Dawna Cardenas

Dawna Cardenas, who was named the 2011 C&S Volunteer of the Year, dedicates more than 1,000 hours to the American Cancer Society annually.

As event co-chair, she devoted her time organizing the Relay for Life of the Greater Keene Area, N.H. in addition to attending events throughout the area to promote cancer awareness and education.

Dawna focuses on working with the public to increase knowledge about programs and services offered by the American Cancer Society. Her efforts also include educating people by distributing information about early detection and self-examinations. This encourages people to address the issue of cancer and to reassure them that assistance is available to those who need it.

The Relay for Life of the Greater Keene Area is an eighteen hour event organized by Dawna and her fellow volunteers. The Relay raises awareness and funds for the American Cancer Society, while also honoring the memory of family and friends who lost the battle against cancer. For participants like Dawna, who lost her grandmother to cancer, this initiative provides a moment of remembrance and a reinforcement of the importance of finding a cure.

Dawna's efforts have also resulted in celebrations of life, including when she helped a family locate a bone marrow donor for their son.

Dawna's dedication to the American Cancer Society is evident by the sheer amount of time that she spends planning and organizing events, providing cancer education and reaching out to the community is what makes her a Daily Point of Light.

Russell Lyons

Russell Lyons, a teenager who has done community service since he was four years old, founded “Do Good Adventures”, a movement to encourages teen volunteerism through example, outreach, education and awareness.

Using social and traditional media and networking, Do Good Adventures celebrates teens that are already active in their communities, shares resources to enable teen volunteerism, and invites teens to volunteer.

Since Russell was four, he has volunteered with more than a dozen organizations and logs more than 200 hours of community service each year. In 2005, San Diego magazine identified him as a “Young Person to Watch.” In June, 2011, he graduated from Laurel Springs School where he was a member of the National Honor Society. He will enter college in fall 2012.

Russell is currently taking a 10,000 mile cross country road trip to promote teen volunteerism. Between September 2011 and March 2012 he will spend three to five days visiting each of approximately twenty nonprofit organizations in different communities.

Russell is special because as a 17-year-old, he has conceptualized, planned, raised money for and implemented Do Good Adventure and the road trip. He accelerated his education to finish high school in three years in order to take the road trip as a year-long project before entering college. This is why Russell is a Daily Point of Light.

Environmental Discovery Project-

Finances at the Geauga local school district are very limited. The Environmental Discovery Project seeks to incorporate cooperative learning with inquiry-based teaching in a way that doesn’t break the budget. The Environmental Discovery Project formed from a group of students from two Geauga county schools to create a holistic sustainability program. Students asked what they could do to create a positive environment during the school day, and went about coordinating projects that helped them get there. They have designed curriculum for local students, and have raised awareness about the importance of environmental impact at a local and global level. Not only do they work with local students but they join with other schools around Northeast Ohio to educate about sustaining our aquatic resources and habitats.

Complete Outdoor Classrooms are used to teach students about sustainable practices, runoff pollution and for other hands-on interdisciplinary educational activities. Science-related subject areas in all grade levels are seeing the results of these projects and are implementing creative curriculum as well. Even classes such as study halls enter the mix, as students go outdoors to weed and harvest when they have free time. The Environmental Discovery Project has transformed the landscape and attitudes of the Geauga community.

The Geauga community helps whenever they can through donating services to the project. The Environmental Discovery project has allowed people to devote positive energy to young people’s ideas. More than thirty community organizations and individuals have helped the school with both monetary and in-kind donations of labor and goods.

The students of the Environmental Discovery Project are truly unique. They have inspired implementation of sustainable practices at the local, state and national levels. They have spread awareness to over 6,000 students, teaching about water purity concerns and sustainability. They have raised over $200,000 in grants, awards and goods, a princely sum in the rural school district, and among many of their accolades are winners of the SCA Green Your School Contest. Most importantly, they are role models for student achievement. They spend a great deal of time traveling to other schools and programs helping other students set up programming in their own schools. These dedicated high school students have truly changed their world for the better and made their large mark on their school and community.

Julianne DeLessio-2

Nicholas Longo

In honor of generationOn’s Make Your Mark Week all of our Daily Point of Lights this week are awarded to youth who are making a difference in the world and speaking out about causes they care about. There are so many impressive youth who are making their mark in positive ways within their communities.

Today’s Daily Point of Light, Nicholas Longo, co-founded an anti-bullying organization created by teens for teens. Stop the Hate, Spread the Hope supports those who have been bullied or are being bullied, along with those who may witness bullying. The below video is a trailer for The Stop The Hate Spread the Hope documentary.

The organization’s vision is to provide hope to individuals who have encountered bullying in some way in their life. Whether they be the victim, the bystander, or even the bully themselves Stop the Hate, Spread the Hope is seeking to start honest conversations between people.

Want to get more involved with the cause? Follow Stop the Hate, Spread the Hope on Facebook.

“We are here to spread the message that when it comes to the issue of bullying there is no more standing by. And by getting people to stand up in community against this issue, we have hope that bullying will end and that things will get better. And that finally everyone will treat one another the way they’d want to be treated.”

Dare to Discuss: AIDS Awareness and Advocacy-

When Jamie Brooks met a 18-year-old boy who had been battling HIV since age 15, she was inspired to take action.

Jamie witnessed how the young man was treated negatively by others and how the disease would forever change his life, and AIDS awareness became her life's mission. Jamie created a community organization known as Dare to Discuss: AIDS Awareness and Advocacy in 2005 and since then has been a voice of compassion in the Birmingham, AL community.

Jamie Brooks’ goal with Dare to Discuss is to promote awareness and advocacy of HIV/AIDS. Dare to Discuss works to increase knowledge of HIV statistics and facts, ways of infection, the dangers of risky behaviors, positive decision-making skills, self-empowerment, and services and programs offered by Dare to Discuss and partnering organizations. Likewise, Dare to Discuss promotes activism, volunteerism and participation in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Furthermore, Dare to Discuss fights to end the negative stigmas inflicted upon those with HIV/AIDS, raises funds and supplies for those living with HIV/AIDS and supports emotional counseling for those with HIV/AIDS. Lastly, Dare to Discuss actively fundraises for HIV vaccine and treatment research.

Jamie has shared her message with thousands of young people and made her community and her state more aware of HIV/AIDS, led many young children to have higher self esteem and good decision making skills, raised more than $5,000 for AIDS organizations and donated over 2000 volunteer hours to the cause. She has inspired her community to be more compassionate to those with HIV and to protect themselves from the disease.

Jamie Brooks is a Daily Point of Light because she utilizes her time, talent, voice and resources to the benefit of others.

Ashley Perlstein

Ashley Perlstein, an active and involved senior at Vacaville High School, started her own organization she named C.A.R.E. (Children Appreciate Reading Everyday).

Ashley has held a number of book drives for new or gently used books and has collected more than 2,500 books from neighbors, family and friends. She distributes these books to the Opportunity House, which houses homeless families in her community, and to the Children's Book Project. Before Ashley’s generous contribution, the Opportunity House was lacking any children’s books for the families to read together. The families at the Opportunity House and the Children’s Book Project are able to keep these books that they otherwise would not have had.

Ashley is not your typical teenager. She is extremely selfless and always puts others first. She has an unbelievably huge heart and is always thinking of ways to help others. She is not only a good role model to others but she is also a great student. The joy she finds helping less fortunate is what makes Ashley a Daily Point of Light.

Jake Struensee

Jake Struensee is a volunteer with the Heckrodt Wetland Reserve that helps with all aspects of operations such as general maintenance responsibilities and teaching programs, recording data for a citizen science group, helping with program preparation, special events, aquarium care, invasive species management and environmental outreach.

As a not-for-profit, Heckrodt Wetland Reserve is always looking for dedicated, long-term volunteers. Jake serves as an advocate for youth volunteerism. He proves that today’s youth “can give back more than they receive.” He also leads by example, thus allowing volunteers of all ages and walks of life to see what it takes to be a successful volunteer. As an environmental advocate, Jake has attended numerous sustainability and eco-aware conferences and challenges his colleagues daily to be a better person of the earth.

Jake has allowed Heckrodt Wetland Reserve to teach hundreds, if not thousands more people because he allows staff to focus on their main responsibilities and provides assistance in all aspects of nature center operations including youth education.

He is not only an advocate for Heckrodt Wetland Reserve, but a true steward of the earth. This is why Jake is a Daily Point of Light.

Stevie Nelson

Stevie Nelson, a 6-year-old from Tilden, Neb. lost his two Labrador retrievers, Bo and Luke, two days before his first birthday. His only birthday wish was to have them come home, a wish that was never granted.

Animals have always had a special place in Stevie’s heart and after seeing a commercial for the ASPCA, Stevie knew he wanted to help more animals in need. For his sixth birthday, instead of having guests bring him gifts, Stevie requested toys, treats, food, collars and money, all to benefit the Northeast Nebraska Humane Society (NENEHS). The shelter was in the process of trying to build a “No Kill” shelter in Northeast Nebraska for unwanted dogs and cats.

Family and friends gathered to help make Stevie’s sixth birthday wish come true. An outpouring of support was not only seen locally, but as news traveled of Stevie’s wish, folks across the nation were moved by his selfless act of kindness and started making both monetary donations and product donations, all to helps support Stevie’s cause. Stevie received donations from nearly each state across the U.S. and also inspired volunteers, including new foster care parents to volunteer for NENEHS.

When asked if he feels that this fundraiser was a success, Stevie states, “I am just happy to get to help more animals feel loved.”

Stevie's original goal was $6,000 to benefit the NENEHS. To date he has raised more than $25,778.19 and has had more than $6,000 in product donations. He is an animal advocate, telling his story to whomever will listen and hopes to get the shelter built soon so more animals can be saved. This is why Stevie is a Daily Point of Light.

Jurnee Carr

Growing up with a love for animals, Jurnee Carr’s life was changed the day her Girl Scout Troop volunteered at a local animal shelter and she learned that 6.5 million cats & dogs are euthanized every year in the U.S. Instead of asking for presents on her birthday she asked for donations and raised more than $500.

In 2007, at the age of 12 she founded and established a nonprofit organization, Jurnee’s Journey, which provides funds and support for animal shelters in Tennessee. Her mission is to end animal euthanasia by promoting awareness. Last year in 2010 she won the title of Miss Teen Tennessee International and also became a member of The Humane Society’s Youth Advisory Board. Her success has helped her spread awareness to thousands of people.

Jurnee sell Paws and Claws jewelry on her website to raise funds as well as hold several fundraising events each year. She coordinated the Prevent-A-Litter Mobile spay/neuter clinic to come to her hometown 3 times in 2010. Over 255 dogs and cats in that community were spayed/neutered during those events.

Since then multiple mobile clinics have been set-up throughout her town and surrounding cities. To date she’s raised over $15,000 and donated it all to help animals find permanent loving homes in Journey’s End Animal Society of Kingsport, Tennessee.

Jurnee believes that one by one, everyone can make a difference: “It’s so important for teens to get involved in something they believe in. Together we can, and will, end euthanasia.”