Sanika Datar’s passion for volunteering began when she entered middle school at Environmental and Adventure School in her hometown of Kirkland, Wash. There, she participated in her school’s community stewardship projects, which aimed to bolster her local area through giving back.
“That really started helping me think about how much volunteering really effects other people and how much I really love to do it,” she said.
That spark for service led Sanika, who is now 13 and entering high school this fall, to start her own nonprofit in order to translate topics she’s passionate about into initiatives to help local youth.
This April, she founded Space for Youth, a nonprofit that aims to explore, empower and educate children in four different areas — the environment, entrepreneurship, empathy and equity. For each of these verticals, Sanika designs and implements various projects to benefit youth in some way.
For the environment, Sanika started a Vitalize Earth Day Initiative in 2019. As part of the initiative, she invited her then-pre-school aged younger sister and her sister’s friends to her backyard to partake in creative activities — including crafts, a scavenger hunt and story time — that stressed the importance of environmental preservation. While the pandemic prevented Vitalize Earth Day from happening since, Sanika plans on making this an annual event.
“I think it’s really important for kids to learn about how important it is to treat the environment well, since really what they do effects their future and their children,” she said.
Sanika Datar is the founder of Space for Youth, a nonprofit that encourages environmental conservation, entrepreneurship, empathy and equity among young people./Courtesy Sanika Datar
As for the entrepreneurship aspect of Space for Youth, Sanika hosted a Kirkland Children’s Fair in June to educate kids on business and encourage them to market their own products. Over 100 kids attended the event and ran a marketplace consisting of 60 different booths, selling items ranging from baked goods to homemade jewelry. Sanika also hopes to make this an annual event, and has partnered with her town’s annual festival, Kirkland Uncorked, to host some booths there as well.
Because Sanika believes empathy and kindness are core universal values that aren’t emphasized enough in the mainstream educational system, she added an empathy vertical to stress its importance to kids. For this, she runs an annual Kind World Explorers Club, as part of Camp Kindness Counts. This year, she conducted hands-on guided activities to emphasize social and emotional learning, and the year prior, she led kids in making a “Kindness rocks” necklace “to demonstrate how people from different cultures and languages can unite toward a common goal by being kind and work toward saving the planet.” She also hosted and performed a piano recital, called Healing Through Music, which raised over $500 for Seattle Children’s Hospital.
And finally, for equity, Sanika drafted a bill to Kirkland City Council that would enact a minimum width for bike lanes in order to make her neighborhood safer. She is currently working with the city’s transportation planner on adding this to the city’s upcoming Active Transportation Plan.
Sanika chose those four verticals because she felt the topics of entrepreneurship, empathy and equity weren’t taught enough in school despite their importance. She added the environment, on the other hand, because of the importance her middle school placed on taking care of the earth.
“I listen to myself and hear what my passions are,” she said of what drives her involvement in so many different areas.
Sanika’s mother, Seema Datar, said her daughter has shown she will do whatever it takes to enact change, whether that means taking on leadership, like she did with Kirkwood Children’s Fair, or work as a team member alongside others.
“I think we’re doing our little part,” she said of Space for Youth. “I feel great about it, and I encourage her to share this joy and try to be a role model for the youth around here.”
Sanika Datar presents at the Kirkland Children’s Fair, a youth-based marketplace event she organized to promote entrepreneurship in young people./Courtesy Sanika Datar
And not content with just the nonprofit she founded and the myriad of projects she works on herself, Sanika also joined the Water1st Youth Board last year. The organization helps promote access to safe water around the world. As a member of the youth board, Sanika will help raise money and plan activities and trips for those in her area.
Looking to the future, Sanika hopes to expand Space for Youth even further, with more youth participants and new projects. She specifically wants to start a ‘green team’ in her high school in order to implement environmental projects and make her new school more eco-friendly.
“I think it’s important for everyone to know that even if you didn’t change the entire world, if you changed a single person, then it’s really all worth it,” she said.
Volunteer Dedicates Retirement to Feeding New York State Community
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Theresa O’Brien. Read her story and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Point of Light.
Theresa O’Brien and her husband have long been financial supporters of Dutchess Outreach, a community nonprofit that helps fight food insecurity in the Poughkeepsie, N.Y. area. When Theresa retired two years ago, she knew she wanted to become involved in a more hands-on capacity. Since then, she has served as a committed volunteer each week and was also elected to their board of directors last year.
Three times a week, Theresa helps cook a hot lunch to be served to anyone in need through Dutchess Outreach’s Lunch Box program. She also participates in the Farm Stand program each month, helping to sort and hand out fresh produce. As a board member, Theresa serves on a couple of different committees, including the Fundraising Committee, with which she helped to raise $25,000 for the nonprofit last year.
Describe your volunteer role with Dutchess Outreach.
Dutchess Outreach is a community nonprofit organization that focuses primarily, but not exclusively, on food insecurity throughout Dutchess County. It’s located in the city of Poughkeepsie, which is probably where the greatest need is within the county. We have a number of programs set up to assist. The two primarily ones are the food pantry which provides groceries to whoever comes and needs them. The one I am most involved in is our Lunch Box, which provides two hot meals a day to whoever comes and needs them. I work primarily the lunch shift. Because of COVID, we distribute meals in a grab-and-go fashion. We serve anywhere between 80 to 100 meals at lunchtime. Our numbers have gone up during the pandemic. That’s my primary role. I was also elected to the board of directors about a year ago, so I’m on a couple committees there to try to help move the organization forward and help further our goals.
Theresa O’Brien is a longtime financial supporter of the nonprofit Dutchess Outreach, and recently began serving as a volunteer and board member./Courtesy Theresa O’Brien
What do you do as a volunteer with the Farm Stand?
We get usually between 6-10,000 pounds of produce every month from the regional food bank, which we then distribute to whoever comes up and wants it. Pre-pandemic, we would set up long tables and people would come through and tell you what they wanted, and we would hand it to them and help them put it in their bag. With the pandemic, we’ve gone more to a model of sorting food into bags and just handing out bags. What I really liked about the pre-pandemic model was if we were handing out a piece of produce that perhaps I wasn’t familiar with, someone would tell you what to do with it, how to use it, what kind of recipe you might want to use it in. I found that very interesting and a lot of fun.
What is your role with the Fundraising Committee?
I got involved late last year because I was just elected to the board. Our primary event was called Coupons Against Hunger, where we went to various restaurants and solicited coupons from them to provide something from their restaurant — a free drink with a meal, a certain percentage off of the meal, something along those lines. We then compiled all those coupons into a booklet which we sold for $100 a booklet, and that was our primary fundraising event last year. I helped solicit those coupons.
Are there any future partnerships, programs, or events that you are excited about?
We have the same fundraiser that’s about to kick off, our second Coupons Against Hunger. We will start to solicit coupons from providers the middle of September and then our booklets will go on sale. Our target is in early October. We hope to surpass last year’s dollar amount.
Do you have any other goals you would like to see Dutchess Outreach achieve?
I think what I would really like to see is to continue our outreach. Our primary clientele is the city of Poughkeepsie. I would like to see the outreach expanded to other parts of Dutchess County. While I believe the need is greatest in Poughkeepsie, I’m sure there are pockets of hunger in every community throughout the county, so I would like to see us expand our outreach.
Why is it important for you community to have the resources that Dutchess Outreach provides?
I think there’s no need for anyone to go hungry in this country. It’s a shame that there’s so much food insecurity throughout the country for the country that we are. If someone’s hungry, then obviously they’re not taking care of other needs. I think if we can help eliminate that hunger, they can focus on other needs — taking care of themselves, looking for a job, or if they have a job, performing well in that job. Any number of things that if they’re hungry, they’re not able to devote their full self to.
What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?
Feeling like I make an immediate difference in someone’s life by providing them food.
Why do you think it’s important for others to give back?
Because you never know when that person could be you, and because I think it’s important that when people are able to give back, they do. My husband and I are very fortunate. We’ve never had to worry where our next meal is coming from. We’ve never had to worry about where we’re going to spend the night. For us not to share what we can is just plain selfish.
Teen Lights Up Texas Community Through Solar Panel Donations
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Adie Selassie. Read her story and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Point of Light.
When Adie Selassie was in eighth grade, she was presented with a unique opportunity from her school to choose from different destinations to travel to over spring break. The Arlington, Va. native was drawn to a trip to the Texas-Mexico border to learn about the colonias, a group of housing settlements, so she could spend part of her break giving back. Adie was shocked by the living conditions she saw during the trip, which included a lack of electricity due to many homes being off the electrical grid, as well as to residents who were on the grid not being able to afford electricity bills or struggling due to flooding and power outages in the area.
Upon her return home, Adie knew she wanted to do something to help the people of the colonias. In 2018, she founded Live in the Lights, a nonprofit that provides solar panels to residents. Now 17, Adie has led her organization in donating over 50 solar-powered energy units, as well as fundraising donations and over 1,000 clothing items for the colonias. Live in the Lights works entirely through donations and will be hosting a virtual 5K run/walk fundraising in September, with more information to come on their website.
Describe your volunteer role with Live in the Lights.
I’m the founder and president of Live in the Lights. It was founded back in 2018. My school has a series of trips you can take for spring break during eighth grade and I chose to go down to an impoverished community in Texas called the colonias. They’re lacking basic services like electricity, running water and sturdy housing, and I was baffled by the living conditions there. I hadn’t seen that type of poverty in America before. When I came back to Arlington where I live, I couldn’t not do anything about it. I saw how little opportunity structurally the people living there had to change their living circumstances. I was inspired to do something and that’s when I researched to learn exactly what I could do to help and what the specific challenges the residents of the colonias are facing. A big challenge I noticed is electricity and access to power. I know that affects so many parts of your life including how kids are able to study and learn, safety in your household and charging medical equipment, so I really saw that as something I could take on and that would be really necessary to their lives. Live in the Lights brings solar power to this community in Texas — solar power because they’re in Texas so we can use the sun, which can be tapped into 365 days a year as a free and sustainable resource to provide electricity to this community.
How do you go about donating these solar panels?
We hold different fundraising events and general emails with why they should donate and what exactly a donation can accomplish. With those donations, we purchase the portable solar panels and we ship them to Texas. We actually have a partner organization there called Proyecto Azteca. They focus more on sturdy infrastructure but they’re one of the few organizations at the border helping the colonias, so we partnered with them. Since they actually know the families pretty well, they’re able to assess which of the families need the solar panels most and create a waiting list. We discuss that list with them and then we go about distributing the solar panels we purchased.
Adie Selassie, right, delivers solar power lights to residents of Texas’ colonias community through her nonprofit Live in the Lights./Courtesy Adie Selassie
Can you describe your Double Sustainability Mandate with Proyecto Azteca?
Part of Live in the Lights is all about sustainability, so one of those is related to the solar panels and how that’s a sustainable solution. The other is using the extra funds these families would have because they’re no longer spending money on energy to now grow the intracolonial ecosystem of small businesses. That promotes intracolonia growth and that overall helps the economy and the colonias and the families living there. That’s a byproduct of the solar panels we’re installing.
What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?
I would say actually going to meet the families, going inside their homes and giving the solar panel to them would be the most rewarding part of my work. During the pandemic, everything has had to be remote, and so I know that the families are receiving their solar panels but it’s hard to actually see the impact that our organization is making. So to actually meet the families and be able to give that to them and to hear their testimonies after they’ve been using it for a few weeks, that was really special and motivated me to continue with my project.
What kind of feedback have you received from the families you donate solar power to?
Some of the things they were saying is it’s been really helpful for charging their medical devices. Thirty percent of southern Texas suffers from diabetes and a bunch of the residents of the colonias have CPAP machines. I received a bunch of messages saying the solar power and the energy and the electricity they got from that enabled them to charge their medical devices, which is something huge — something I hadn’t anticipated as being something solar power could help with, but something I’m really glad we were able to accomplish.
Why do you think it’s important for others to give back?
I think giving back teaches you a lot and it teaches you gratitude. You also learn a lot from the people you’re helping. You’re exposed to different communities. You can build relationships with the people you are helping. I think it’s really important to see people different from you and also see how similar they are to you. I think it brings our world together when we help each other out.
What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer?
The colonias is a community a lot of people hadn’t heard of. Whenever I tell people about my organization, nobody knows what they colonias are. Even their mere existence is something I didn’t know about. It’s really been a privilege to be able to educate people about the community because I think it’s a forgotten community in America and one that needs to be paid attention to a little bit more.
What do you want people to learn from your story?
I would say this especially to teens or younger adults — oftentimes it seems really impossible to make an impact, no matter how great or small on a community. I would say it’s actually fairly simple if you have the drive and dedication and a good group of people surrounding you. I was 14 when I started Live in the Lights. It seemed pretty difficult and impossible to be able to install solar power to homes, but I was able to do it. So I would tell teens and other young adults to stick with it and it is possible to make a difference, even if it’s small.
Teenage Immigrant’s Confident Volunteerism Betters Future for Hundreds of Students
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Yifei Han. Read her story and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.
Born in China, Yifei Han’s assimilation as a young student in the United States was full of heartbreaking challenges. Self-conscious of her accent, Yifei avoided speaking up in class, stopped using her given first name in lieu of an American ‘preferred’ name, and watched videos on how to get rid of her Chinese accent online.
After confronting her own struggles with public speaking through years of debate training, the now 15-year-old San Ramon, California student decided to make speech and debate accessible to other students, particularly underserved youth. Launching Make a Statement (MaS) in June 2020, the rising high school junior educates youth about public speaking and has since connected with more than 800 students from 25 countries and across the United States. Volunteering to connect students to confidence, skills and a brighter future, Yifei is using her personal experiences to make a positive difference in the lives of others.
What inspires you to volunteer?
The idea that I am creating a tangible impact on my community is what inspires me. That’s my biggest motivation for every community service project I do.
As founder of Make a Statement, Yifei Han is making speech and debate accessible to hundreds of students around the world, particularly underserved youth. /Courtesy Yifei Han
Describe your volunteerism with Make a Statement.
As founder, I oversee all events and member meetings. I create the curriculum material we use, and organize fundraising through events and donations.
Share one personal story with me from your volunteerism.
We received more than 250 sign-ups for our first collaboration summer camp. One of the guest speakers we invited for a workshop is a professional public speaking coach, and she recognized the importance of what we are doing. That meant a lot. Before this, we’d barely received any workshop attendees and I was doubting whether people thought I was disqualified to help them. So to have an expert recognize the meaning of what we are doing, I felt a mental reward that it was all worth it.
Why do you think it’s important for others to give back?
A lot of us are born in a very privileged place and we have a lot of rights that a lot of other people weren’t born with. For that reason, it’s important that we who have ability to help the rest of society do so, starting at a very young age. That’s the only way for us to advance not just as individuals, but as a whole.
What’s been the most rewarding part of your service?
It’s rewarding to read all MaS workshop feedback. It’s heartwarming and inspiring to hear that we’re making an impact on people across the world.
How have you continued to volunteer throughout the COVID-19 pandemic?
MaS activities were held virtually or socially distanced. In addition, I continued my personal service including participating in an effort as a congressional intern to reduce the city of San Jose’s water rate increase by 8%, decreasing the cost of water bills for tens of thousands of citizens across the city. I also participated at a youth-led rally against anti-AAPI hate crimes.
Yifei (in yellow) experienced heartbreaking challenges assimilating as a young student in the United States, but is now using her personal experiences to make a positive difference in the lives of others./Courtesy Yifei Han
What do you want people to learn from your story?
It was very hard to get MaS started. I was constantly doubting whether I was qualified to help other people with public speaking. Ultimately, I realized no matter how advanced you are in speech and debate or how sufficient you are in any activity, as long as you have the desire to help people, you will be able to make an impact.
In one phrase, what does volunteering mean to you?
Lifting others.
How can readers help?
Please visit the Make a Statement website for more information about how you can help.
Teen Starts Program to Help Feed Chicagoland Families in Need During COVID
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Charlotte Harrigan. Read her story and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Point of Light.
Eighteen-year-old Charlotte Harrigan has always been passionate about volunteering. Growing up in a family of volunteers, she loved serving at her church and other local organizations. In 2016, she joined SaLT, or Service and Learning Together, an organization that coordinates service trips for students in the Chicagoland area. Through SaLT, Charlotte has traveled to Orlando and New Orleans on four different service trips since 2016. SaLT also serves their local community through volunteering with Misericordia Home and the Ronald McDonald House.
When SaLT’s service work was halted during COVID, Charlotte still wanted to help out her community in some way, so she helped organize Project Shop N Drop. The project began in May 2020 with 25 families in need of extra help during the pandemic, and has since grown to serve over 170 families. Every other week, Charlotte leads volunteers in putting together hundreds of bags of donated food and toiletries.
What is SaLT and what is your volunteer role with it?
SaLT is an organization that stands for Service and Learning Together. It was started by two adults [Brad Swanson and Ida Fiore] who had been teachers. … They wanted kids to be able to travel and learn about history and do service work all around the country. They didn’t want it to be a financial burden on anybody, so it was a lot about scholarships. There was always an eighth grade trip in our town where you would go to D.C. and a lot of kids couldn’t go because they didn’t have the money, so Brad and Ida started a scholarship foundation. So many people wanted to go travel and do service that they started SaLT. SaLT goes to Alaska, New Orleans, Orlando and New York. It’s just them two and they take a group of about 20 kids and you go and do service work. This past June, I went to New Orleans and I was an intern for them. We got to work on rebuilding houses for teachers. We worked on a bunch of Hurricane Katrina relief and learning about the culture of New Orleans, because it doesn’t get enough recognition. People don’t realize that New Orleans is still struggling from the hurricane that was 16 years ago. That trip was really about obviously helping the community, but also spreading the word about the help our country still needs. Bringing it home is a lot of what SaLT is about.
Charlotte Harrigan bags donated groceries through Project Shop N Drop, which she created with volunteer organization SaLT./Courtesy Charlotte Harrigan
Describe Project Shop N Drop.
Project Shop N Drop started in May 2020. We started with 25 families. Our goal was to help families who were greatly impacted by COVID, whether they lost their jobs and they needed help food-wise. We had a core base of 25 families we knew needed help. It’s been 16 months and we’re still going. We’ve served over 170 families now. Every single donation given to us goes to our families and we think that’s something very special. Every other week, we get a group of volunteers to come in. We get a bunch of donations or we go shopping with money we have from donations and we fill up a food room. Then volunteers come in and we give them an assigned number of food or what’s going in each bag, and these volunteers pack 100 bags of food and 100 bags of toiletries. … Every other week [the families will] come in on a Saturday or we’ll deliver if [the families] don’t have a car. They usually get around two bags of food — perishable food items and then a bag of produce. The produce is usually milk, yogurt and vegetables that we’ve been getting weekly donations from a catering business in the Chicago area and also Fight2Feed in Chicago. Then every family gets a bag of paper towels, toilet paper, hand sanitizers and masks, just to keep them safe.
Describe your volunteer experience with Give Kids the World.
I went with SaLT to Orlando to go to Give Kids the World. It’s a Make-A-Wish foundation, and kids whose wish to go to Disney World get to stay at Give Kids the World. It is basically Candyland blown up in person. It is amazing. … My first year, I helped in the kitchen and every time a family would come in, we would take a tray and we would help the family or the kids get their food. You would sit down with them and sometimes they would tell you a little bit about them or they would want to learn about you. After that, there was always a themed party so all the kids would dress up. … The next year I went, I got to ride around in a golf cart and I had cookies and hot chocolate. Kids at the park or on their way back to the village after the themed party would stop me and they would get cookies and hot chocolate. It really is just all about the kids, and it’s an amazing place that I don’t think gets enough recognition.
What kind of effect do you think your volunteer work has had on you?
I have bad anxiety. When I do something, I don’t tend to love it. I’ve always played sports and I’ve always liked it, but sometimes I feel like ‘ugh, I don’t want to go,’ and it would make my anxiety worse. Whenever I engage in service work, I never have an ‘ugh, I don’t want to do this’ [moment]. It’s always something that makes me forget about everything else that’s going on in my brain. It helps me be able to be who I am in a better way. I say if it wasn’t for Shop N Drop, I can’t imagine how horrible my COVID would have been. But Shop N Drop gave me something to do and something to look forward to. All the service work I’ve been doing, it gave me a reason to keep powering through the hardness of COVID.
What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?
I think the most rewarding part is the relationships we have with the families. We’re not just an ordinary food bank. We are a place where our families can come and trust us. We’ve helped families with evictions, filling out the census, getting the vaccine, finding jobs. We really try to respect our families and communicate our love to our families before we’re there to give them food. … My favorite, most rewarding part about all of Shop N Drop is this one family. I went to deliver them a Christmas Eve meal and I noticed that they didn’t have a Christmas tree. The next morning [fellow volunteer Jagger Barnes] and I brought our fake Christmas tree that was at our site to the family and wrapped a bunch of presents for the kids. They were so happy. The presents were very small things we don’t realize make such a big difference. Being able to not only serve our families, but also having the connection and being a part of the our families’ lives, is the most powerful and impactful part of the whole project.
What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer?
No matter how much I want something or no matter how much I feel like something isn’t fair in my life, I’ve learned I can take a step back now and realize how lucky I am. Our leadership board was talking about how if we want something to eat for dinner, our parents can run out to the store and get our dinner just for that night. Whereas one of our families didn’t have enough food, so they gave their kids the food first and the parents ate the leftovers. It’s not learning how fortunate you are, even though it is — it’s just putting into perspective everything you do compared to someone else who isn’t as lucky as you.
Why do you think it’s important for others to give back?
One of our main mottos is ‘stronger together.’ Everything you do impacts somebody else, whether it’s they’re getting something from you, or they’re going to do something because they saw you do it. If I picked up a piece of trash and then someone saw me and they went and picked up a piece of trash, we’re stronger together because now we just picked up two pieces of trash, helping our entire community. We’re stronger together and we realize something small can have a huge impact on somebody else.
Volunteer Creates Safe Space for Minority Mental Health
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Rwenshaun Miller. Read his story and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.
It was after Rwenshaun Miller’s last suicide attempt that he starting having conversations about his own mental health and the mental health of those around him.
“I saw my best friend going through a period when he was smoking a lot. I’d been self-medicating with alcohol, so I asked him what was wrong,” says Rwenshaun. “When I opened up to him and told him what had happened to me over a seven year period, the first question out of his mouth was, ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ It snowballed from there.”
Journeying through his own healing process living with bipolar disorder, the 34-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina psychotherapist began sharing his story to help others, and hasn’t stopped. Launching Eustress, Inc. in 2013, Rwenshaun, who also serves as executive director for the organization, focuses on building mental health awareness and breaking the stigma that surrounds mental health for people of color.
“I noticed the lack of resources in the community, and how we didn’t talk about mental health. A lot of events I hold are based on things that helped me through my own challenges. I live by the motto, ‘Be who you needed when you were younger.’ That’s my goal. To serve people in the capacity I needed when I was younger.”
As the founder and executive director of Eustress, Inc., Rwenshaun Miller is building mental health awareness and breaking the stigma that surrounds mental health for people of color./Courtesy Rwenshaun Miller
Connecting with thousands of adults and youth across the globe, Eustress starts conversations about mental health primarily with members of the Black and Brown community, and empowers individuals to take control of their mental health. Helping people find sources of eustress, which describes moderate or normal psychological stress that can be beneficial for the experiencer, Rwenshaun works tirelessly to help people achieve healthier and productive lifestyles.
“Being able to work with young men through our Young Black Male Eustress Youth Initiative, we see the actual change in their behavior. We provide free therapy to them and include their teachers, parents, siblings and coaches in the therapeutic process. We see how they (start to) take care of their own mental health needs and how their support system supports them.”
The dedicated support that Rwenshaun drives day in and day out is recognized by program participants and community partners near and far, says Casey Owens, CEO and executive director of the Bertie County YMCA in Windsor, North Carolina. A lifelong friend after the two met playing basketball in elementary school, Casey says Rwenshaun is lifting the curtain on minority mental health.
“Honestly, when (Rwenshaun) first started speaking about these topics, people were surprised. He talked about being labeled as crazy and we want to get away from that. Every time he does an event here, someone shares their testimony about how reaching out to him encouraged them to speak out. He gives people the courage to realize it’s ok to say, ‘I’m not ok.’ It would literally send chills down your arms to hear people say, ‘I feel like you saved my life just by sharing your story,’ or, ‘you saved my child’s life,’ or even, ‘you saved my marriage by sharing your story.’”
Since 2013, Rwenshaun has helped to empower thousands of adults and youth across the globe to take control of their mental health./Courtesy Rwensaun Miller
Recognized as a leader in the mental health movement within minority communities, Rwenshaun travels across the country to host awareness walks and offers initiatives through Eustress like Men’s Locker Room Talk, scholarships for black male graduates seeking a mental health related degree and Adult Coloring Night, an activity Rwenshaun found therapeutic for his own recovery, and now shares with others. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Eustress In Color became virtual, which allowed the organization to expand participation across the globe. Rwenshaun says as the need for mental health support skyrocketed during the pandemic, Eustress responded, supplementing care for individuals with more than 1,400 free therapy sessions.
Reliant on community support and donations to offer critical programs and therapy for those who can’t afford it, Rwenshaun says the work is not done, but he’s optimistic about growing the space he is building, welcoming more into his service towards a healthier world.
“People come up to me and tell me that because of the work I am doing, they feel they aren’t alone and they’ll find ways to continue to live and address their own mental health challenges. We are developing even more individuals to not only become therapists, especially in Black and Brown communities, but also to teach and understand how to help people in their own families. You don’t have to be clinically trained. By changing the dynamics of service, we create space where they feel comfortable to help.”
Community Beacon Faithfully Serves Families in Need Alongside His Partner in Life & Service
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Robert Jenkins. Read his story and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.
At 78 years young, Robert Jenkins will tell you he’s followed his wife’s lead in serving his community. But it is because of his steadfast commitment to volunteerism and his deep community roots, says Robert’s wife, Carolyn, that thousands have benefitted from the Stafford, Virginian’s service.
The transportation liaison volunteer for Jenkins Donelson Foundation (JDF), an organization his wife founded in 2016, Robert is literally helping low-income families from the bottom up, by providing everything from shoes and socks to essentials and kitchenware. Even powering through challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure people in need, from children to single mothers to seniors, did not go without, Robert is volunteering to relieve financial and mental stress for families.
Points of Light spoke with Robert and Carolyn about his service.
What inspires you to volunteer?
Robert: I’m inspired to volunteer because of my wife and her desire to help others. I followed her lead and I too, like to help people. There’s a lot of people crying out there, you just don’t hear them. I was raised with a good heart, and I feel it’s the right thing to seek people out and help in any way possible.
Describe your volunteerism with JDF.
Robert:As the volunteer transportation liaison, I work with our retail partners to pick up items that are then distributed, through JDF and also through our community partners.
Carolyn: Robert is the face of the organization and because of the relationships he’s built with retail stores, the foundation has benefited. He gets items directly to people in need. We work with places like the sheriff’s department, animal shelters and schools to make sure people are getting help. We’ve helped thousands across the United States and also internationally, including sending clothes and goods to Ghana.
Share one personal story with me from your volunteerism.
Robert: My interaction with others is very important. They have to know we are helping them in good faith, with good intentions. One day, I’d picked up donations including bicycles, and as I was driving, I saw this fellow, a senior citizen, walking down the road. He wasn’t as old as me, but he wasn’t far from it. I’d visited a neighborhood where I thought some children could use the bicycles, but I saw this senior and gave him a bicycle. I still feel good about that. I couldn’t pick that man out of a lineup now, but I feel good that God led me there to help another man.
Robert Jenkins has helped thousands with the Jenkins Donelson Foundation through his steadfast commitment to volunteerism and his deep community roots./Courtesy Robert Jenkins
Why do you think it’s important for others to give back?
Robert: To whom much is given, much is required. We all have a responsibility to help others as we can, wherever we can. We’d have a better world if we helped others with a unified heart.
How have you continued to volunteer throughout the pandemic?
Carolyn: Our volunteerism changed a bit, but we are seeking out people in different ways because people needed the help even more. Robert never missed any volunteering during the pandemic. We’d leave donations in parking lots, had more people come to pick up, and followed all masking and safety protocol. The pandemic created opportunities for us to expand our partnerships. We recently gave over 19 pallets of school supplies to kids in eight different school districts.
What do you want people to learn from your story?
Robert: To some degree, we are all on this earth together, and we need to live together in the spirit of helping each other.
Illinois Volunteer Improves Access to Education for Thousands of Kids with “Balance Boxes”
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Sydney Holubow. Read her story and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.
Sydney Holubow is headed off to college this fall, and the Deerfield, Illinois student has dedicated her volunteerism to improving access to education for others.
In March 2020, Sydney teamed up with a friend to co-found Balance Boxes at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic when the two noticed that students weren’t receiving adequate resources once at-home learning began. Since then, more than 11,000 Balance Boxes, a mix between educational resources and fun activities, have been sent to low-income students K-8. Through volunteerism, the 18-year-old resident is delivering A+ service to low-income students around the globe.
What inspires you to volunteer?
I come from a Jewish background as does my co-founder, Samantha. We believe in tikkun olam, a Hebrew phrase which means “repairing the world.” We want to give back to ensure equal access to everything we get to do. The success stories inspire me to continue to volunteer to reach as many kids as possible.
Describe your volunteerism with Balance Boxes.
As co-founder, I manage other chapters of Balance Boxes across Illinois, the United States and internationally. I also manage coordinating and delivering boxes, receiving donations and recruiting other student volunteers. Each box includes books, educational games, school supplies, toys, crafts, a meal, and free tutoring services. We’ve raised more than $300,000, including in-kind donations, to support our boxes. I’m attending Carnegie Mellon University this fall, so I plan to start my own Balance Boxes chapter in Pennsylvania.
Balance Boxes co-founder Sydney Holubow is improving access to education for low-income students. /Courtesy Sydney Holubow
Share one personal story with me from your volunteerism.
Sometimes we get to speak to the Balance Boxes recipients, and see how it’s truly touched them and how it’s improved their learning. Their smiles are huge across their faces, and the kids tell us the boxes changed their summer and got them more engaged at school.
Why do you think it’s important for others to give back?
Not everyone has the same privileges and it is our duty to give back and to help others succeed.
What do you want people to learn from your story?
Pursue your idea and spread the word. Balance Boxes would not be where it is today if people in our community didn’t know about it and support it. Most of our donations have come from our community.
In two words, what does volunteering mean to you?
Personal obligation.
Sydney (left) and co-founder Samantha Feinberg pictured at a Balance Boxes packing party. The organization has sent more than 11,000 boxes to students since March 2020./Courtesy Sydney Holubow
When you’re not busy with school or volunteering what do you do for fun?
I love TV (laughs.) I want to say I code in my free time, because that’s what I was doing before this interview.
How can readers help?
Please reach out and ask how you can personally get involved by emailing me or visiting our website.
Californian’s Service for “MilVet” Helps Military and Veterans Around the World
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Sandy Word. Read her story and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.
Sandy Word has lived a blessed life, and is now paying that support and care forward through service.
As a volunteer with MilVet, an organization dedicated to enriching lives by connecting veterans, seniors, and families to resources and programs, Sandy helps to support thousands of men and women around the world through initiatives including the organization’s Military Care Package Program. Helping thousands of military members and veterans, Sandy, a Menifee, California resident, is patriotically volunteering to help those who have dedicated their lives to their country.
What inspires you to volunteer?
I am inspired to volunteer because I have a servant’s heart. I feel very blessed with my life and I want to be able to share what I can with other people. I have a special soft spot for military members because these men and women are risking their lives for their country.
Describe your volunteerism.
I serve as an advisor and chairperson for the Military Care Package Program, one of several MilVet initiatives. I make sure the process goes smoothly, from helping to coordinate donations and dropoffs to training new volunteers. We customize boxes with items specifically requested by servicepeople, so I’ll identify those items. In addition to my volunteerism with MilVet, I volunteer with other organizations including Professional Women’s Roundtable, Murrieta/Wildomar Chamber of Commerce and JAGS Gives Back.
As a volunteer with MilVet, Sandy helps to support thousands of military members and veterans around the world./Courtesy Sandy Word
Share one personal story with me from your volunteerism.
There’s so many. A recent story brings it home. A friend of mine has a son deployed on a Navy ship, and we’d been sending him boxes for several months. I personally packed boxes for him, and he sent me a note thanking me because the day before, he’d run out of deodorant, and we’d sent him some. I actually thought the government provided personal items to servicepeople, and they don’t. We get letters all the time from people about how we made a difference for them, and it just brings tears to my eyes and warms my heart.
Why do you think it’s important for others to give back?
If we all volunteered, every day of our lives, the world and our country would be a far better place. Look for the good in people and help when you can.
What’s been the most rewarding part of your service?
It’s rewarding to know that I’m making a difference. My dad was in World War II, and he raised us to be respectful and appreciative of the men and women that fight for our country. I feel very deeply about taking care of our country and the people that live here.
How have you continued to volunteer throughout the COVID-19 pandemic?
We adjusted our service and followed safety protocols, including social distancing. We also held a toy drive for military children in December in response to the pandemic.
In a few words, what does volunteering mean to you?
A grateful heart.
How can readers help?
Please visit MilVet’s website for more information about how you can help.
Student’s “Engage STEM” Volunteerism Makes STEM Accessible to Low-Income Students
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Serena Pei. Read her story and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.
Asked to pick her favorite STEM subject, Serena Pei will tell you she enjoys learning about the relationship between computer science and social ethics. Serena has taken her personal interest in STEM one step further, by engaging low-income students with education and resources.
As a volunteer with Engage STEM’s San Jose/Morgan Hill chapter, Serena serves on the board as Director of Public Relations, providing much needed support to underserved students amid educational disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Serena, a 16-year-old San Jose, California rising high school senior, is recognized for her perseverance and commitment to improving education through volunteerism.
What inspires you to volunteer?
I’m inspired to bring better education to other people around me. Engage STEM caters to lower income families, and helping people that need more resources outside of school is a really big part of why I volunteer with Engage STEM.
Serena Pei: “I’m inspired to bring better education to other people around me. Engage STEM caters to lower income families, and helping people that need more resources outside of school is a really big part of why I volunteer with Engage STEM.”/Courtesy Serena Pei
Describe your volunteerism with Engage STEM.
As Director of Public Relations, I manage the organization’s website and social media channels. We also produce promotional materials for programs and connect with outside organizations for partnerships. Engage STEM offers free tutoring to low income students in subjects including biology, chemistry, astronomy, math and computer science. Lastly, I worked with the Engage STEM board to offer free online summer programs to elementary and middle school students for summer 2021.
Share one personal story with me from your volunteerism.
I wrote a story about a tutor and tutee from the program and it was featured on our website. Their story made me realize how much of an impact we’re making on children’s lives.
Why do you think it’s important for others to give back?
A lot of people are very privileged these days. It’s really important to help those who are not as privileged. Volunteering is an opportunity to do that.
In one word, what does volunteering mean to you?
Rewarding.
What’s been the most rewarding part of your service?
The most rewarding part is getting to know other people like me who are passionate about volunteering.
When you’re not busy with school or volunteering, what do you do for fun?
I play the flute and am in my school’s marching band. That takes up a pretty big portion of my spare time.
