Shannon Zoet

My Turning Point: Service as a Lifestyle

By Shannon Zoet

As long as I can remember, my family has been instilling a spirit of service in me. Though nobody ever used that phrase, looking back, I know that is what I was learning. My parents and grandparents have always modeled a lifestyle that showed me that service is not just about those flashy one-day events we all love, but rather, it’s an ongoing process of supporting others with your time and talents.

I always knew that this type of ever-present service would be a part of my life, but it wasn’t until I was an adult that I realized I could make a career of it. My personal turning point came several months after I graduated from college. I had a degree in Communications and went to work at a publishing house where I was asked to promote books that had no meaning to my life. I knew I would not last in a job that didn’t play to my personal passions, so I left that position to join AmeriCorps.

After two years of service as an AmeriCorps VISTA, I knew I was on the right path. I knew that a career in the nonprofit sector—inspiring others to serve and supporting the infrastructure for widespread service—was how I wanted and needed to spend my energy. I earned an advanced degree in nonprofit leadership, and I now work for Michigan Campus Compact (part of the Michigan Nonprofit Association), supporting colleges and universities to promote public and community service and develop students’ citizenship skills. I am proud to be part of an organization that is helping to cultivate current and future leaders of service.

I have not only chosen to make a career in the service sector, but I continue to exercise the spirit of service my family instilled in me as a child. Rather than focus my time on one or two volunteer opportunities by dedicating myself to a particular cause or passion, I have chosen, for now, to spread my energy as wide as possible. I look for small opportunities to serve others in everyday life; I serve on the board of my local Young Nonprofit Professionals Network to encourage the growth and success of the service sector in my community; I ask how I can serve the people and organizations I care about, and then I show up wherever and whenever I can.

Laura Saldivar

Merle Turitz

Andy Nelson

Ronald Rich

JoAnna Phillips

JoAnna Phillips grew up in a small, rural community. She was taught the importance of working hard and caring about others in the community. She was raised to respect others, no matter their race, culture, gender or ecomomic status. As Phillips grew up she realized her southern Illinois community lacked diversity and was plagued by drugs and alcohol.

Thirsty for more, she set her sights on college and anything she could get her hands on to broaden her horizons. As a single mother and college student she jumped at the opportunity to join AmeriCorps to serve others and give her new life perspectives. Phillips was placed in an outpatient drug and alcohol treatment facility with the main responsibility of GED tutoring for clients in recovery. Her experience with AmeriCorps was a major turning point in her life and an important step in her lifelong commitment to service.

Darlene Tarnoski

According to an estimate from the U.S. Department of Justice 14,500-17,500 children are trafficked each year. Human sex trafficking of youth is on the rise, with many drug traffickers seeing it as more lucrative than selling drugs. Darlene Tarnoski is taking action to increase awareness and reach out to youth in trouble to let them know they aren’t alone.

In November 2012, Tarnoski was selling her jewelry at a local craft fair when she met an FBI agent whose business was rescuing children. The agent described how fatherly looking men find young girls and offer them a place to stay giving the girls the impression that they would be safe. However, once in place, the girls would be sold for sex over and over again. The agent made rescuing those girls and getting them to a safe place his personal project. Tarnoski learned that all of their posessions were taken as evidence by the FBI and were in desperate need of necessities like toiletries, water and snacks.Tarnoski quickly began to take action by assembling “dignity bags” filled with supplies.

Her devotion inspired her to found a nonprofit, Women Against Child Trafficking, where she serves as program director. Her passion drives her positive action everyday despite the hardships and challenges she faces and the tragedy she is constantly surrounded by. She is proving that one woman can make a difference.

Mark Bentley

Mark Bentley of Las Vegas, N.M. started officially volunteering eight years ago, yet community and lending a hand have always been a part of his subconscious. Before the bright lights of Vegas became “Sin City”, this diverse city in New Mexico was uniting behind its neighbors who needed it most.

His subconscious way of life turned conscious when he was asked to participate in the local Commission for Community Volunteerism. It only took one meeting for Bentley to realize how much the commission was responsible for and how crucial service programs, like AmeriCorps, were to the city’s well-being. The work of the commission was and still is, irreplaceable in the state of New Mexico.

Bentley spends his time supporting the efforts to build new programs. He’s thankful that their executive commissioner understands the value and critical importance of volunteerism – especially in a state as rural and poor as New Mexico.

Like so many who volunteer, Bentley believes his work with the commission has done more for him than any other single endeavor he’s taken on. He’s worked with incredible people, seen their time and energy create positive change and had the opportunity to travel to the National Conference on Volunteering and Service to engage with volunteers on a broader scale for a number of years.

Bentley sets his sights on working more with youth in the future. It’s his goal to help them understand the importance of education and set them on a path of success. He believes that young people are the future, and it is crucial for them to spend time and effort helping others; because if we don’t all do our part and lend a hand our country will be in serious trouble. That is what makes Mark a Daily Point of Light.

Mark Snaer

Mark Snaer of Sacramento, Calif. currently devotes his time as the program director to the Senior Companion Program in his community where he connects seniors with other, more active seniors to provide support and encouragement as they strive to live their lives independently.

Mark was driven to volunteer because he genuinely cares for the people around him. He was raised in a family where helping your neighbor wasn’t an option, but an expectation. It’s second nature for him to see a need and make it his responsibility to help if he can.

His service has reached a wide-range of people in his community from reading to elementary school students, to designing programs to prepare teens for their job search, to connecting seniors with youth through the Foster Grandparents program.

Mark finds incredible joy in his work with fellow volunteers and believes a great vitality comes to people that spend a large part of their lives giving to others. A few years ago he had the privilege of working with a spirited 97-year-old woman who had been volunteering longer than the 49-year-old had been working professionally. He was amazed by her energy and life-long devotion to give back to others.

It’s his hope to continue his volunteer work and help build recognition for the importance of service. He wants to help others understand that there’s more to service than what meets the eye. There’s so much to gain and give and that is what makes Mark a Daily Poin of Light.

Eileen Bostwick