Third Generation Police Officer Dedicates Over 40 Years to Service

Meet Daily Point of Light Award nominee Steven Labov. Read his story and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.

Steven Labov has dedicated the past 43 years of his life to his community through service, and he hopes to make it 50. With no signs of stopping in his many volunteer roles, it looks pretty likely that he will reach that goal.

The Elkins Park, PA resident has always had a passion for public service, following in his father and grandfather’s footsteps to enter a career in law enforcement. He retired last year as sworn Director/Commanding Officer of the Cheltenham Township Police Department’s Auxiliary Police Unit, which he began volunteering for when he was 18. Steven remains dedicated to serving his community through his several other volunteer roles. He is the Chief of Department for the U.S. Search and Rescue Task Force; serves as a volunteer notary, including through the Wills for Heroes Program; is the National Vice President and National Advisory Board Member of National Association of Chiefs of Police; and is a volunteer member in the Emergency Services Section of InfraGard, a partnership program between the FBI and private sector.

Steven also voluntarily serves on several National Boards related to law enforcement, including The Chapel of Four Chaplains; co-authored 15 books and served as a senior consulting editor on a rescue and prevention series, the profits of which he donated to non-profit organizations; and has received several awards and citations for his work, including three life-saving awards related to his work with the Search and Rescue Task Force.

DESCRIBE YOUR VOLUNTEER ROLE WITH THE U.S. SEARCH AND RESCUE TASK FORCE.

I started approximately 30 years ago. It was an interest that I had even though I originally started in law enforcement. It was just something different, but it piqued my interest in order to help serve others. It’s a totally different type of work and it’s sort of a science, similar to the science of firefighting. People think in Search and Rescue, they’re just looking for people, but there’s an actual science to it and there’s a lot of training that a specialist must obtain. I’ve done a lot of searches, for example, for individuals with dementia and there’s a science just for individuals like that so when you go on a mission, you’ll know exactly what to look for based on the individual that has that type of problem. It’s really been a passion, along with law enforcement. Of course, that brought me to New York City during the incident at 9/11. It was a three-and-a-half-month ordeal. It’s not something that one would expect would ever happen in their lifetime. You have to be able to handle these things because it’s constant day after day dealing with death and destruction.
It’s not just missions, which can be few and far between, but it’s also education. We found out if we can educate individuals, and in particular children, on what to do if they do get lost, it makes the rescue of the individual or the search mission much less time consuming and by that, we need a lot less in the way of resources. The longer the search mission take, the larger the search area will grow exponentially, so education is extremely important.

CAN YOU DESCRIBE WHAT YOU DO AS A VOLUNTEER NOTARY?

There are a few things I do. One would be to swear in any of the volunteer or reserve officers. Others would be situations such as the Wills for Heroes Program, which provides a free service to draft wills for military personnel, law enforcement, fire and rescue. They need attorneys to volunteer and they also need notaries to volunteer, so I volunteer as a notary in order to serve that purpose. Also, occasionally I get calls for individuals who might require notaries who can’t get out of their house, and I’ll go over and take care of that. I must have been a notary now for approximately 15 years, and in all that time, I haven’t charged for any notarizations yet. So, it’s pretty much pro bono even though it gets tougher and tougher to remain a notary because now they’ve changed the laws in Pennsylvania and aside from approximately $500 every four years, you have to now take training each of the four years, but I do it as a public service.

The notary I actually started because I was able to swear in the officers, especially in the unit I commanded. So subsequent to that, I found out about the Wills for Heroes Program, and I was interested in the fact that they also served military and law enforcement and public safety. They always are in dire need of notaries, so I figured I would do the best I can to make the events that they sponsor and assist them in that way.

CAN YOU DESCRIBE WHAT YOU DO WITH THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CHIEFS OF POLICE?

Currently I serve as National Vice President and Advisory Board Member of National Association of Chiefs of Police. In that capacity, one of the functions that I follow through with is presenting the Medals of Honor to law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. When I say present to the officers killed in the line of duty, the award is presented to the spouse and in the case where there is a son(s), the Medal of Honor goes to the eldest son. These are very emotional events. They could be attended by hundreds of individuals. I’ve had one police chief who wanted to do the presentation in front of a new police academy and have these individuals at the academy actually see what can potentially happen when you go into the law enforcement field. It’s very gratifying to be able to help the widow or widower, as well as the family, not just with presenting the Medal, but also with assistance for summer camp, we send gifts on the children’s birthdays up to the age of 18. It’s a very worthwhile cause.

I serve on different committees over the years. I served on the U.S. Counter Terrorism Committee, I served on the Awards Committee, but currently right now I’m working with training as well as handling awards as they come into this tristate area.
I’ve been on the board for the National Association of Chiefs of Police probably in excess of 20 years now and I firmly believe in support of law enforcement and especially these individuals who will give their life for the life of another. There’s nothing more you can ask for then somebody who is willing to give their life to save someone else so if they can do that, I certainly can do what I can do to help them.

CAN YOU DESCRIBE WHAT YOU DO WITH THE INFRAGARD?

InfraGard is a partnership between the FBI and members of the private sector. The InfraGard program provides seamless public private collaboration with government and expedites a timely exchange of information and its relative to the protection of critical infrastructures. I’ve been a member of InfraGard for approximately 10 years. It’s interesting work too. All the affiliates are vetted by the FBI. Members come from different backgrounds — military, government officials, law enforcement, emergency services, community professionals — but each is dedicated to contributing specific insight to advancing national security.

It sort of everything meshing together, and when you serve, say in Search and Rescue, it’s almost like in order to be able to serve the public and other agencies better, you have to do more and be part of other organizations just to be able to have yourself trained to a higher level. That’s part of the reason why all of these organizations come into play, and with InfraGard and with Pennsylvania VOAD, they all work together.

WHAT INSPIRES YOU TO BE INVOLVED IN SO MANY DIFFERENT AREAS?

I think serving others is really important. If people have the time and want to do something rewarding and helpful for the community, I would tell them to volunteer because through this type of service, they can learn to respect others and find their life more valuable. I have 43 years of service and I would love to make it to 50 years in volunteering. You can’t always help everyone, but you can always help someone. You can make a difference, even to one person.

WHAT’S BEEN THE MOST REWARDING PART OF YOUR WORK?

I would say in general, the sense of service. Little did I know, when I first started as a sworn officer in volunteer status, they called them auxiliary/reserve officers, that I would go up through the ranks to become director/commanding officer. Little did I know, that the teams that I worked with and I would be bestowed lifesaving awards for serving in New York City during 9/11. And there’s nothing greater than to be able to give another person a second chance at a life and to give that person back to their family and to see the look on their family’s face when you do recover that person. I believe I was meant to help others, which is why I went into law enforcement and the public safety field. I feel rewarded when interacting with other people. Part of the job in public safety is to make people feel comfortable even when they’re at their lowest point, so comforting people and giving them strength is really rewarding to me.

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED THROUGH YOUR EXPERIENCES AS A VOLUNTEER?

Probably how much I care for others. I want everyone basically to be the best person they can and I want to help support them. Volunteering is free, it just takes time. I put in a lot of time, but even a few hours a month that someone else can put in can make a difference. There’s a quote I use, ‘what I have done for myself alone dies with me and what I’ve done for others in the world remains immortal.’ Sometimes people have to remember that.

WHAT DO YOU WANT PEOPLE TO LEARN FROM YOUR STORY?

I’ll go to another quote, and this is a really simple quote that will make you think; ‘I make a living by what I get, but I make a life by what I give.’ I’ve learned it’s a privilege to volunteer and it’s a gift that I cherish. I’ve learned that everyone can make a difference. If you have an interest in public safety or the community, there’s a volunteer position for you somewhere that you’ll enjoy and you’ll get involved to be able to help others. When I specifically mention public safety or first responders, people don’t usually think of a volunteer position, but it’s a critical role that those in the community can assist with. We’ve had individuals from varied backgrounds, not just in Search and Rescue but as sworn reserve officers. When I say varied backgrounds, we’ve had physicians, attorneys, electricians, individuals in sales, we even had a chef and many others, serving in critical positions that help the community in different ways. So, while the backgrounds can be varied, specific training is provided for whatever they do. There’s a volunteer opportunity pretty much for anyone. As I said, little did I know when I first started to volunteer that I would be going to New York City during 9/11. Some people can’t imagine what I do, and my response to them is I can’t imagine not doing it.

IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WOULD LIKE PEOPLE TO KNOW?

All of the organizations and all of the people you work with, you sort of become a family. In the police department, one of the officers in my unit started at the academy when she was 19 years old. And I guess it was a few weeks after she started, she didn’t show up to training. When we finally tracked her down and we spoke to her parents, we found out she unfortunately was diagnosed with bone cancer. Three days after her 21st birthday, she passed away. But during that year that she was ill, for some odd reason she had a connection and she only wanted to see one of her close girlfriends and me. I would go over about every weekend or every other weekend. I would sit and talk to her and her parents and her brother. Then when she passed, the parents and I became very friendly because we consider the people we work with like a family. Both of her parents were physicians and it was extremely difficult on them because they were trying all over the world to do whatever they could do to save their daughter, and they couldn’t. It was very meaningful to me, to this day, that we are still very good friends. We see each other often and their son also went on to be a physician. Basically, we’re dealing with a huge family and to me, that means a lot. We know we can count on each other. We’ve had some people say ‘I have to go in for a surgery, would you be able to give me a ride,’ or ‘I need help with this,’ and somebody is always there to help. It’s — I was going to say a secondary family, but really, to some people it’s their only family.

Do you want to make a difference in your community like Steven? Find local volunteer opportunities.

Volunteer Empowers Sexual Trauma Victims and Fights for Healing for Survivors

Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Lavinia Masters. Read her story and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.

At the tender age of 13, Lavinia Masters was raped by a stranger at knifepoint in her bedroom. It was only after her case was reopened by Dallas Cold Case police detectives that critical evidence from her rape kit was reviewed. Like thousands of other victims in Texas, Lavinia’s rape kit had sat untested for years due to a backlog, as the serial rapist who had attacked her continued to attack other unsuspecting victims. By the time Lavinia’s case was resolved, she says the statute of limitations had expired, and the suspect didn’t face prosecution.

Empowered by her own personal experience, Lavinia decided to offer hope to other victims so that they too could be empowered to heal. Launching HOPE S.A.V.E.S. Ministry in 2004, Lavinia’s mission is to offer hope to the hopeless after being victimized by sexual trauma, raise awareness about sexual assault and fight to eliminate the national backlog of rape kits.

“When I realized that this was a national issue, and that my rape kit was one of thousands in my state that had gone untested,” Lavinia says, “I decided I’d start fighting and speaking up, and being a voice for other survivors.”

What inspires you to volunteer?

When I came through my healing process, I knew I had to do something. I had lived in such a dark place for so long, I knew I had to be a voice for victims to empower them.

Explain what ‘HOPE S.A.V.E.S.’ stands for.

S.A.V.E.S. is an acronym that stands for “Sexual Assault Victims Empowered to Speak”. When my case was resolved, I realized my rape kit was one of thousands – 19,000 pieces of peoples lives – that was just sitting on the shelf in the state, and there was absolutely nothing we could do about it. We’d suffered for all of these years, and for what? Where was the justice? I advocate and work to empower victims who have gone through pain just like me.

Describe your role with HOPE S.A.V.E.S. Ministry.

As founder and director of HOPE S.A.V.E.S. Ministry, I empower victims and raise awareness about sexual assault and the national rape kits backlog. We also raise money to fund decreasing the rape kit backlog in the state of Texas. We work with Denton County Friends of the Family and other area crisis centers and have connected with thousands of survivors in Texas and beyond.

You recently had a law named after you. Explain.

The Lavinia Masters Act was passed this summer to make sure rape kits are processed in a timely fashion across Texas, and give prosecutors more time to file charges if they’re not. The new law also creates a system to notify rape survivors of the process. The passing of this law was rewarding because it means I’m making a difference and people are being healed.

Share one personal story with me from your volunteerism.

I met a woman about 10 years ago, she is now a volunteer with HOPE S.A.V.E.S. She had been through such a traumatic experience: childhood rape, abortion, trauma, trauma, trauma. I connected with her. She always told me that she saw the fight in me, and that I was not willing to give up. She said I impacted her life and made her want to get up and fight every day.

What’s one way you hope to inspire others in your service?

I hope people can realize that they are the change. Whatever has happened to you, embrace it and see what change you can make with it. I finally embraced my pain and realized what I had to do to make a change not only in my life, but in others as well.

What’s a saying you live your life by?

I feel like a chihuahua in a big world, but I stand tall like a rottweiler for all survivors out there. My little voice is making a big sound in this world. No matter how small you think your fight is, if it’s making a difference or making or an impact in someone’s life, it’s huge.

What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer?

Sometimes pain can be blind. You can be so overconsumed by pain that you don’t even realize how toxic it’s become to you. Service has changed me a lot personally because it has taught me so much more compassion. People act out because of past pain and trauma, and service has taught me how to better understand people.

How can readers help?

Do you want to make a difference in your community like Lavinia Masters? Find local volunteer opportunities.

For Over a Decade, Volunteer Uses Soccer to Help Empower Kids with America SCORES LA

Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Aaron Kaufman. Read his story and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.

Aaron Kaufman said when he first heard about the nonprofit America SCORES LA back in 2005, he would have never imagined how involved he would be in the organization over a decade later. Aaron was invited to volunteer for the after-school program, which utilizes poetry and soccer to empower kids in low income and urban areas of Los Angeles, after meeting the organization’s then-Board President while networking through his corporate soccer league. Passionate about both soccer and how the organization helped youth in the community, Aaron invited them to spend the day at the offices of his former employer, video game company Electronic Arts. The kids spent the day learning about how to make video games, playing soccer on the company’s field, and picking out a gift from the EA store just in time for the holiday season. The day led to both an annual event with EA as well as Aaron’s continued hard work with the organization.

Fourteen years later, Aaron is known to multiple America SCORES LA alumni as ‘the EA guy’ due to how many kids were impacted by the event he organized. While he no longer works for EA, he has swapped out organizing EA Day with the annual America SCORES LA Cup, the nonprofit’s biggest fundraising event of the year. In the seven years Aaron has run it, he has grown the annual tournament from about 10 to 12 sponsors to 36, and has helped the event to raise almost one million dollars since he first took over organizing it. As a member of the Board of Directors, Aaron also helps oversee marketing for LA SCORES, which impacts anywhere from 300 to 400 kids in its programs each year.

Describe your volunteer role with America SCORES LA.

I am on the Board of Directors for America SCORES LA and as part of my role, I help oversee the marketing of the organization and I also run our annual LA SCORES Cup, which is our biggest fundraising event of the year.
We’re a nonprofit 501(c)(3) and we are based in the Culver and Palms district of Los Angeles, CA. We are an after-school program for kids in low income and urban areas of Los Angeles. We provide a safe environment, an incredible place for kids to nurture and grow and be empowered as leaders of tomorrow. The pillars that we really instill in our kids are poetry to understand reading and writing, and teamwork through playing soccer. Our after-school program accommodates kids all the way as young as kindergarten up through high school.

How did you get involved?

I first got involved in America SCORES LA way back in 2005. I was working at a company called Electronic Arts [EA], a video game company, and at the time I was running a Corporate Soccer League. I ended up networking with a good friend of mine today, Jason Greene. He was working at AEG and also held the position as Board President for America SCORES LA. He said to me, hey, we’re really looking for people from corporations around southern California to help get involved, certainly people who have a passion for soccer and wanting to help grow kids into leaders, and we think that you might want to consider volunteering. Jason introduced me to now-former Executive Directors of LA SCORES, Alex Soschin and David Joseph. I said to them, I’m really inspired by what you guys are doing, I think one thing we could explore is having the kids come here to EA, for what we ended up calling ‘EA Day’ during the holidays. What we would do then in the month of December, I would host the kids of LA SCORES at EA, teach them how we make games, give them cookies and milk, they got to play organized soccer on our soccer field. Then one of the coolest things they got to do is we had a store on the campus and we would basically let them go in there and pick out whatever they wanted as a holiday gift from us. That became an annual event that I ran at EA for a number of years, and really through that event is what got me a lot more connected to the organization and then I started to get much more involved.

Why did this organization resonate with you when you first learned about it?

I think what really inspired me is the way the program takes kids in and inspires them and can empower them as leaders. I really, really loved the connection to soccer they were using as a bond. No matter who you are, size, shape, sex, race — when you’re on the soccer field, it’s an even playing field in showing how everybody can bond together, [which was] was really, really cool to me. I at a younger age had been involved with the Boys and Girls Club, and I think LA SCORES has similar fundamentals as an after-school program, and I know what programs like this can do to change and empower kids to be incredible individuals when they grow up. I really, really appreciated that they were targeting all the way down to elementary school to help uplift and inspire these kids to be incredible leaders and go on to major colleges and universities in their future. LA SCORES has an alumni program and we have many, many kids from the program who come back, who have gone on to incredible universities whether it’s [University of California] Berkeley or Princeton, who have gone on to become lawyers and seasoned professionals, and then they come back to the program to help out and grow kids who they once were. It’s this really amazing full circle of watching the program help nurture and grow the kids from a young age to young, successful adults. I like that we have a program in LA that offers that kind of opportunity, especially with the connection to soccer which is something that I’m personally very passionate about.

What kind of feedback have you heard from the kids involved in the program?

I think one of the cool stories is there is a guy named Nahoul Gonzalez and today he actually does work for the program and he’s one of our alumni. I watched Nahoul when he was a young kid in elementary school when I was at EA. He was someone I met early on in the program and he was always one of these star soccer players. The guy has played semi-professional, he’s an incredible talent and he’s really an incredible human being. He’s someone I have stayed friends with through the program over the years and when he would see me, he would call me ‘the EA guy.’ He would always reference back to the times we would play soccer at EA when I would bring the kids of LA SCORES over and he was part of that. He was in elementary school and he would say to me that creating that day for us and the connections that you made really inspired me and helped me. I’ve gotten to watch him grow into an incredible leader and adult in and outside of LA SCORES. That story is a great anecdote for what LA SCORES has meant to me and the impact that I know it’s having on the hundreds of kids that we’ve touched over the years.

Are there any future partnerships, programs, or events that you are excited about?

I think the thing I’m always excited about the most is our annual LA SCORES Cup. This is an event that I direct. I’ve been doing it for seven years now and I think we’re not far off from having raised one million dollars since the time I took it over. It’s our biggest fundraising event of the year. It is one of the largest corporate soccer tournaments in southern California and it’s actually an annual event that all America SCORES organizations run. We have chapters throughout the nation and everyone runs their own Cup, generally in the spring and the summer. The goal of the Cup is to raise funds for our local LA SCORES. We go out there and target small businesses, large businesses, corporations of all kinds, from law firms like McDermott Will & Emery to JP Morgan, to Enterprise, to HBO, Apple, Starbucks. We have incredible partners who participate in this annually. When I took it over, we were getting about 10 to 12 companies in this a year, and since then we’ve grown to 36 companies participating. That number has fluctuated but the tournament has grown significantly. We’re trying to continue growing it and continue helping southern California corporations understand that playing in the LA SCORES Cup, every cent that you donate, every dollar goes directly back to the program. We get a lot of donations and corporate sponsorships that help us put the tournament on and we really believe it’s one of the best soccer tournaments that any company can participate in. That event is probably our premiere event of the year that we’re always really trying to advocate and drive to.
We haven’t set the date yet for 2020 but we generally are targeting end of June or early July. We are running it at the Dignity Health Sports Park where the LA Galaxy play. It’s really an incredible day and I think this year is going to be our biggest one ever.

What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?

It’s twofold. One, it’s seeing these kids grow. There are kids to this day who will come up to me who are young adults now and call me ‘the EA guy.’ They remember when they were young, coming to EA and having this incredible day. Now they see me every year directing our LA SCORES Cup, collaborating on the marketing of the organization with our Board, and truly incredible individuals, Executive Director Geoff Wilson and Program Director Amy O’Dowd. I think just watching how they empower and grow these kids of LA SCORES into successful adults, and knowing that the dollars and the efforts that I’m helping to bring to the organization are making a real impact — it’s really something that is extremely meaningful to me.

The other thing is with the LA SCORES Cup, time and time again when companies come out and have an amazing time on the field, they know exactly what they’re playing for. They hear the stories from us, they see all the connections. I think continuing to grow that Cup into an even larger event, I hope one day we can raise half a million or one million dollars plus on a single event. That would enable us to do so many things with LA SCORES, such as spreading the organization to different schools in different cities, building sport turf soccer fields on concrete floors at schools to create safe places to play soccer. There’s so many things we can do to continue to grow the Cup and other events to raise funds, and I love being at the forefront of this with everybody who’s contributing to the organization and knowing that the dollars I’m bringing in and helping to raise are making an incredible impact. I think those are the two things that mean the most to me.

What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer?

I think especially in running the Cup and being on the Board, I’ve really, really learned the power of collaboration and teamwork. When I talk about running the LA SCORES Cup, there’s no way in hell that event gets off the ground without the recruiting contribution of our Board, the grassroots efforts of our Development Board, running the tournament with Geoff and Amy, and countless others who have helped contribute over the years. This is just one example of being in a position where you have to pull collaboration from a lot of people and I think anybody who gets involved with volunteering, that’s what we’re out to do. Volunteering is not an individual effort, it’s a team effort. You might be putting in your individual time, but you’re contributing to a team and I think that’s the part of volunteering that everybody needs to remind themselves of. You’re not just putting yourself out there for your own individual gain, you’re putting yourself out there to benefit the organization, to benefit the other people who are volunteering their time, and all coming together and taking that kind of skill and that kind of knowledge back to your everyday life. When you’re a parent, I’m a dad raising my son, and I partner everyday with my wife to grow and nurture him and so that kind of skill helps me there. At my job, I’m in social media and marketing for a video game company and I’m partnering everyday with tons of different people inside and outside our organization. Everything I’m learning in LA SCORES about collaboration and teamwork is having an incredible benefit in many other areas of my life.

What do you want people to learn from your story?

I think what I would want people to take away is you know, when we look at what we as individuals can do to change the world, I think sometimes we think that even just the littlest action we do may not have the greatest impact. Then sometimes we take for granted that everybody else is doing it, so what is my small step in helping LA SCORES, for example, going to do to impact the greater good? I never imagined back in 2005 that playing soccer with kids on a field would turn into the EA Day, would turn into someone like Nahoul Gonzalez coming back to me over a decade later calling me ‘the EA guy’ and saying how much our friendship inspired him and helped him grow up into the young successful adult he is today. I never imagined that the efforts I put forth with the team to grow the Cup from 12 companies to 36 would get us to where we are today. All of those things were all little individual steps that I took, contributing my time and effort into LA SCORES, which in the grand scheme of things, is an incredibly small nonprofit compared to many larger ones out there. But impacting kids, especially impacting humans at a level that is much more local and personable to where you are, I think is an incredible impact. If we all do that, then eventually we’re all going to have that chain effect that’s going to add to the greater good. I think the main takeaway is simply go get involved, make a difference. Even just the smallest step, the smallest contribution to a nonprofit that inspires you, can make a tremendous impact. You never know where it will lead to, but I can promise you it will lead to something that eventually winds its way back to you, that you’ll reflect back on and be like, man, I’m glad I impacted that person.

Do you want to make a difference in your community like Aaron? Find local volunteer opportunities.