Milena Arciszewski

After graduating from the University of Virginia in 2006, Milena worked for several years as an investment banker at JPMorgan in New York City. Craving adventure and purpose, she quit her job after 2.5 years and become a Kiva Fellow, through which she volunteered at microfinance institutions in Bosnia, Kenya, and the Philippines.

While overseas, she developed the idea for Pando, based on her experience as a grassroots organizer in college. She now lives in New York City and is pursuing her dream of starting an organization to empower home-grown community projects.

Today, Pando is a nonprofit that empowers people to step up as leaders and develop new, local solutions to the problems in their communities.

Daily Point of Light Honoree, Milena Arciszewski shared the story below at a Points of Light event.

The first time I stepped into a HandsOn Network action center, I was a shy, pimply, 14-year old girl living in Fairfax, Virginia. I was given a list of volunteer opportunities and suddenly I felt energized. Important. Like a woman of influence. I embraced the list and I embraced service, and began to spend all of my free time at homeless shelters or cleaning up parks. Volunteering became a part of my identity. Making a difference was no longer a nebulous concept reserved for my girl scout troop; it was an idea and a mission that I could incorporate into my daily life and into my soul. My early volunteer work with the HandsOn Network helped me to develop the confidence I needed to start pursuing my own ideas while in college. As a Junior at UVA, I organized a bookdrive that collected several thousands textbooks to benefit a university in Afghanistan. The experience changed my life and I became even more determined to play a role in creating a better world. The success of the book drive also led to an unexpected job opportunity. Suddenly I found myself working as an investment banker at JPMorgan Chase. However, my heart belonged elsewhere. I lined my cubicle walls with photos of elephants and baboons and after 2.5 years I quit in order to volunteer abroad. As a Kiva Fellow, I volunteered for a year at microfinance institutions in Bosnia, Kenya and the Philippines. I am now back in New York, and am the Founder of a nonprofit called PandoProjects, which will launch this coming Saturday. Pando harnesses the creative potential of people in my generation, and encourages them to develop creative, local solutions to the problems in our communities. In our pilot, we are helping 16 amazing New Yorkers launch grassroots projects that tackle different issues in NY, from domestic violence to unemployment. The MacArthur Foundation has called us “the new face of activism” and we are on the brink of making an extraordinary social impact in the United States. I believe many people have brilliant ideas for tackling global challenges; they simply need basic tools and encouragement to make their ideas happen. My goal with Pando is to help thousands of Americans pursue their ideas and create the change they want to see within their own communities. If I had never volunteered with the HandsOn Network, my life would be dramatically different. I wouldn’t have started the book drive. I wouldn’t have been able to get a job at JPMorgan. I wouldn’t have had the crazy desire to volunteer in Africa. And I definitely wouldn’t have been motivated to start my own service-oriented nonprofit. The HandsOn Network does more than match people with volunteer opportunities; they inculcate the next generation of leaders with a sense of purpose, compassion, and responsibility to take care of our planet. To me service is not an afterthought; it is a way of life. And for that, I can thank the Points of Light Institute which brought us here today. As PandoProjects grows, I will continue to espouse the values of Points of Light. And maybe, just maybe, they will become a future partner, connecting me to their fantastic network of Americans looking to change the world. My favorite quote is from Margaret Meade. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. In fact, it is the only thing that ever has.” Points of Light, thank you for mobilizing the American people. And thank you for mobilizing me. I have never felt happier, more empowered, or more excited about life than at this moment, as I start Pando and share the values that Points of Light taught me. Thank you for this award, for your time, and for changing my life. Milena Arciszewski graduated from the University of Virginia in 2006, where she was an avid volunteer. She worked for several years as an investment banker at JPMorgan in NYC, before quitting to volunteer abroad as a Kiva Fellow. She spent one year serving at microfinance institutions in Bosnia, Kenya and the Philippines. She returned to the U.S. to start her own nonprofit, Pando Projects, which empowers Millennials to step up as leaders and develop creative, grassroots solutions to the problems in their communities.

Cassandra Lin

Rhode Island’s Cassandra Lin is the co-founder of Project TGIF (Turn Grease Into Fuel). Lin’s organization has turned 100 million gallons of cooking grease into 80 million gallons of biofuel. It also helped pass legislation in Rhode Island requiring restaurants to recycle their grease.

Megan Ganley

To promote healthy eating and self-esteem, Megan Ganley created two comic books geared towards elementary school childreen. The first outlined healthy eating habits and nutritional information. The second focused on teaching positive self-esteem and reinforcement.

Megan surveyed children who were exposed to her books and learned that 90 percent of children learned something new, proving this is an effective teaching method. Along with creating comic books, she donates her time to leading the local Easter egg hunt, cleaning up a nearby National park, tutoring school children and trying to make the world a better place for all children. This is what makes her a Daily Point of Light.

Michael Francis

Micheal Francis, Blackhawk Fornelli, Ed Summerfield, Nick and Lindsey Prewitt, Jason Martin, Jim and Rose Andrew, Tom Lester, Gwen Glatthorn, Virgina Jenks and Vickie Desourdy are all team members of the Greater Pamlico American Red Cross As volunteers, they provide immediate assitance, food, shelter, clothins, information and counseling to victims of natural disasters.

During Hurricane Irene, only 13 local individuals were on scene to provide assistance for three days before any out-of-town assistance was available. Thirteen people, many who were also experiencing hardships after the hurricane, cared for hundreds of people who had lost their homes and had nowhere to turn. More than 680 people were cared for with safe shelter, food, water, blankets, information and more.

These volunteers went above and beyond what is expected of the average Red Cross volunteers. The volunteers worked without complaining and worked for weeks afterwards providing clean-up kits and supplies. More than 25 percent were first-time volunteers and are still active today. Their devotion their community and neighbors is what makes them Daily Points of Light.

Nina Mahalingam

After the 2011 Japan earthquake, Nina Mahalingam remembered the old Japanese legend that anyone who folds a thousand paper cranes is granted a wish. She came up with the "Wish Upon a Crane" campaign so children can fold paper cranes for hope for their peers in Japan. Nina co-led campaigns in malls and also rallied youth worldwide (with help of family) using the Internet. Children from 12 countries responded by folding more than 9,000 cranes and raising $18,000 for this effort. These cranes are now part of a massive art sculpture unveiled in Japan's Sendai Train Station on Jan 12, 2012.

Volunteering is not new to Nina, she started when she was only 5-years-old. She helps Lil’ MDGs hold regular workshops where families with young children can make pottery and stuffed animals for underprivileged children worldwide. Nina also helps collect books for libraries in poor countries. Nina has helped to hold four "Time to Clay" workshops in the past two years and donated more than 400 pieces of pottery (approximate value $5,000) to Child Health Services nutrition program (serving low-income children).

Her service to others doesn’t end there, she has also helped make 303 (approximate value $6,000) stuffed animals for children orphaned by HIV/AIDS in Uganda. In the process of directly impacting the lives of more than 600 children positively, she inspired more than 300 little children to help her.

Despite her young age, she has already made significant service contributions in our community and this is what makes her a Daily Point of Light.

Graham and Kyle Ashby

In March 2009 Graham and Kyle Ashby had the unique opportunity to visit the southern Caribbean island of Carriacou, in the nation of Grenada. While there, they visited a local school and immediately noticed the lack of a library. The discovered the literacy rate on the island was extremely low, with most kids leaving school after the sixth grade minimally literate to illiterate.

They formed an instant connection with the students they met in Carriacou, and formed Friends Through Books (www.friendsthroughbooks.com) to supply the much needed books. They contacted friends, classmates and local schools to donate their used books. They have worked tirelessly for the past three years to raise money.

In addition to attending school and serving on several clubs, sports and activities outside of their advanced curriculum, they have been working to raise money through petsitting, babysitting, errand running and lawn care. As co-founders of Friends through Books, they have been solely responsible for raising more than $20,000, delivering more than 15,000 new and gently used books and school supplies, placing a new septic system in a local school and providing eye surgery for a young boy who was unable to read due to severely crossed eyes.

Their compassion for strangers half way around the world and devotion to service is what makes them Daily Points of Light.

Students for Seniors

The Elkhart Area Career Center's motto is, "Empowering Today's Students to Master their Tomorrows." The center believes giving back to the community is a key way to do this. In the past six months, they have packed boxes for Feed The Children, packaged small first aid kits for a free community Baby Bonanza and celebrated each Friday with "Casual for a Cause," pocket change donations for the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society in exchange for wearing jeans instead of a uniform. In addition, they’ve donated and helped distribute several care baskets to the Salvation Army and returned "Personal-Care Baskets" to the Salvation Army AND returned to help distribute them and "adopted" a local, for-profit long- term care facility to provide residents with compassion and caring.

In addition to supporting many local and national organizations, their primary focus has been the “Seniors for Students” activity. They worry too many seniors are forgotten in long-term care facilities and are missing companionship. Students spend time meeting with the residents and host small holiday gatherings for them in order to bring extra joy and raise their spirits.

Their devotion to their elders and community at large is what makes them Daily Points of Light.

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.