee the right sized shoes for students without fitting them in person before sending pairs out for distribution. However, the charity quickly began incorporating purchased and donated hand sanitizers with their shoes to children and their families to help reduce the spread of the virus.
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom awarded Madibana with a Commonwealth Point of Light award for her service and dedication to being a global leader of transformative change.
Shoe donation is a continuous need that will always need champions of service like Madibana since a child’s shoe size can change in the matter of months. Most of the shoes of Soles for Souls are donated from individuals and companies, with the charity filling in any gaps if any child still needs a pair of shoes.
Madibana is excited about the charity’s upcoming branded shoe launch which involves various members of her village through the design, construction and manufacturing phases. It’s been a dream of hers for nearly three years since the charity frequently purchases ready-made shoes from countries like South Africa and Zimbabwe. The Nayang Association team is looking forward to creating sources of employment and working with local artists, Madibana said.
The charity has also been constructing ablution blocks — buildings that house private showers and toilets — for children in the villages it serves.
“My thing has always been to tell people that you don’t have to be rich in order to make a difference. Find out what a local charity is doing, especially if it’s close to your heart,” Madibana said.
How Doing Good Deeds Year-Round Can Begin with Good Deeds Day
The mission of Good Deeds Day transcends the day itself. Dedicating time to volunteerism and helping others can be year-round, even for the Good Deeds Day team, who’ve seen its mission become a ripple effect of good for thousands of volunteers.
Good Deeds Day is an organization and annual event where volunteers from around the world dedicate a day to volunteering and helping others and is built upon the idea that every individual can do something to improve the lives of others. Essentially, it’s a global movement of doing good that helps its partners — companies and nonprofit organizations — create positive change. Plus, the organization helps connect volunteers to the causes they care about any day of the year.
This year’s Good Deeds Day will take place on April 11, 2021. In order to make the day accessible to anyone around the world, it’s hybrid approach is designed to allow anyone to participate in events either in person or virtually. Participants can easily send an Ecard to an individual, organization or cause they care about if they are unable to volunteer outside.
Traditionally, thousands of people go out and volunteer and partner with hands-on community initiatives on Good Deeds Day, which features a diverse range of projects, entertainment and food vendors for participants.
The 2020 Good Deeds day undertook a major shift because of the COVID-19 pandemic and its events were held virtually. The focus became doing good from home. Yet, the organization didn’t view the pandemic as a roadblock. It began to shift its messaging to encourage partners to continue their important work to creatively address the issues communities were facing around the world — like food shortages, medical supply scarcity and hardships caused by job loss.
Originally based in Israel in 2011, Good Deeds Day spread by word of mouth to other countries after a few years of operation and became global in 2011.
“I think maybe part of its growth was through Jewish communities, because in Judaism, we have a concept of Tikkun Olam, which means to repair the world. It’s about being a positive change, and we should work on making the world a better place,” said Hannah Wojno, the director of International Good Deeds Day
Wojno moved to Israel nine years ago when the organization and movement was on the brink of becoming global and has always been involved in community initiatives from a young age.
“Good Deeds Day strives to create a positive, sustainable long term impact in the world,” she added. “It helps individuals around the world see themselves as positive change makers who treat people with kindness.”
Good Deeds Day is the pinnacle of doing good year round, but it was also a result of a relentless effort to understand how to maximize the volunteer skills of its global community.
In order to understand the communities that it works in, the organization’s team conducted two surveys on volunteering. They found that people just don’t know how to do good and what organizations would accept them as volunteers. Additionally, people felt that they didn’t have the time to commit to the causes they cared about. As a result, Good Deeds Day is designed to remove the barriers to volunteering and gives people a taste of what it feels like to be a part of something bigger than themselves.
The Good Deeds Day movement can teach anyone that every individual has the power to make a difference and one cause can light a volunteerism spark in someone to do the same for their fellow neighbor. It’s a good teaser and taste of what they can do year round, according to Wojno, and it exploded around the world.
One of Good Deed Days recent accomplishments was Good Stock, the largest global conference of doing good. The virtual conference featured keynote speakers of educators, nonprofit professionals, volunteers, government officials and other leaders from around the world who dove into key topics like leading change through volunteering, being good in business and the sustainable development goals.
Good Deeds Day was able to bring more than 2500 participants together from over 93 countries around the world for Good Stock.
“The most rewarding part of the work is seeing our partners — which are small organizations around the world that don’t have a lot of resources make a significant positive difference in their communities,” Wojno said.
“I believe this is how we create a better world through regular people doing just normal positive things and treating each other really well,” she added.
Seven Thousand Points of Light Later
Today, we’re recognizing our 7,000
th
Daily Point of Light honorees – and that’s something to celebrate. Because we know what we celebrate reflects what we value. And in each one of our Daily Point of Light honorees over the three decades, we’ve celebrated heroes who are giving back in ways that inspire those around them, creating even more action in their communities, in their circles.
That’s the power we all have within us. We have the power – not just to do great things – but to inspire others to act, and to exponentially multiply the impact of our own actions. Today’s honorees are no exception.
Georgia high school students
started a nonprofit organization to help other young people create, fund, and carry out their own service projects. They knew that many young people had great ideas about building service projects but didn’t have the resources to get them off the ground. They knew they could multiply young people’s impact.
Today Kruthik and Deesha’s organization – Georgia Youth Leaders – is a 501(c)3 organization that provides information and guidance to young social entrepreneurs. It helps them attain nonprofit status, procure funding, and also supports them in other ways. Kruthik and Deesha hold seminars to attract high schoolers with service projects that can operate under the GYL umbrella. They applied for grants to fund the projects, publicized them on social media, mentored their leaders, and helped them develop websites. They now have eight programs they’re supporting – on everything from helping victims of human trafficking, to environmental cleanups, to donating books to children in need.
Incredible.
Below you’ll see pictures of some of our Daily Point of Light honorees throughout the years. You’ll see young people and seniors. You’ll see individuals and corporations. People from all across our country advancing causes as diverse as we are.
We often talk about Points of Light’s Civic Circle, and when we developed it we intentionally chose a circle to represent the ways people move through it at various moments. A circle has no beginning and no end. There’s no limit to how much of an impact we can have; we can start a wave and it can keep going and going and going.
In just two days, on April 1, we’ll kick-off
. We encourage you to shine a light on volunteers in your circle by nominating them for a Daily Point of Light Award. The 7,000 honorees we’ve recognized to-date have done some pretty incredible things. And I can’t wait to see what the next 7,000 – and beyond – can do.
Since creating Ryan’s Recycling Company, Ryan Hickman, Daily Point of Light #6,726, has recycled about 814,000 cans and bottles./Courtesy Ryan’s Recycling
Daily Point of Light Award honoree #6,656 Jason Farmer volunteers with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, helping the hospital build relationships and raise awareness in the African-American community.
Daily Point of Light Award honorees #5,000, Kathy and Floyd Hammer, founded The Outreach program to deliver meals to Tanzania.
Cheryl Milton, Daily Point of Light #6,488, pictured with one of the many quilts she’s made for individuals in need.
Natalye Paquin was the president and chief executive officer of Points of Light from 2017–2022.
She is a visionary and results-oriented leader, with more than 20 years of experience providing strategic, operations and fiscal leadership in the nonprofit and public sectors.
Please and Thank You: My Final Wish for 2020
Many of us know the old adage, “everything I need to know I learned in kindergarten.” That includes please and thank you. And as we cap off this year – a year none of us expected – these two timeless principles are the guideposts of my final wish for you in 2020.
Please remember to take time and take care of yourself, even if only for small moments. Continue to take care of each other and those around you. Please hold on to hope, because there is light and goodness in the world, and at Points of Light we have the privilege of seeing it every day.
Thank you for everything you’ve done this year. Recognize that every action matters, and we’ve experienced that to be more true than ever this year.
Thank you to the Points of Light Global Network, who through their work in the United States and in 37 countries around the world, gave more, dug deeper and provided support for their communities in ways they never have before. Thank you to our corporate partners, who consistently asked how we could work together, support their engagement with community and activate their employees to volunteer in new ways. Thank you to our board members, donors, and staff who helped keep our mission going each and every day, who supported us with every pivot we had to make this year and who believed in the power of people.
And thank you to every single individual who made a choice this year to be light in the darkness. The people who volunteered formally, in person or virtually, the people who chose kindness, helped a neighbor, sent a note, used their voice to speak up for others, who listened and took time to be there in someone’s time of need.
From the Points of Light family to you and yours, please take care and thank you. We look forward to a new year when our light shines brighter than ever before.
Natalye Paquin was the president and chief executive officer of Points of Light from 2017–2022.
She is a visionary and results-oriented leader, with more than 20 years of experience providing strategic, operations and fiscal leadership in the nonprofit and public sectors.
Season of Giving: Recognizing the Impact of Volunteering
On International Volunteer Day, we’re celebrating the power of volunteers and the impact they have made during 2020.
Worldwide
,
volunteers have
taken action
in new and
creative
ways
to respond to
the
COVID-19
global pandemic
. At Points of Light, we are grateful for their service and commitment to doing good.
Volunteers
are a
n
in
valuable resource to communities across the globe.
. They are innovative volunteer-mobilizing organizations located in more than 200 cities and 37 countries around the world. Together, we promote strategies that inspire a passion for community mindedness, enable community action and deepen a culture of community service.
At Points of Light,
w
e believe that every action
, no matter the size,
is significant
. Over the course of 2020,
Points of Light and our
Global
Network
helped
individuals and organizations
finding new ways to work together and support each other
while apart.
As you reflect on the importance of volunteering, here are a few ways you can get involved today and all year-round:
Search our database Points of Light Engage for safe volunteer opportunities inside and outside of the home that fit your interest, location and comfort level.
Get inspired by watching TheGeorge H.W. Points of Light Award honorees’ videos and other content on our YouTube channel.
Help us continue making an impact by supporting the critical work of Points of Light and our Global Network withyour donation.
Our organization
was founded to encourage and empower the spirit of service.
We remain committed to
connecting individuals, nonprofits and corporations
to develop sustained civic engagement and
support
transformative change
across the globe.
Points of Light’s Youth Council Provides Your Family Volunteer Day Playlist
Music can make any task into a party. This year, as we celebrate the 30
th
anniversary of Family Volunteer Day, we thought while we can’t be together, we can share the joy in giving back by sharing some great music! In honor of this major milestone, we asked the Points of Light Youth Council to handpick their favorite songs to listen to with their families while doing their service projects.
Here are some of the songs they’ll be listening to on Family Volunteer Day. What else would you add?
Be A Light -Thomas Rhett
Wings – Little Mix
This Mountain – Faozia
HandClap – Fitz and the Tantrums
Happy – Pharrell Williams
Can’t Stop the Feeling! – Justin Timberlake
Better When I’m Dancin’ – Meghan Trainor
Happy Anywhere – Blake Shelton & Gwen Stefani
I Don’t Need Anything But You – Jaime Foxx, Quvenzhane Wallis
to choose from one of our DIY project guides or virtual volunteer projects that you and your family can perform anytime during the month of November. And while we know sometimes it’s difficult to get younger kids involved, our
Nominate a Family for a Daily Point of Light Award
Millions of families act on their power to do good every day, using their hearts, hands and minds to help strengthen communities and solve persistent problems. We recognize their stories, and lift them up to inspire others to make a difference. If you know of a family that is making a difference in their community, nominate them for a Daily Point of Light Award. Each day, an extraordinary volunteer or family is recognized for their service work.
While we’re excited to celebrate family volunteering on Nov
.
21, we recognize that many
families may need to adjust how they
’re giving back this year
.
Varying school and work schedules and more time at home means that many families are together more, but
need
different types of activities to do together.
Here are a few
ideas
for
spending time together as a family while doing good for others.
Here are
eight
projects for kids of all ages:
Food banks and pantries serve a great service to those in need of food in our communities. In addition, food banks and pantries are seeing an increase in visitors and may not have enough in food donations to meet those needs. By completing virtual fundraisers, you can help them help others. Feeding America can help you find a local food bank or pantry you can support!
The impact of COVID-19 continues to change our daily lives and routines, but the in-person volunteers that nonprofits rely on are more important than ever. Make masks to protect yourself, your family or others in your community who want to volunteer in person. The following face covering project can be modified to do at home and delivered via mail or drop off to adhere to the social distancing guidelines set by local and national authorities.
We could all use a visual reminder to be kind! Help spread kindness by putting your thoughtful and good intentions on paper and display them in your window for others to see! This arts and crafts project can inspire and encourage others to ignite a chain of kindness too! All you need are a few of the following: construction paper; markers or crayons; stickers; paint;glitter; glue and tape.
Some senior citizens can feel isolated a lonely. A simple visit, even a virtual visit, can make all the difference in their day. Help bring cheer to a senior center near you by sending notes or doing virtual activities! This project can help brighten the day of a senior who is feeling distant from loved ones and family members.
There are a lot people going through hard and frustrating times. You can help them channel and release their frustration by making Relax Bottles: water bottles decorated and filled with glitter. Watching the glitter settle after shaking the bottle can be relaxing. Use this Relax Bottle project guide to help others feel more at ease during these times of uncertainty.
Another great way to get young kids involved is creating boxes of love. Create and send Boxes of Love to send to military or first responders as a thank you and reminder of home. This DIY video is a great way to encourage younger kids to get engaged!
Helping seniors fight memory loss by doing puzzles with them, and by donating puzzles to organizations is a great way to serve seniors. You can even make your own puzzles! Watch this DIY video to learn more!
As the country is still facing natural disasters, another great way to help volunteer is by making and delivering fleece blankets to those in need: evacuees, families in homeless shelters or kids in foster care. Spread the love, and some warmth, with this DIY, no-sew blanket project.
There are many
other
ways to give back this year and do something that can bring your family together in a meaningful way
. With many people in need of kindness more than ever, your family can be the light that offers hope for a better tomorrow.
Nominate a Family for a Daily Point of Light Award!
Millions of families act on their power to do good every day, using their hearts, hands and minds to help strengthen communities and solve persistent problems. We recognize their individual stories, and lift them up to inspire others so we may each, in our own way, answer the call to make a difference. If you know of a family that is making a difference in their community, nominate them for a Daily Point of Light Award.
Each day, an extraordinary volunteer or family is recognized for their service work. Created by President George H.W. Bush and continued by Points of Light, these awards honor the power of people who step up and say, “Yes, I can help.”
Following Orion’s chat with Anita, four members of the Points of Light Youth Council—
