Cynthia Caron

As the President and Founder of LostNMissing, Inc., Cynthia Caron volunteers 12 hours each day to guide families of missing people as soon as their loved one goes missing.

She seamlessly handles all the media, marketing and posting of information. Cynthia works directly with law enforcement, acting as a representative for the families. She also notifies the public of the missing person through the community by social networking. By stepping in and handling the media relations, this allows the families to focus on recovering their loved ones.

Since it’s incorporation, LostNMissing has helped recover a number of missing teenagers as well as adults. Unlike other similar organizations, LostNMissing fully utilizes all social networking sites. And with the help of her many followers, the missing alerts are distributed throughout the Internet.

Cynthia’s compassion is the driving force of the success of her organization. She is convinced that thinking outside the traditional channels of notifying the public of missing person information is what is setting her organization apart and truly making a difference in families’ lives. Because her organization is relatively small, it is able to provide a timely and personalized response to each family.

Under her leadership, Cynthia’s organization connects newly missing families with families who have already “walked in their shoes” through the experience of having a loved one missing.

Cynthia was also one of the top ten “Top Ultimate Volunteer” in America for the ABC show, “The View.”

Cynthia has channeled her natural compassion to be a formidable force in the mission of doing good for others and her hard work and devotion is worthy of this recognition.

COLLEEN BARRETT

Pauline Abeyta

Pauline Abeyta offers clothes to the homeless along with a healthy dose of compassion through the organization The Clothing Room. As a dedicated volunteer at The Clothing Room, Pauline has proved that community outreach is invalid without compassion and dedication.

Every week, Pauline assists needy families and the homeless in finding clothes to wear. Whether it’s for an interview or just something to wear for the day, Pauline understands the importance providing clothes and emotional support to the needy. Along with hanging and sorting clothes, Pauline helped create the foundation for The Clothing Room. What once began as a building with a dirt floor as turned into a department store where patrons can shop for free, which is important for the community of Las Cruces, New Mexico.

One of the poorest communities in the United States, Las Cruces’ poverty rates are above the national average. Therefore, it is very hard for single moms, unemployed families, and families earning only minimum wage to make clothes a main priority. Through the past 20 years, Pauline has helped solve the problem of poverty by making The Clothing Room a reality. Last year The Clothing Room helped over 4,500 people giving away 111,800 items.

After the founder passed away 3 years ago, Pauline made sure her dream stayed alive. Pauline is making sure no one has to live without clothes and a since of belonging. As one customer commented, "I walked out knowing someone cares."

Del Odle

Michaela Patoilo

At a young age, Michaela Patoilo has already made an immense impact on her community through spending her time improving local schools.

Michaela suffered a great loss when her 13-year-old cousin passed away due to heart disease. This loss fueled her desire to expand the American Heart Association’s efforts through “Jump Rope for Heart” in her schools. She began “Jump Rope for Heart” in her elementary school and didn’t stop there. As she moved on to middle school, she put together a team of her peers and together, with the supervision of their teachers, continued “Jump Rope for Heart”. This movement motivated three other schools in the area to follow their lead.

While this is a great achievement, this is not where Michaela’s volunteering subsides.

In order to obtain her Girl Scout Silver Award, Michaela adopted a third grade class that was lacking school supplies. She invested double the hours required in order to collect school supplies for the students as well as nearly 70 boxes of books for the charter school’s library. The students have more than enough supplies and the school’s students and faculty no longer have to go to the public library to check books.

Michaela volunteers her time simply because she wants to help to make the world a better place. This selfless devotion is why Michaela is a Daily Point of Light.

Megan Compton

As a lover of animals, Megan Compton has worked to improve and extend the lives of animals by bridging the gap between animal control and the Humane Society in her community.

Described as kind, patient, and driven, Megan has worked tirelessly to improve the ways to delay and in some cases prevent euthanizing animals that once would have faced it much sooner. Euthanasia is an ongoing dilemma that is faced all over the country due to the over population of domesticated animals.

Megan is very hands-on when it comes to improving the service at the Humane Society. She works to improve all aspects of the shelter as well as to help recruit community members to volunteer their time. She also works to raise awareness around the community and attract people to adopt a pet and give it a loving home. Her devotion to animals and her community is why Megan is a Daily Point of Light.

Barbara Wong

Alisha Salinas

Agnes Lynch

In an effort to alleviate the struggles of families burdened with job loss, reduced hours, and tight financial situations, Agnes Lynch founded, oversees and continues to develop the Braintree Community Food Pantry.

As someone who has struggled through difficult economic times of her own life, Agnes can identify with those who continue to struggle to provide for their families. For the past 17 years, Agnes has overseen the food pantry and in one month’s time, is able to meet the needs of 150 individuals who are struggling. The pantry provides not only food, but gifts during the holiday season. She is determined to help those struggling to meet the needs of their families not only by providing them with food and basic needs, but also by offering them encouragement through their times of struggle.

Agnes is dedicated to helping those in her community overcome hard economic times as she and other community members have done in the past. Her faith and enthusiasm has motivated other community members to rally around her to help meet the goals of the Braintree Community Food Pantry. This is why Agnes is a Daily Point of Light.

Timothy Scott