Airport Ambassadors
In 2011, Detroit Metropolitan Airport provided high quality services to hundreds of thousands of people who landed in Detroit. Travelers Aid Airport Ambassadors are honored to be a part of this team, ensuring that travelers receive the helping hand along the way they need to ensure safe travels for themselves and those they love.
The volunteers give selflessly, serving as the eyes and ears of the airport and reporting at length every travelers question, concern and need to airport authority. These ambassadors spent more than 12,000 hours fielding more than 250,000 questions at the airport last year, helping to ensure that each airport costumer had the best possible travel experience.
Without these volunteers many customers and travelers would be lost inside the airport. All volunteers spend a minimum of four hours a week of their own time helping others. This is what makes them Daily Points of Light.
Conni Gordon
Conni Gordon takes her love of the arts to teach and motivate others. She believes everyone can benefit from art and has worked the blind and disabled to create art as both a source of income and for personal enjoyment.
Conni has been serving her community since WWII whem she was a member of the U.S. Marine Corps. She recently presented use of both the right and left brain to improve one’s health for various organizations. Her teaching methods have been feature in the movie Blindheart, the Guiness Book of World Records and The Tonight Show.
She has done so much to inspire others and this is what makes her a Daily Point of Light.
La Porte Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association
The Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association (CPAAA) assists the police department in improving the quality of life for the La Porte, Texas community. This relatively new program does this through several programs such as the Blue Santa Program, Slap and Tags, Animal Shelter Adoption Assistance, and handicap parking enforcement.
The Blue Santa program has assisted more than 250 families, close to 600 children. Children were able to visit with Santa and receive presents. In the program’s first year, the CPAAA raised more than $3,000 to bring joy to local families on Christmas.
The CPAAA also assists the community in various safety fairs to help promote child, home and vehicle safety. In addition, they work with local neighbor watch programs to educate neighbors on how to avoid being victims of crime.
This organization unites individuals from all walks of life with the common goal of helping their community and police department. This is what makes them Daily Points of Light.
Organized Women Boston GLOW
For the past two years, 14 volunteer young professional women in Boston have gathered weekly in order to raise money for scholarships, provide leadership workshops and mentor 10 young women in Boston's struggling school systems – resulting in more than 1,000 hours of service. In addition, they organized the annual IGNITE the NITE gala for Boston GLOW. More than 280 members of the Boston community came to the event to raise money for 10 scholarships for high school girls.
Their mentoring and support programs combat issues like teen pregnancy and high school drop outs, while providing financial and career guidance. They want to help young women realize their immense potential. The group also provides tangible funding and academic counseling in order for these young female leaders to make it through college.
In only one year, seven young women have received scholarships and mentors. In their second year, 10 young women will receive these same resources. These young women are back in school, attending college and beating homelessness. The women of Boston GLOW each spend approximately 15 hours a week making a difference in these young womens’ lives. This is what makes them Daily Points of Light.
FCCLA
Family, Career and Community Leaders of America is a national student organization with over a quarter-million members, who strive to develop leadership skills and address important personal, family, work, and societal issues through family and consumer sciences education. FCCLA’s mission is to promote personal growth and leadership development through family and consumer sciences education. Focusing on the multiple roles of family member, wage earner, and community leader, members develop skills for life through character development, creative and critical thinking, interpersonal communication, practical knowledge, and vocational preparation.
The FCCLA Community Service program is executed at the local, state, and national levels. This program guides students to develop, plan, carry out, and evaluate projects to improve the quality of life in their communities. Members, advisers, and national staff are continually looking for partners with common goals, and Points of Light has been beneficial in creating these ties with a diverse body of partners.
The Community Service Action Guide is a resource for advisers to guide students to develop, plan, carry out, and evaluate community service projects. Advisers are given project planning instructions and templates, in-depth project ideas from simple to very in-depth, information on how to follow-up after a project, and partner contact information. On the state level, State Advisers are encouraged to participate in the National Outreach Project at the State Advisers Management Meeting, held each February. Roundtables are held on a variety of topics, and updates are given as to new developments in the program, and with partners. Chapter projects are publicized in Teen Times to give participating youth a sense of accomplishment and recognition, and to promote the program, through example to all other members. The National Executive Council comprised of ten elected youth officers, also challenges members to get involved through updates posted on the national FCCLA website.
FCCLA is an organization for and about the members. The national staff, state advisers, and chapter advisers work to guide projects, however without the dedication and heart of the members, successful completion of any task would be impossible. FCCLA’s reputation and success with partners begins on the local level where members work to create ties with organizations and/or businesses with similar goals. FCCLA’s involvement with various partners has helped the organization continue to achieve its mission and promote growth within the programs and the membership body.
