Jeremy Garriga
In 2011, Jeremy Garriga learned of a need for new, warm socks among the guests at New Jersey’s Hoboken Shelter where he volunteers. Through his work as a volunteer, Garriga saw firsthand that the shelter clients were lacking warm socks to brave the elements. As a result, he founded Soxcess, a sock drive initiative to provide as many needy people in the community with new socks.
For the past three holiday seasons, Garriga has collaborated with Jersey City and Hudson County, NJ to place collection bins in area libraries, municipal buildings, and hospitals. During the first two holiday seasons, more than 2,200 pairs of new socks were donated as well as many other winter accessories, in which four local shelters benefited from the collection.
Additionally, Garriga teamed up with two major retailers who provide donated goods. First, he engaged a Jersey City Target store that continues to provide the Hoboken shelter with volunteers armed with socks and basic needs for the guests. Each year, they also help prepare and serve over 100 meals to the shelter’s guests. Second, he worked with LUSH stores, an international retailer specializing in natural cosmetics, to secure donations of hand-made quality soaps to give out to those residing at the shelter.
This year, DOSomething.org, a national not-for-profit that helps young people change the world, awarded Garriga a seed grant to help him fund the sock drive initiative and continue to help provide socks and winter accessories for needy people in Hudson County.
Growing up, Garriga was raised serving others. His first exposure was as a small child. He worked alongside his family at United Way, Making Strides for Breast Cancer, and Relay for Life service events.
Now a high-school senior, Garriga feels he has a moral obligation to help the less fortunate although he has modest means. His mission is to advocate for the homeless in every way possible.
Full Circle Campus Food Pantry
The Volunteer Action Center at the University of Arkansas established the Full Circle Campus Food Pantry in February 2011. The pantry is a student-run emergency food assistance program that distributes food and personal products to all members of the University of Arkansas community.
Each week, student volunteers take food requests, fill bags, and serve more than 200 students, staff and their families. In addition, student volunteers fundraise, take donations and meet with funders on an ongoing basis. This year alone, they have received more than $50,000 and more than 37,000 pounds of food for the pantry.
Herbert Raasch
Herbert Raasch, a nursing major at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, has a passion for helping people. This year, he challenged his peers to donate money for the Campus-Wide Hunger Task Force Food Drive coordinated by the school’s Center for Community-Based Learning, Leadership, and Research. He matched the money his peers raised and purchased a collection bin worth of food.
Raasch is a consistent volunteer at his school and continues to provide insight to not only his peers on campus, but also to those that live in the community.
Jessica Collins
Meet Jessica Collins, today’s Daily Point of Light Award winner. Read her story and nominate someone you know as a Daily Point of Light.
Jessica Collins was blindsided by “The Blind Side,” the movie based on the life of Michael Oher, who rose from poverty to become a successful NFL player. Ten years old when she saw the 2009 film, she only expected to be entertained.
But a scene in the film moved her toward something greater. Oher’s character, upon being given a bed in his teens, says he never had one before. Back at home, Jessica asked her parents if there were really children in the U.S. who didn’t have beds. When she learned it was true, she asked if she could donate a bed to a family as a Christmas project.
With that simple act – and with the help of Jessica’s mother and grandmother – Jessica was on her way to creating A Place to Sleep, an organization that has provided beds to more than 320 children in need in Shelby County, Ky., where Jessica lives.
“Usually at Christmas, instead of exchanging gifts, we would purchase items from the Salvation Army Angel Tree,” says Jessica’ mother, Maree Collins, referring to a Salvation Army program that matches donors with children whose families are unable to buy holiday gifts. “After that movie, Jessica asked if we could give a child a bed instead. I called the outreach coordinator at Jessica’s school and asked if there was a need. She said that, yes, there were kids from the school sleeping on floors, and suggested a family with two children to us. We went out and bought bunk beds for them. They were so excited. They were jumping up and down on them.”
Word of the gift spread quickly. Soon Maree was getting phone calls, some from people in the area who needed beds for their own kids, and some from people who wanted to donate beds.
“I thought we’d just be doing it once,” says Jessica, now 14. “But people began calling us and e-mailing my grandmother.”
“We’ve never had to advertise,” says Maree. “Very soon after Jessica started A Place to Sleep, word had reached the schools and churches, and then the media. And we’ve always had a waiting list for beds.”
Jessica has been featured twice on the local television news. One station gave her a $500 community service award, which Jessica gave to her own organization; $500 is exactly what it costs A Place to Sleep to purchase a set of bunks with all the bedding, thanks to a partnership the group has formed with a locally owned store, Tracy’s Home Furnishings, which provides the beds and bedding at cost.
“All of the beds we have given to children were either donated directly to us or purchased with funds raised in the community,” says Maree.
After four years of operation, A Place to Sleep holds a prominent place in the community. Jessica works with service coordinators at every school in Shelby County to determine the need for beds. The group has been assisted by almost 100 volunteers. Jessica’s church, First Presbyterian Church of Shelbyville, has declared A Place to Sleep an official ministry. Jessica speaks regularly to churches and community organizations to raise awareness of the need for beds among low-income households. She has received several awards for her service, including being named a “Kentucky Ambassador” last year by a former state governor.
“I’m very proud of her,” says Maree. “She has a kind heart and she works hard. She really sees the difference when a child has a bed. She sees the joy it brings to their hearts. It’s exciting to be part of it.”
Johannah Rice
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Milwaukee is the largest Wisconsin affiliate of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, the national leader in youth mentoring. In our School-based Mentoring Program, a Big Brother/Big Sister volunteer shares one-on-one activities with a child and provides support, guidance and, most important, friendship. Our volunteers are asked to commit to seeing their “Little” each week during the academic school year least two years.
Volunteers like Johannah Rice, junior at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, make a difference in our community by helping a child in need reach their full potential. Rice began her relationship with her Little Sister, Zariea in November 2012 at Keefe Avenue School. Zariea is a sixth grader who loves art, playing board games and cheerleading. Rice is committed to maintaining her relationship with Zariea, and to celebrate their one-year anniversary together, she made a poster with positive messages on how they will have great times together in the future and how she wants to stay in her life.
Rice has been a great asset to the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Milwaukee. She has created positive opportunities for her Little Sister by spending time with her on a weekly basis; helping learn and experience new things and opening her world to new possibilities. Rice and Zariea also share a common love of the arts and after they complete Zariea’s homework, they spend a lot of their time creating pictures and jewelry. No matter the activity, these two will always be caught chatting and laughing. Rice has done a great job relating to her Little Sister and now they are great friends.
James Harper
In O'Fallon, Illinois, James Harper addresses life skills with special needs students that are a part of the O'Fallon Township High School’s (OTHS) Transition House program through gardening and growing vegetables. A retired military service member, Harper acts as the O'Fallon Garden Club’s liaison with the OTHS Transition House.
A year ago, Harper noticed that the students could benefit from this experience and thus engaged with members of the O’Fallon Garden Club to start the project. He regularly attends the plots with the students at the O’Fallon community garden guiding, teaching, and supporting the students as they learn to care for vegetables. Throughout the year, he has engaged 12 special-needs youth and two adult teachers from the Transition House to plant various vegetables like tomatoes, cucumbers, herbs, and onions. In turn, students use the vegetables as their main ingredients in cooking meals at the Transition House.
Josephine Yalovitser
Josephine Yalovitser of Rye Brook, New York has volunteered at the King Street Nursing and Rehabilitation Center for seven years. She started at the age of nine and has since brought her talent and love of music to King Street.
For King Street residents, Yalovitser plays the piano, guitar, and engages seniors in sing-along activities. Through the years, she has developed a strong bond with the residents. They love to hear all types of music, especially that of their era, which Yalovitser has learned to play for them.
During her time at the nursing facility, Yalovitser began to notice how music could make the residents wake up, both literally and figuratively. They would start nodding their heads and tapping their feet to the beat.
After a while, she began thinking of ways to help improve the resident’s memory, and started researching the causes of memory loss, and ways on preventing such loss. When Yalovitser learned that autobiographical music can improve memory, she became inspired to start her own music therapy program, which she called “Music x Memory=Miracle.”
Yalovitser compiled a list of several hundred songs from the 1920s to the 1990s, highlighting the main hits from each decade. Then, she started one-on-one sessions with seniors. Analyzing and noting which songs specifically affected which resident, Josephine came up with selections of autobiographical music for each senior.
Yalovitser’s music therapy program “Music x Memory= Miracle” is aimed to reawaken memories in patients with Alzheimer’s, Dementia, or trauma-related memory deficiencies. Memory is an essential part of person’s identity and happiness. Returning memory back is congruent to returning a person’s life back. It proved to be a success at King Street Nursing Home, and it raised interest from nursing facilities in Westchester area.
Yalovitser, a high school senior, is a passionate activist at her school, and dedicates a lot of her time to her community. She has won many musical awards, highlighted by appearances at Carnegie Hall, Steinway Hall and Lincoln Center. She is modest in acknowledging her talents. Many of the residents call her a “modern day Mozart.”
Chantelle Limon
Chantelle Limon of Camarillo, California is dedicated to serving a wide variety of organizations including the Chamber of Commerce Camarillo, the Los Angeles Children's Hospital Miracle Network, and the Optimist Club, which empowers young people.
Limon 's dedicated time spent volunteering addresses several needs. As far as the Chamber of Commerce Camarillo, she helps to host networking mixers for businesswomen. Additionally, she assists in holding classes and lectures that educate and inform on issues that arise for women in the corporate world. Fundraising as well, is essential for all of the organizations where she volunteers. She has spent countless hours coordinating fundraisers, including participating in even the most nominal tasks to ensure any event is executed perfectly.
Limon continues to ensure sustainability by constantly dedicating her time, and organizing. She gives financially what she can, but feels that her time is the best asset. She spends hours persistently planning, organizing, and following up on events. She explains to everyone within every organization she volunteers for why their work is so important, and reminds them that their services are crucial to their community.
As a volunteer, Limon is dedicated, and loyal, and this fosters inspiration within the people, and organizations she works with.
Gwen Schatz
Volunteer, Gwen Schatz, effectively addresses aging needs in her community through the Mid-Columbia Council of Governments Area Agency on Aging of The Dalles, Oregon. Currently, Schatz volunteers with the agency’s Friendly Visitor and Statewide Health Insurance Benefits Advisors programs. She provides nurturing contact to older adults in her community thereby helping them stay in their own homes. Additionally, she provides health insurance assistance to older adults when they become eligible for Medicare. She continues to be a consistent presence, which helps the agency’s programs to continue to help older adults.
United Christian Ministries of Abbeville County
United Christian Ministries of Abbeville County (UCMAC) in South Carolina is a group of volunteers extending the work of local churches in Abbeville County. UCMAC provides financial emergency assistance, non-perishable food via two food pantries, and free healthcare to Abbeville County citizens.
With a lot of hard work from many, UCMAC opened its doors on January 29, 2008. Assistance with utility bills, rent, and food are some of the greatest needs the organization found that community members needed. In August 2011, UCMAC added the Free Medical Clinic after the efforts of many people who expressed concern about the health care of those in Abbeville County who are uninsured under the existing health care system. Currently, the clinic provides services to adults who have no insurance.
