Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Cait Leavey. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.
Cait Leavey’s devastating loss of her father, FDNY Lieutenant Joseph Leavey, on September 11, 2001, became the catalyst for a life dedicated to healing others. Growing up in the shadow of tragedy, she experienced both profound grief and the extraordinary wave of human compassion that emerged in the days following the attacks. This dual reality shaped her path, steering her first toward education as a Teach For America corps member and later into a career as a licensed mental health counselor. Today, Cait uses her lived experience and professional expertise to support first responders, military families and individuals navigating collective trauma.
Cait founded The Spirit of 9/12, an annual service initiative inspired by the 9/11 National Day of Service movement. The project gathers youth, families, survivors and volunteers to transform remembrance into tangible action. Engaging younger generations who never knew a pre-9/11 world, Cait teaches young people that even the smallest acts of kindness carry immense weight. As a 9/11 Day Ambassador and a co-founder of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum Visionary Network, she dedicates 25 to 40 hours each month to ensuring that the legacy of that historic day is defined not just by what was lost, but by the collective care that followed.
Cait’s mission took an innovative leap forward this past September 12, with the co-founding of The Holding Frames, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and healing-centered community art initiative. Developed alongside her annual service event, the organization uses expressive arts and community dialogue to help individuals process grief and collective adversity. Participants utilize the proprietary FRAME method to channel personal and shared pain into tangible expressions of hope. The reach of The Holding Frames has quickly expanded from a single project into an ongoing movement, bringing its workshops into schools, corporate boardrooms, museums and conferences, including ongoing collaborations with the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.
Cait continues to show the world how to move gently from trauma toward purpose, proving that we can always choose to be a light for someone else. Read on to hear more of her inspiring story.
Tell us about your volunteer role and organization.
I am the founder of the Spirit of 9/12, which is an annual event that I started about five years ago, the day after 9/11, in honor of the National Day of Service on 9/11. I also happened to be a 9/11 Day Ambassador, and the whole premise of 9/12 is to really embody that spirit of 9/12 that followed after 9/11 and wanting to do a service project that served children and families, while also educating the next generation. I think part of that is having a felt sense of what really 9/12 felt like after 9/11. For me personally, part of my story is I lost my dad on September 11. I was 10 at the time, so I remember 9/11 was a dark day, but there was a lot of light that came out of it. That has really been my journey, and my healing journey specifically is how to spread that light, how to be an example of that light and how service, specifically, not only spreads light to others, but also ignites a light within ourselves.
What inspired you to get started with this initiative?
This day started at this park down the street from the Trade Center. Before becoming a licensed mental health counselor, I was a teacher, and a lot of my students actually lived in the neighborhood of Tribeca, and so it just kind of took place. On the picnic tables in Washington Market Park, I led an art project, and all the art pieces that we created would go to other individuals who are going through a hard time. I would really scaffold it to the kids that I was working with. We started doing an art-space initiative for the first four years, and it grew. Every year kids would come and be like, “I remember you,” and the space in itself is just so inviting with One World Trade Center in the back. It started being about having these conversations and what it really means to have people at a table, in a circle, around a table, being able to create art with one another and build community, which is what really embodied what 9/12 was. Having their nannies and their parents join them and then meeting another kid. It really grew every year.
This past year my good friend Josh Garcia, who survived the Pulse shooting, joined forces with me and we created The Holding Frames, an art-based initiative. The premise of The Holding Frames is that individuals are given a frame, they decorate the outside of the frame and then the middle of the frame is: how are you holding space for someone else? What is something that you would want to send to someone else—a message, a picture—to inspire them and provide your own sense of compassion, spreading your own light, your own kindness to another individual?
This is about really understanding how healing happens in community. A lot of times after disaster and tragedy, when the GoFundMes stop, all the community, all the memorials, all these different things—there’s a support gap there. So, how do we really instill this long-term healing? We have a method with The Holding Frames called the FRAME method: Finding Resilience After Major Events.
Why is this work so important to you?
We have made impact in many, many different areas, and so it’s not just areas of disaster. We work in schools, we work internationally. We both come from this world before this, and so then kind of putting our heads together, The Holding Frames has just been buzzing. It was really special to launch it on 9/12 this year. Specifically, for the Spirit of 9/12 this year, we got a grant from 9/11 Day, so we’re trying to make it a really big, all-day thing, because usually it’s an after school event.
We like to give a lot of agency to the kids and the adults and the families that come. There is also something that’s really beautiful too about bringing the piece of why we’re doing this, relating to being able to tell my story. I think that storytelling is such a pillar of healing, but also of service. I think so much about how we get our next generations involved in service, and I think a lot of that is having them feel a sense of purpose and connection. That’s what’s really important. I always said that my calling to service comes from witnessing how acts of compassion can ignite a light in ourselves and others, especially in those moments of darkness.
Tell us what you’re excited about for the event this year.
It’s going to be an all-day event, it’s going to be on a Saturday, and so we’re really hoping to engage not only kids, but more families and adults as well. It’s going to be a larger movement this year. I think there’s something about the 25th anniversary that’s really important, and also I think that there’s really something special about the movement of 9/12. We hear all these incredible stories, not just with 9/11 but often after a tragedy. For myself and others who were alive on 9/11—we want to share what 9/12 felt like. What it really felt like: individuals being able to ignite small acts of kindness, and that community feeling.
There’s a service aspect to it, and there’s that education piece of it as well. We are really fortunate that 9/11 Day is supporting us, and it’s not just about being able to do our service project on 9/12, but also inspiring others, next year, to do their own service project. We’re going to probably have close to 400 frames that we’re going to be giving out and having individuals paint. The community partnership piece of it is going to be so beautiful.
Last year I had an organization that I’m very close with called Answer the Call. They did a table, and they were giving out their tattoos. They provide financial support for any line-of-duty death in New York City, so any fallen FDNY, NYPD, Port Authority. It was just really beautiful that they were there. First of all, the fact that they came out to support me and us was just incredible, but that is the spirit of 9/12. We’re hoping to have live music too. So it’s an event for kids and adults alike.
What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer?
I think there’s just something that’s so cool about how you don’t have to be an artist to be creative. Everyone has a creative side of them. It’s really cool to see how people are like, “Man, I haven’t picked up a paintbrush in so long,” and people are getting into their artwork and enjoying it. In years past, we’ve displayed the artwork up on the fence outside of the park—a little bit tricky last year with the frames—but we’re getting there. We’ve always found a way. Then, when kids are walking to school throughout the week, they’re passing and they’re like, “That’s my artwork!” It’s really, really awesome to see them be able to have a sense of power and purpose.
What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?
The thing that’s really beautiful to me is that the kids not only come back, but the kids who come over are engaged. When I’m there at the park, there’s a playground there, and I have rarely had to recruit kids to come over. People see the excitement, people all sitting together. It’s so natural how the movement and the event itself attracts community and light.
Being able to tell my own story, and the why behind it is rewarding too. For many people, 9/11 is history, but there’s this idea that compassion, service and community doesn’t have to be history. The Spirit of 9/12 helps young people actively participate in carrying those values forward.
Why is it important for others to get involved with causes they care about?
We’re in an era right now where service is a way of helping individuals feel less alone. I think that there’s something about engaging youth to volunteer for a cause they care about for them to be able to be part of something bigger than their own, feel connected and feel a sense of agency—that’s really important. There’s so much of a buzz around servicing people, but I think really the reality is that we have to be thinking about service as a way for our youth to feel connected, to feel part of something bigger and to have the agency to be able to find their connection to something that is meaningful to them. That is something I think really helps with character building and leadership development.
It’s also important that we continue the storytelling piece. And that we continue exposing our youth to different causes and then giving them the agency to pick what resonates with them and what is really meaningful to them.
When we think about how to address the sense of loneliness and the isolation that exists right now among our youth, I think service is a way to help with that.
Any advice for people who want to start volunteering?
Try something new, start somewhere, reach out, hear someone’s story. Often I think people get really drawn in when they hear someone else’s story, and then it ignites something within themselves. Maybe they have a similar experience. On that note, empowering youth to tell their own story can really help inspire others, and maybe that means that just a small group of them can start their own project. No service project is too small.
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Cait Leavey. Read her story and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.
Caitlin receiving her award at the 2026 Points of Light Conference.
Cait Leavey’s devastating loss of her father, FDNY Lieutenant Joseph Leavey, on September 11, 2001, became the catalyst for a life dedicated to healing others. Growing up in the shadow of tragedy, she experienced both profound grief and the extraordinary wave of human compassion that emerged in the days following the attacks. This dual reality shaped her path, steering her first toward education as a Teach For America corps member and later into a career as a licensed mental health counselor. Today, Cait uses her lived experience and professional expertise to support first responders, military families and individuals navigating collective trauma.
Cait founded The Spirit of 9/12, an annual service initiative inspired by the 9/11 National Day of Service movement. The project gathers youth, families, survivors and volunteers to transform remembrance into tangible action. Engaging younger generations who never knew a pre-9/11 world, Cait teaches young people that even the smallest acts of kindness carry immense weight. As a 9/11 Day Ambassador and a co-founder of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum Visionary Network, she dedicates 25 to 40 hours each month to ensuring that the legacy of that historic day is defined not just by what was lost, but by the collective care that followed.
Cait’s mission took an innovative leap forward this past September 12, with the co-founding of The Holding Frames, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and healing-centered community art initiative. Developed alongside her annual service event, the organization uses expressive arts and community dialogue to help individuals process grief and collective adversity. Participants utilize the proprietary FRAME method to channel personal and shared pain into tangible expressions of hope. The reach of The Holding Frames has quickly expanded from a single project into an ongoing movement, bringing its workshops into schools, corporate boardrooms, museums and conferences, including ongoing collaborations with the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.
Cait continues to show the world how to move gently from trauma toward purpose, proving that we can always choose to be a light for someone else. Read on to hear more of her inspiring story.
Tell us about your volunteer role and organization.
I am the founder of the Spirit of 9/12, which is an annual event that I started about five years ago, the day after 9/11, in honor of the National Day of Service on 9/11. I also happened to be a 9/11 Day Ambassador, and the whole premise of 9/12 is to really embody that spirit of 9/12 that followed after 9/11 and wanting to do a service project that served children and families, while also educating the next generation. I think part of that is having a felt sense of what really 9/12 felt like after 9/11. For me personally, part of my story is I lost my dad on September 11. I was 10 at the time, so I remember 9/11 was a dark day, but there was a lot of light that came out of it. That has really been my journey, and my healing journey specifically is how to spread that light, how to be an example of that light and how service, specifically, not only spreads light to others, but also ignites a light within ourselves.
What inspired you to get started with this initiative?
This day started at this park down the street from the Trade Center. Before becoming a licensed mental health counselor, I was a teacher, and a lot of my students actually lived in the neighborhood of Tribeca, and so it just kind of took place. On the picnic tables in Washington Market Park, I led an art project, and all the art pieces that we created would go to other individuals who are going through a hard time. I would really scaffold it to the kids that I was working with. We started doing an art-space initiative for the first four years, and it grew. Every year kids would come and be like, “I remember you,” and the space in itself is just so inviting with One World Trade Center in the back. It started being about having these conversations and what it really means to have people at a table, in a circle, around a table, being able to create art with one another and build community, which is what really embodied what 9/12 was. Having their nannies and their parents join them and then meeting another kid. It really grew every year.
This past year my good friend Josh Garcia, who survived the Pulse shooting, joined forces with me and we created The Holding Frames, an art-based initiative. The premise of The Holding Frames is that individuals are given a frame, they decorate the outside of the frame and then the middle of the frame is: how are you holding space for someone else? What is something that you would want to send to someone else—a message, a picture—to inspire them and provide your own sense of compassion, spreading your own light, your own kindness to another individual?
This is about really understanding how healing happens in community. A lot of times after disaster and tragedy, when the GoFundMes stop, all the community, all the memorials, all these different things—there’s a support gap there. So, how do we really instill this long-term healing? We have a method with The Holding Frames called the FRAME method: Finding Resilience After Major Events.
Why is this work so important to you?
We have made impact in many, many different areas, and so it’s not just areas of disaster. We work in schools, we work internationally. We both come from this world before this, and so then kind of putting our heads together, The Holding Frames has just been buzzing. It was really special to launch it on 9/12 this year. Specifically, for the Spirit of 9/12 this year, we got a grant from 9/11 Day, so we’re trying to make it a really big, all-day thing, because usually it’s an after school event.
We like to give a lot of agency to the kids and the adults and the families that come. There is also something that’s really beautiful too about bringing the piece of why we’re doing this, relating to being able to tell my story. I think that storytelling is such a pillar of healing, but also of service. I think so much about how we get our next generations involved in service, and I think a lot of that is having them feel a sense of purpose and connection. That’s what’s really important. I always said that my calling to service comes from witnessing how acts of compassion can ignite a light in ourselves and others, especially in those moments of darkness.
Tell us what you’re excited about for the event this year.
It’s going to be an all-day event, it’s going to be on a Saturday, and so we’re really hoping to engage not only kids, but more families and adults as well. It’s going to be a larger movement this year. I think there’s something about the 25th anniversary that’s really important, and also I think that there’s really something special about the movement of 9/12. We hear all these incredible stories, not just with 9/11 but often after a tragedy. For myself and others who were alive on 9/11—we want to share what 9/12 felt like. What it really felt like: individuals being able to ignite small acts of kindness, and that community feeling.
There’s a service aspect to it, and there’s that education piece of it as well. We are really fortunate that 9/11 Day is supporting us, and it’s not just about being able to do our service project on 9/12, but also inspiring others, next year, to do their own service project. We’re going to probably have close to 400 frames that we’re going to be giving out and having individuals paint. The community partnership piece of it is going to be so beautiful.
Last year I had an organization that I’m very close with called Answer the Call. They did a table, and they were giving out their tattoos. They provide financial support for any line-of-duty death in New York City, so any fallen FDNY, NYPD, Port Authority. It was just really beautiful that they were there. First of all, the fact that they came out to support me and us was just incredible, but that is the spirit of 9/12. We’re hoping to have live music too. So it’s an event for kids and adults alike.
What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer?
I think there’s just something that’s so cool about how you don’t have to be an artist to be creative. Everyone has a creative side of them. It’s really cool to see how people are like, “Man, I haven’t picked up a paintbrush in so long,” and people are getting into their artwork and enjoying it. In years past, we’ve displayed the artwork up on the fence outside of the park—a little bit tricky last year with the frames—but we’re getting there. We’ve always found a way. Then, when kids are walking to school throughout the week, they’re passing and they’re like, “That’s my artwork!” It’s really, really awesome to see them be able to have a sense of power and purpose.
What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?
The thing that’s really beautiful to me is that the kids not only come back, but the kids who come over are engaged. When I’m there at the park, there’s a playground there, and I have rarely had to recruit kids to come over. People see the excitement, people all sitting together. It’s so natural how the movement and the event itself attracts community and light.
Being able to tell my own story, and the why behind it is rewarding too. For many people, 9/11 is history, but there’s this idea that compassion, service and community doesn’t have to be history. The Spirit of 9/12 helps young people actively participate in carrying those values forward.
Why is it important for others to get involved with causes they care about?
We’re in an era right now where service is a way of helping individuals feel less alone. I think that there’s something about engaging youth to volunteer for a cause they care about for them to be able to be part of something bigger than their own, feel connected and feel a sense of agency—that’s really important. There’s so much of a buzz around servicing people, but I think really the reality is that we have to be thinking about service as a way for our youth to feel connected, to feel part of something bigger and to have the agency to be able to find their connection to something that is meaningful to them. That is something I think really helps with character building and leadership development.
It’s also important that we continue the storytelling piece. And that we continue exposing our youth to different causes and then giving them the agency to pick what resonates with them and what is really meaningful to them.
When we think about how to address the sense of loneliness and the isolation that exists right now among our youth, I think service is a way to help with that.
Any advice for people who want to start volunteering?
Try something new, start somewhere, reach out, hear someone’s story. Often I think people get really drawn in when they hear someone else’s story, and then it ignites something within themselves. Maybe they have a similar experience. On that note, empowering youth to tell their own story can really help inspire others, and maybe that means that just a small group of them can start their own project. No service project is too small.
Volunteer Brings the Love of Service to the Next Generation
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Lucinda Robb. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.
Five years after founding KidsGiving, Lucinda Robb’s previously unnoticed Pez dispenser collection became a conversation-starter when the basement office they’re displayed in became her default pandemic Zoom background. With previous roles in guest relations and education recruitment, an unexpected hobby might be a surprise, but when you run an organization designed to teach elementary school students about philanthropy, it’s a novelty worth telling your kids about.
The pandemic was a hurdle to KidsGiving’s expansion but in what Lucinda considers one of the most rewarding periods of her work, enthusiastic PTA leaders figured out how to keep things running. Today, there are chapters in three different schools and a newly-launched pilot program for high school students. The latter teaches participants the ins and outs of nonprofits as businesses and sets them up to volunteer with local organizations.
Lucinda also serves on multiple boards of directors supporting a range of organizations that help people reach their full potential as well as the National Archives at the Center for Legislative Archives where she used to work. Above all, she aims to inspire young people to give time and money to initiatives they care about and is proud to see her own kids–ages 17, 18 and 20–follow in her footsteps.
In 2018, Lucinda bags potatoes in the Taylor Elementary Cafeteri
What inspires you to volunteer?
My mother used to be on the board for Points of Light. I learned about volunteering and civic engagement from her.
In college, I had a Girl Scout troop for three years. Initially, I assumed I’d be the third special helper or something doing paper mache, but on my first day, I discovered that I was the only leader. I’d only been a Girl Scout for two years. Aside from my thesis, it wound up being what I most organized my senior year around, and I loved it.
I joined my first board a few years after I graduated from college, the Fairfax Public Library Foundation. I’ve been a very enthusiastic reader all of my life. My mother was one of the people who helped start Reading is Fundamental.
What inspired you to get started with these initiatives?
I’m currently on the National Archives Foundation board. I’m a huge enthusiast and booster. Of my current boards, that’s the one I’ve been on the longest.
I’m on the board of Scholarship America, the country’s largest private administrator of scholarships, and Network2Work, which helps people who are unemployed or underemployed find meaningful jobs. I got involved with both because I was asked.
I’m also on the board of Running Start, which is a nonpartisan group that trains and helps young women run for office. In college, I wrote my thesis on women congressional candidates and campaign financing, so I was interested. I was also impressed. Additionally, I’ve worked with the Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC), which remains one of the best run nonprofits I’ve encountered.
After I had my third child, I didn’t want to travel and work so much, so I stayed home. I still wanted to be involved in my community, so I joined a variety of different causes, eventually starting Kidsgiving to get kids involved in philanthropy.
Most of us learn how to behave and interact with people, but we don’t get more explicit instruction on how to be charitable or get involved with our community. I’ve had examples in my life. You pick up a lot of that by osmosis, so I wanted to get used to the idea of helping out their neighbors.
Tell us about your roles.
I’m the behind-the-scenes cheerleader and co-leader to two different groups at KidsGiving, including a middle school club and the high school pilot program we launched this year, KidsGiving Pro. The latter teaches kids about how organizations run and gives them more exposure and experience.
Once we restart in the fall, I’m hoping to do training and fundraise, and again, help them understand how to evaluate nonprofits, how to give an elevator speech, how to be an advocate for a cause, etc. We work with 15 nonprofits who talk to the kids. Ideally, kids who have done the high school program for a year will have an opportunity to volunteer in a leadership role, like a junior board member.
I usually end up being on governance or nominating committees on the different boards I’m a part of. With any organization, sometimes you just need somebody to be the enthusiastic glue, someone who makes sure people get to know each other and talk about more than the budget. When you like the people, you make the extra effort. Being on multiple boards, I also have the advantage of seeing what works and what doesn’t.
Why is it important for others to get involved with causes they care about?
Having a good civic infrastructure correlates strongly with how well your government runs and how well people feel their government functions. I think that’s a sign of where we are right now. People don’t connect with each other in non-political ways. Being involved and having social connections are good for your health, and it’s good for society.
What do you want people to learn from your story?
When I was younger, I always thought I had to be invited to do something. The real change for me was when I did Leadership Arlington. I suddenly understood that I could just have an idea and follow up on it. I don’t have to ask for permission.
I’m particularly grateful to my mom and my aunt for giving me examples of getting involved and doing good things in the community. The Washington Post has a section where they talk about people who are doing good things as well. If you’re going to do something good, make sure that the next generation can see it, not for show, but to inspire them to do the same.
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Elizabeth Murphy. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.
Elizabeth Murphy, 65, has lived all over the U.S., but fell in love with Washington, D.C. several years after starting her career in IT—namely software sales—and never left. She married and raised two kids there. Her cat Mango joined the family during the pandemic. The roots she has laid down run deep, and the care she feels for her adopted home runs beyond family ties. It extends to the community that has made it a great place to live.
In 2016, she started volunteering for Volunteer Alexandria (VolALX), a community volunteerism resource that links individuals and groups with nonprofits and City agencies who need support. After retiring, she shifted even more of her time and energy to VolALX and became a volunteer leader, managing multiple large, annual initiatives.
With just two full-time staff, one part-timer, the executive director and summer interns, volunteers are cherished. Elizabeth’s efforts have generated more than $30,000 across events and, according to staff, has expanded the organization’s impact tenfold.
What inspires you to volunteer?
My first volunteering experience was as a 10-year-old, helping my mother go door to door in our neighborhood to raise money for the March of Dimes. It’s a vivid memory.
She was always an inspiration for me. I didn’t do a whole lot of volunteering during my career and raising my kids, but I wanted to inspire them too. So, I tutored at their elementary school almost every year they were there, and I volunteered for the PTA and many other things through their school. My son was a Boy Scout, so we did food drives and projects for the boys who came up through the Eagle Scout ranks. My son is an Eagle Scout and had a big project we all worked on.
That’s where Volunteer Alexandria came in. They’ve been around for 40 years and have a database of opportunities, so it’s easy. You just go to their website and search.
Elizabeth Murphy, longtime volunteer for Volunteer Alexandria, manages multiple annual events for the organization including two drives and a fundraiser.
Tell us about your volunteer role with Volunteer Alexandria.
I’ve been doing the toy drive, called Toys4ALX, for about 11 years in different roles. When I retired in 2021, I took some time off but knew I wanted to get back into volunteering in a more meaningful way. The first thing I volunteered for was food distribution at a church. Then, I saw they needed somebody in the VolALX offices to help with administrative work for projects.
After a while, executive director Marion Brunken asked me to lead Toys4ALX in what is essentially a project management role. It involves recruiting donation sites and sponsors, collecting and sorting toys, working with the Department of Family Services to register families, recruiting and organizing volunteers, etc. We pick up toys from 30 to 40 collection sites and sort them by age for a day of “shopping” for our registered families. Last year, we collected enough toys for 700 children and had around 100 volunteers.
After that, I started filling the same role on their larger annual fundraiser, an arts and crafts fair. There are as many as 90 vendors. I recruit them and keep communications open, and arrange the site and permits. I create applications and maintain mailing lists for events as well.
And lastly, this will be our fourth year doing Food4ALX, an annual food drive with our local food bank. I’m project manager on that, too. We collect 35,000 pounds of food each year. I coordinate everything from the VolALX offices and onsite, when needed, to make sure things run smoothly. I also personally collect and drop off food during the drive.
What are your long-term plans or goals for the organization?
We always try to grow the toy and food drives. Our goal for the latter is 40,000 pounds of food in one month. I’d also like to raise more money through the arts and crafts fair. This year we’re doing three fairs. They’re smaller, but there’s more planning.
What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?
The families who benefit from the food and toy drives are struggling. There’s a lot of financial and food insecurity, so it’s rewarding to see our work lessen the burden.
I didn’t expect how much I’m helping Volunteer Alexandria by offloading this work and allowing staff to spend more time on other initiatives. It’s wonderful to see them grow and succeed, too.
What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer?
I’m an introvert, and I knew when I retired I was going to be at risk of being isolated. By volunteering, I’m expanding my network. I’m staying busy and experiencing the satisfaction of helping the community. It was more impactful on my well-being than I expected.
Why is it important for others to get involved with causes they care about?
Many nonprofits are struggling, especially smaller ones. They struggle for funds, resources and even hands-on assistance. Many wouldn’t survive without the help of volunteers.
Any advice for people who want to start volunteering?
Start with your local volunteer bureau, if you have one. If you don’t, find a nonprofit that provides a service you can get behind and see if they need help.
I also recommend looking at your employer. At IBM, we had a volunteer office, and we got credits when we volunteered. As a retiree, I still get credits up to $1,000 a year that I can direct to a nonprofit.
The only other thing I would say is that it’s more fun when you’re doing it with somebody you know. Find somebody and make it a party,
What do you want people to learn from your story?
Volunteering can be fun and rewarding, and it can benefit not only your community but your own well-being. If you’re retired, it can be an extension of your career. There are so many people who can benefit from your skills. If you don’t take away anything else, take away that you have value.
Transforming Her Own Passion Into Widespread Collective Action
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Morgan Somerville. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.
Morgan Somerville found her passion with a hammer in her hand and a blueprint in her mind. For more than 15 years, her commitment to volunteerism has taken her across the country with SBP, performing intense, hands-on disaster-recovery work to rebuild homes and restore hope for families struck by catastrophe. Her ability to organize chaos into community also led her to co-found Mission: I’m Home, creating a university alternative break program that has since engaged more than 700 people in disaster rebuilding while raising $40,000 annually. And she serves as a founding board member for FROM: Baltimore, where she leads a civic engagement accelerator empowering local youth.
Morgan’s belief in service perhaps shines brightest in her leadership as a board member for Business Volunteers Maryland, a Points of Light global network affiliate. In this role, she helps forge sustainable partnerships through skills-based volunteerism. She is currently helping to steer the organization through an exciting expansion, using the results of a long-term research project to articulate the profound economic and social value of corporate-nonprofit alliances.
While her nights and weekends are dedicated to grassroots boards and coordination, Morgan has also aligned her professional life with her personal mission. She is the supervisor of all volunteer mobilization for CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, leading large-scale activations, team events and board matchmaking across Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia. Morgan believes that personal service is magnified when you inspire others to stand beside you. As an alum of the GIVE Fellowship who has supported civic engagement among Baltimore professionals for 15 years, leading by example is her only way forward. Read on to hear more about Morgan’s work and what keeps her inspired to volunteer so widely and frequently.
Tell us a little bit about your volunteer work.
As a board member with Business Volunteers Maryland, I help to support the connection of companies across our region with nonprofits building sustainable partnerships through service and skills-based volunteerism. We are excited to expand our work beyond the greater Maryland region through committed relationship building, as well as sharing the results of a long-term research project articulating the importance of this work. I strongly believe in the impact we can collectively have in our communities and appreciate the ability to support the corporate and nonprofit partners coming together for common goals.
I also currently oversee all volunteerism for CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield creating hundreds of opportunities for my colleagues to serve the communities across Maryland, D.C. and Northern Virginia. Last year 58% of my colleagues, 3,446 individuals, logged 110,716 volunteer hours resulting in a $9.1 million economic impact across our region. I support large scale volunteer activations and team volunteer events, as well as matching individuals to nonprofit boards and everything in between.
Morgan at a 9/11 Day of Service Event with the State of Maryland and Break a Difference.
What inspired you to get started with this initiative?
My family members will tell you serving and getting involves has always been part of my personality. I was fortunate to be raised by a family of givers and went to schools where service wasn’t just a mandatory requirement; it was embedded in the culture. I found my true calling for serving the community when I was younger, but how I act on this calling has shown up in a variety of ways over the course of my life.
One of the most impactful volunteer opportunities of my life happened just outside of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. I was completely shocked by how much devastation occurred and the immense amount of loss. I was equally struck by the strength of the families and their commitment to rebuild not only their homes, but their community. This volunteer trip resulted in me creating an Alternative Break Program at Stevenson University where I was working at the time. Over the next 10 years, over 700 students, faculty, staff and alumni participated in rebuilding trips to five communities devastated by natural disasters.
After I left Stevenson and began my career at CareFirst, I continued to volunteer personally with SBP, formerly St. Bernard Project, and Rebuilding Together NOLA. I have served as a leader for corporate and university trips throughout Louisiana to not only personally help homeowners move back home, but to guide and lead teams of volunteers to align with this important work.
Why is volunteering so important to you?
Being an active member in the community has been a lifelong theme and how I approach my work professionally and personally. I’m committed to not only serving my community as an individual, but how can I help inspire, motivate and connect those around me to serve the community in ways that are meaningful to them. In order for our communities to truly thrive, we need everyone to do their part in making their corner of the world a bit brighter.
What are your long-term plans or goals for the organization?
I plan to continue to serve in the communities where I live and work! I’m privileged to align my personal passion with my professional career and to create opportunities for folks to serve the mission and programs they are passionate about.
What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?
It’s truly difficult to pinpoint the most rewarding part, since there are so many incredible ripple effects to volunteering. But I think being witness to the “ah ha” moment of individuals when they unharness their personal potential of making an impact and understanding the power of their two hands on a project. Collectively, it’s extremely rewarding to see the surge of energy when a team deploys on a volunteer project and makes a huge difference for a nonprofit in a matter of moments. Whether that is removing invasive species from a park, packaging thousands of medically tailored meals to be distributed to critically ill neighbors or hanging drywall in a home devastated by a natural disaster. When volunteers can walk away from an event realizing they made a difference either as an individual or as part of a team and are inspired to volunteer further… that is the best reward!
Morgan at a bike distribution event in Washington, DC.
What have you learned through your experiences volunteering?
That truly everyone can make a difference. It might sound cliche, but everyone has the power to do good in their community. It may look different from one individual to the next, but we all have light within us that can help brighten our community.
Why is it important for others to get involved with causes they care about?
I believe firmly in the power of the community, and that at one point or another, we will all need help and will need to rely on one another. The impact of volunteering might not be seen right away, but it should be known that the actions you take today will impact those around you tomorrow. Small actions build upon one another to make large differences.
Any advice for people who want to start volunteering?
As my 103-year-old Grandmother would say, “Just keep going!” If there was an organization that inspired you, check out their website to get involved. See what’s happening within your own neighborhood association, school network or house of worship.
The easiest way to support your community is to simply walk outside and see what your two hands are capable of improving. It could be as simple as picking up trash, planting a community garden or driving a neighbor to doctor’s appointments. There’s no shortage of need in the community, but there is also no shortage of ways to get involved!
Teen Triathlete Builds Free Bike Program for Kids in Georgia and Beyond
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Jonathan Thai. Read his story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.
Jonathan Thai’s parents came to the United States as refugees from the Vietnam War, starting from nothing in a completely new country. As they raised Jonathan, they passed on a simple lesson: help others, because they knew firsthand what it meant to need it.
Jonathan took it to heart. The 17-year-old rising senior from Alpharetta, Georgia, is the founder and executive director of Pedal Forward — a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides free bike training camps and equipment to children who might otherwise be unable to learn to ride.
The spark came in January 2025, when REI shut down its Experience program, eliminating the bike training classes many families in his area relied on. Jonathan saw a gap and filled it. Since hosting his first official camp in June 2025, Pedal Forward has held 12 clinics, trained more than 350 children, raised over $30,000 and donated 400 bikes and 500 helmets thanks to partnerships Jonathan has built with the National Charity League and the Young Men’s Service League. The organization has since expanded to chapters in Tennessee and New York, and Jonathan is now preparing to take Pedal Forward global — leading a humanitarian trip to donate 300+ bikes to children in rural Vietnam.
What inspired you to start Pedal Forward?
Growing up, I volunteered with my parents, and it showed me how little actions can have a big impact. Something like biking might just look recreational at first glance. But it can have such a big impact for a family that doesn’t have access to transportation — getting to school, getting groceries, getting to a job. And then there’s just letting kids be kids. Staying active and playing outside are things a lot of people take for granted. When REI shut down its training programs and those families lost access to safe bike instruction, I knew I could help.
Jonathan (left) connects with families and provides helmet safety education as part of Pedal Forward’s community outreach./ Courtesy Jonathan Thai
Why is biking so personal to you?
Outside of my volunteer work, I’m very involved and passionate about sports. I race internationally for triathlon with Team USA and I’m the captain of both my high school’s swim and cross-country teams. And cycling has always been a big part of my life, especially because it was a place where my dad and I could bond. We’d go on rides together on the Greenway Trail — the same trail where I now hold my bike camps. If you asked me to describe the feeling of learning to ride a bike for the first time, I’d say freedom, or empowering, or boundless. I wanted to give that feeling to as many kids as I could, especially those who might be held back by financial circumstances or other barriers.
What happens at one of your bike training camps?
We have about 35 to 40 kids at each camp, and we try to maintain a one-to-one ratio of kids to volunteer. When kids register, they note their experience level and whether they have a bike. If they don’t have one, we provide it — and either way, we fit every child to a properly sized bike and helmet. Kids who don’t know how to pedal yet start with the pedals removed, so they can focus on balance first. Once they’ve got that, we put the pedals back on. The more experienced riders get taken out on the Greenway Trail with our lead instructors, many of whom are my teammates from my triathlon team. The last hour is games — red light green light for braking, cone weaving for bike handling and bike limbo with pool noodles for spatial awareness. At the end, every child who came without a bike and helmet gets to take them home.
Is there a child from one of your camps who has stuck with you?
There was a boy named Jesse who came to a camp we held for Hispanic Heritage Month in partnership with the City of Roswell. There was a language barrier, so I couldn’t communicate with him as well as I usually would. By the end of the camp, I honestly wasn’t sure how it had gone for him. I felt a little guilty, like maybe I hadn’t done enough.
Then I read the testimonials. His mom had written one — in Spanish, so I had to translate it — and she said that right after the camp ended, Jesse went to the park and kept riding for hours on the bike he’d received. That really sparked something in me. Even in the moments where you feel like you came up short, there’s impact happening that you can’t always see.
Jonathan (right) stands alongside 90 volunteers and participants at Pedal Forward’s 12th free bike training camp, where every child learned to ride and received a free bike and helmet./ Courtesy Jonathan Thai
Tell us about Pedal for Vietnam.
This is the biggest thing Pedal Forward has taken on so far. In June, we’re traveling to Vietnam to donate 308 bikes to children across four villages in rural areas. We’re working with the Vietnam Foundation of the USA and Australia and a nonprofit called Care2Share to purchase and distribute the bikes within Vietnam. A lot of these kids walk four to seven miles to school every day through mountainous terrain, including during rainy season. So, if we can help these students access education easier, imagine the impact that these kids will have on society.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to start their own nonprofit?
Start small, get out there and connect with the people you serve. The food pantries and distribution organizations I volunteered with as a kid with my parents are the same ones I partner with today through Pedal Forward. Those early relationships led to connections with NCL, YMSL and community leaders who had the resources to help bring my dreams to life.
What do you hope people take away from your story?
The small things that you might not think have much effect have more impact on families and communities than you realize. If you teach one kid how to ride, maybe they go on to teach other kids. Maybe they start something of their own. Everything has a ripple effect. If you do what you’re passionate about — and you do it authentically, for the betterment of society — it’ll have more impact on the world than you might ever expect.
Teen Triathlete Builds Free Bike Program for Kids in Georgia and Beyond
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Jonathan Thai. Read his story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.
Jonathan Thai’s parents came to the United States as refugees from the Vietnam War, starting from nothing in a completely new country. As they raised Jonathan, they passed on a simple lesson: help others, because they knew firsthand what it meant to need it.
Jonathan took it to heart. The 17-year-old rising senior from Alpharetta, Georgia, is the founder and executive director of Pedal Forward — a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides free bike training camps and equipment to children who might otherwise be unable to learn to ride.
The spark came in January 2025, when REI shut down its Experience program, eliminating the bike training classes many families in his area relied on. Jonathan saw a gap and filled it. Since hosting his first official camp in June 2025, Pedal Forward has held 12 clinics, trained more than 350 children, raised over $30,000 and donated 400 bikes and 500 helmets thanks to partnerships Jonathan has built with the National Charity League and the Young Men’s Service League. The organization has since expanded to chapters in Tennessee and New York, and Jonathan is now preparing to take Pedal Forward global — leading a humanitarian trip to donate 300+ bikes to children in rural Vietnam.
What inspired you to start Pedal Forward?
Growing up, I volunteered with my parents, and it showed me how little actions can have a big impact. Something like biking might just look recreational at first glance. But it can have such a big impact for a family that doesn’t have access to transportation — getting to school, getting groceries, getting to a job. And then there’s just letting kids be kids. Staying active and playing outside are things a lot of people take for granted. When REI shut down its training programs and those families lost access to safe bike instruction, I knew I could help.
Jonathan (left) connects with families and provides helmet safety education as part of Pedal Forward’s community outreach./ Courtesy Jonathan Thai
Why is biking so personal to you?
Outside of my volunteer work, I’m very involved and passionate about sports. I race internationally for triathlon with Team USA and I’m the captain of both my high school’s swim and cross-country teams. And cycling has always been a big part of my life, especially because it was a place where my dad and I could bond. We’d go on rides together on the Greenway Trail — the same trail where I now hold my bike camps. If you asked me to describe the feeling of learning to ride a bike for the first time, I’d say freedom, or empowering, or boundless. I wanted to give that feeling to as many kids as I could, especially those who might be held back by financial circumstances or other barriers.
What happens at one of your bike training camps?
We have about 35 to 40 kids at each camp, and we try to maintain a one-to-one ratio of kids to volunteer. When kids register, they note their experience level and whether they have a bike. If they don’t have one, we provide it — and either way, we fit every child to a properly sized bike and helmet. Kids who don’t know how to pedal yet start with the pedals removed, so they can focus on balance first. Once they’ve got that, we put the pedals back on. The more experienced riders get taken out on the Greenway Trail with our lead instructors, many of whom are my teammates from my triathlon team. The last hour is games — red light green light for braking, cone weaving for bike handling and bike limbo with pool noodles for spatial awareness. At the end, every child who came without a bike and helmet gets to take them home.
Is there a child from one of your camps who has stuck with you?
There was a boy named Jesse who came to a camp we held for Hispanic Heritage Month in partnership with the City of Roswell. There was a language barrier, so I couldn’t communicate with him as well as I usually would. By the end of the camp, I honestly wasn’t sure how it had gone for him. I felt a little guilty, like maybe I hadn’t done enough.
Then I read the testimonials. His mom had written one — in Spanish, so I had to translate it — and she said that right after the camp ended, Jesse went to the park and kept riding for hours on the bike he’d received. That really sparked something in me. Even in the moments where you feel like you came up short, there’s impact happening that you can’t always see.
Jonathan (right) stands alongside 90 volunteers and participants at Pedal Forward’s 12th free bike training camp, where every child learned to ride and received a free bike and helmet./ Courtesy Jonathan Thai
Tell us about Pedal for Vietnam.
This is the biggest thing Pedal Forward has taken on so far. In June, we’re traveling to Vietnam to donate 308 bikes to children across four villages in rural areas. We’re working with the Vietnam Foundation of the USA and Australia and a nonprofit called Care2Share to purchase and distribute the bikes within Vietnam. A lot of these kids walk four to seven miles to school every day through mountainous terrain, including during rainy season. So, if we can help these students access education easier, imagine the impact that these kids will have on society.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to start their own nonprofit?
Start small, get out there and connect with the people you serve. The food pantries and distribution organizations I volunteered with as a kid with my parents are the same ones I partner with today through Pedal Forward. Those early relationships led to connections with NCL, YMSL and community leaders who had the resources to help bring my dreams to life.
What do you hope people take away from your story?
The small things that you might not think have much effect have more impact on families and communities than you realize. If you teach one kid how to ride, maybe they go on to teach other kids. Maybe they start something of their own. Everything has a ripple effect. If you do what you’re passionate about — and you do it authentically, for the betterment of society — it’ll have more impact on the world than you might ever expect.
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree John Carl Tilghman. Read his story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.
John Carl Tilghman was just 10 years old when his mission to protect Florida’s wildlife began. While enjoying a cross-country trip with his family, John Carl discovered the national park they visited was covered in trash. Horrified by the litter and its negative effects on wildlife, he and his brother decided to take action.
They founded Conservation Brothers, an organization dedicated to hands-on conservation and long-term preservation of natural resources. Several years later, the duo hasn’t looked back.
Now a rising high school junior, John Carl has become a steward of environmental activism in his community. In his job as a deckhand on a charter boat, John Carl constantly finds animals like fish, sea turtles and pelicans entangled in fishing line, which is often fatal. He works diligently to detangle each animal and set them free, and builds monofilament fishing line receptacle bins that are placed at marinas and docks to help prevent harm to fish, birds and marine wildlife before it starts.
He also plans and implements all of Conservation Brothers’ service activities, whether it’s teaching fishing clinics, building duck nesting boxes or hosting shoreline cleanups. One of his proudest achievements is the annual construction of wood duck boxes in the local wetlands. Since each nesting box can produce up to two broods of 12 to 15 eggs each Spring, the Conservation Brothers team can contribute to the birth of up to 360 hatchlings annually. John Carl’s diligence is directly helping the Florida wildlife population thrive.
While John Carl is still in high school, his passion for volunteering with Conservation Brothers has already begun to inform his future. Because of his love for the outdoors, he’s considering exploring a career as a biologist or environmental engineer. Through his example, other young people can see how a mission to help others from a young age can catapult someone into the future exploration of their passions. No matter his age, his example is a great one for anyone to follow.
JOHN CARL TILGHMAN AND HIS BROTHER EMPTY MONOFILAMENT COLLECTION BINS THEY INSTALLED TOGETHER. /COURTESY JOHN CARL TILGHMAN
What inspired you to get started with this initiative?
My family does cross-country trips to all the national parks in the United States. On our first cross-country trip in 2017, we went on a hike, and all over the park, there was trash. My brother, the other founder of Conservation Brothers, and I came home and started talking about something we could do, and we came up with this idea for this nonprofit. My sister had a nonprofit as well, so we were already familiar with how to set it up. We decided to start Conservation Brothers.
Tell us about your volunteer role with Conservation Brothers.
Every day during the summer, I work offshore as a deckhand on a charter boat. Oftentimes, we’ll reel up fish that have gotten tangled and need to be thrown back. We’ll untangle them and get them back to health before we release them. I’ve had to assist in sea turtle rescues before at the dock. There was a massive sea turtle that had come inshore after being tangled up, and it was completely entangled in fishing line. They hoisted him out of the water and untangled him, and that’s what I see on a daily basis. I’ve rescued pelicans that were tangled in fishing line almost every single day at the dock. When I get on the boat, I’ll see pelicans standing on the dock that have fishing line wrapped around them. We’ll grab them, unhook them, take all the fishing line off them and set them free.
What are your long-term plans or goals for the organization?
Once I move on to college and begin the next chapter of my life, I have two little cousins, and they’re just involved with the outdoors as I am. I would like to move the duties of our nonprofit over to them for them to take over and carry out our mission.
What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?
I think the most rewarding part has been building wood duck nesting boxes. We have four of them in our backyard, and every spring we get to watch them hatch. We had a category five hurricane hit us in 2018, and that was the year after we started Conservation Brothers. It wiped out all the trees and nesting habitats for the wood ducks in our area. We researched and built four wood duck boxes, put them in our backyard, and every spring we will have more than twenty wood ducks in our pond raising their young. They can hatch up to 360 babies a year. We have a property in northern Florida, north of Panama City, and we put five out on that property in a cypress swamp. There’s a huge population of wood ducks that we have raised there from only maybe a dozen. Every time we look into that swamp, 50 or 60 ducks are swimming around.
JOHN CARL TILGHMAN (RIGHT) ASSISTS HIS FATHER AS THEY PUT OUT WOOD DUCK BOXES FOR WOOD DUCKS TO NEST IN. /COURTESY JOHN CARL TILGHMAN
What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer?
I think I’ve learned the most about just how much effect humans have on wildlife. Between the discarding of fishing line into the waterways and littering, and what it means to do that. That’s what I’ve learned. It’s really brought me to the reality of what I do, and how much it affects, and how much I can help if I try to stop these things.
Why is it important for others to get involved with causes they care about?
I think everybody needs a passion that they should pursue in life. What’s your calling in life? I think everybody needs to have something that they pursue that can assist with their day-to-day life. For me, it was helping wildlife, because on a daily basis, I experience wildlife in the outdoors.
Any advice for people who want to start volunteering?
I think the best thing you can do is go online, do a quick Google search in your area and find out what your opportunities are in that area. Conservation Brothers hosts beach cleanups once a month. We clean out all our monofilament bins, and we post about that stuff frequently. We hold fishing clinics annually. If somebody around here has a passion similar to ours, they can search for something along those lines, and our information will pop up, and they can come get involved.
What do you want people to learn from your story?
I think everybody needs to learn the impact they have. Their influence is what I want people to realize from this. Everybody can make a difference. It seems like you might not be able to assist at all, but I’ve seen firsthand how much I have helped our wildlife around here with my brother.
An Enduring Spirit of Service and A Lifetime of Dedication
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Marcia Bullard. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.
For decades, Marcia Bullard has woven service into the fabric of both her professional life and her personal commitments. Her journey as a civic leader began to take monumental shape in 1992 when, as president & CEO of USA WEEKEND magazine, a publication reaching 22 million readers, she connected with Points of Light. This partnership birthed Make A Difference Day, a national day of volunteering held on the fourth Saturday of October. For nearly 20 years, it stood as the largest day of volunteer service globally. The ripple effect of this effort is still felt today, as many volunteer organizations and cities continue to honor the tradition.
Marcia’s dedication is rooted in the consistent, impactful contributions she has made through strategic leadership and personal mentorship. Over her 40+ years of service, she has generously shared her expertise on numerous boards, including a long tenure on the Points of Light board and as chair of America’s Charities. Her commitment to supporting underserved communities is further evidenced by her work as a board member of Heart of America since 2001, where she served as chair from 2016 to 2023, helping to renovate schools. Her dedication to civic duty is truly a lifelong pursuit.
Perhaps the most heartfelt illustration of Marcia’s impact is the deep personal commitment she has made to mentoring young people in Philadelphia. For over 10 years, she has dedicated herself to a student, Xier, who immigrated from China at age 9. Marcia met Xier while volunteering at McCall Elementary School and has been a steady presence in her life ever since. Because Xier’s parents run a restaurant and work six days a week, Marcia stepped in to handle all school needs, including parent-teacher conferences, homework, SAT tutoring and the intensive college application process. Through this effort, Marcia secured multiple college grants, including one from the Philadelphia Foundation, helping Xier start her freshman year at Northeastern University this semester.
This incredible dedication continues today, with Marcia meeting with Xier two to three times a week to help with her studies, and also mentoring her younger brother, Jeffrey. Marcia’s story is a shining example of how a volunteer’s journey can span from creating a massive global movement to offering the intimate, personal support that changes a single life forever. Her enduring commitment—from the boardroom of national organizations to the kitchen table of a single
Marcia Bullard has volunteered in a variety of ways, personally and professionally, for most of her life.
student—shows that the most significant acts of service are those given consistently and with the whole heart.
Tell us about your volunteer role.
My current volunteer activities involve serving on a number of boards. I’m on the board of Heart of America Foundation, which renovates libraries in schools in underserved communities. Education is an area that’s close to my heart, and I think it’s important for the country. Working for a nonprofit that provides educational materials and good spaces for children to learn is a huge value to society, and it’s inspiring, which is why I got involved.
I also serve on the advisory board of the Fund for Investigative Journalism, which I chaired for a couple of years. What I’ve learned about my volunteer service is that having worked in corporate America, my entire career gave me a lot of tools and learning that I can offer to nonprofit organizations that typically don’t have a lot of resources. Generally, nonprofits don’t have the funds for an HR department, a big finance operation or extensive marketing and communications. I’ve learned that I can provide significant value to them by lending expertise in the areas I developed during my career. I think a lot of corporate executives find the same thing: you can make a big difference in a nonprofit organization just by lending some of your specialized knowledge.
I’ve devoted a lot of my time over the past 10 years to serving as a mentor and tutor to a couple of students in Philadelphia. I first got involved with one student, Xier, when she was in fourth grade. I met her at the elementary school where I was volunteering as a tutor, helping the teachers, shortly after she came to the U.S. from China. She is now a freshman at Northeastern University in Boston. Her parents don’t speak fluent English and felt overwhelmed by the school system, so they didn’t feel they could adequately support their children. For Xier and her brother, Jeffrey, I became their substitute go-between.
I attended their parent-teacher conferences, helped them with their homework and took them places to show them a little bit of the world, as their parents were busy running two restaurants. For Xier, I helped her with the entire college application process, including those tough essays and the FAFSA forms. Her parents trusted me enough to send me all their necessary tax forms and materials, which was an honor. I’ve been with them so long that I’m an extension of the family. I helped her with all of that, took her on college tours and even took her to college orientation. This has taken a lot of time over the past few years, but it makes me really happy. I enjoy it. I work with Jeffrey now, too, on those same things.
What inspired you to get started with these initiatives?
I guess there were a couple of beginnings. In my family, my parents were always active in the community and in church. My mom made us visit nursing homes when we were kids, so I think the idea of helping other people has always been part of my family life. As an adult, I think I got involved when I first moved to Washington D.C. to help start the newspaper, USA Today. I think the appeal of journalism is that you feel like you can help people by giving them information they need to live better lives, and that you can shine a light on people’s problems or on communities where help is needed.
When you work at a local newspaper, you’re constantly connected to the community. You’re out meeting people, reporting on events and going into neighborhoods. But when you work for a national paper, you have no connection to the local community, and I felt that was a big lack when I got here. So, I started volunteering, first in adult literacy, and then I migrated to volunteering in schools with kids. Those experiences were really great for me, because I learned so much. They always say that as a volunteer, you get more than you give, and I think that’s really true. When I tutored adults in literacy, I assumed I was going to help them read the newspaper or their important mail, but what they often wanted to learn was how to understand how to play the lottery or read the Bible. That was a real light bulb moment for me. It never occurred to me that those were the drivers for some people.
The same thing happened when I started tutoring kids. I remember waiting with one girl after a Saturday morning session because she was waiting for her mom. I asked what kind of car her mom drove, and she said, “Oh, we don’t have a car.” I suddenly realized, “Duh.” Her mom was going to take a bus to pick her up. Later, when the mom was late, I asked if we could call her, and the girl said they didn’t have a phone. These kinds of things gave me an insight into the issues a lot of people face that I didn’t encounter in my fairly middle-class life. It’s been an important realization for me.
Then, when I was at USA WEEKEND magazine, we started a national day of volunteering called Make a Difference Day. It was a leap year one year, and we had the idea: “What should we tell people to do with their extra 24 hours?” We said, “Do something good for your neighbor and your community, and write to us about it.” With the help of Points of Light, we established an 800-number so people could call to find out how they could help in their community. We published it in the magazine and got thousands of letters and videos back. We published a special issue telling some of those stories and decided to make it an annual event. We started Make a Difference Day in 1992, and that is what connected me to Points of Light and really brought me into the world of nonprofits, which has led from one thing to another over the years.
Why is education, in particular, so important to you?
Reading and writing, being able to understand what’s going on around you, and knowing how to participate and have your voice heard—being able to operate effectively, whether as a worker or as a leader in your community—it all comes down to education.
A lot of kids don’t have access to great schools, or to the kind of support at home that I had, where parents are focused on your education and make you do your homework. I simply believe you have to have an educated populace in order to make a democracy work. Otherwise, how will people know what their opportunity is to have a voice in their government and their place in the world? I think education is just the key to a good life and to a good country.
What’s the most rewarding part of your work?
Certainly, seeing my student graduate from high school with close to a 4.0 GPA was very rewarding. Seeing her go to college is really exciting for me. It’s not easy for her right now; being a freshman in college and being away from home for the first time is tough, so it’s rewarding to me to be able to provide the support she needs. I’m sometimes the first person she calls when she needs help or has a hard question, whether it’s a personal problem or a question about her academic path, like, “Should I have a double major, or a single major and a minor?” When she taps me and tells me that I’m the person she turns to first, that is super rewarding.
Every year, even though Make A Difference Day is no longer nationally supported, I still Google it and see that people are still making it happen in their communities, in places like Green Bay, Wisconsin and elsewhere around the country. That’s really rewarding. I think we stopped doing it too soon. I think now more than ever, we need something like Make A Difference Day that’s not politically affiliated—it’s not Democrat or Republican—it’s just a nation coming together and helping each other. You see that need and reward in the wake of every natural disaster, when people find it unifying and important for our country to have that kind of common feeling that they share values together.
Xier Lin, her brother Jeffrey and Marcia at the Philadelphia Flower Show 2018.
What have you learned through your experiences volunteering?
I’ve learned that I really do enjoy feeling like I’m helping to solve a problem. That was one of the appeals of Make A Difference Day. Sometimes people feel that the world is a little chaotic or that you can’t make a difference. But you learn that even by doing something simple, like picking up trash on the street or helping a kid read a book, you do make a difference. You make that child happy. You make them feel like they succeeded at something, and you may give them hope that they could do more. You make the neighborhood look a little better than it did before. I think that’s a really nice feeling of accomplishment. I’ve realized that I enjoy that; it makes me feel good.
Why is it important for others to get involved with causes they care about, through volunteering specifically?
I think that one-on-one connection with people is super important. During the pandemic, we couldn’t get out and volunteer together, and I think that was a loss, because you just don’t connect with people in the same way. As great a tool as Zoom is, it’s not the same as being there in person, being in a different surrounding where other people are having a shared experience.
It really is important to get out, whether in the community or with a nonprofit that’s committed to a cause you care about. You’re going to find people with like values, and you’re going to learn more. It’s like going to an office to work—you learn as much from the people around you as you do from reading books. That interconnection with people is really important.
Any advice for people who want to start volunteering?
As with all things, start small. Do something simple. If you feel like you want to reach out and try something, maybe start with a friend and do something together. Find an event you can go to or a way that you can help. It can be overwhelming to think about how to take that first step. There are resources, of course, but sometimes those can be hard to find if you don’t know where to look in the first place. Schools, churches and communities that you already belong to are really good sources of places where you can find other people who might also be looking for ways to reach out and do something.
I think these days, too, even though I’m not a big social media person, if you’re a younger person and on social media, there are ways of connecting to events and opportunities. You might just have to put yourself out there and try something once and see where it gets you. That was one of the appeals of Make A Difference Day, or any day of volunteering that exists now, where a lot of things going on are being publicized. That gives you more access and knowledge about where you might be able to help. It’s hard, especially if you’re shy or unsure if you’d be accepted, but just trying to take that first step is the big challenge.
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Shailen Fofaria. Read his story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.
True leadership is defined by consistency and empowerment: a commitment to showing up, and lifting others as you climb. For high schooler Shailen Fofaria, service is a fundamental part of his daily life. As the Student Board Chair of Youth Ambassadors of Service, Shailen dedicates 30 to 40 hours each month to volunteering. Peers, educators and nonprofit partners have come to deeply rely on him because he champions a leadership style that listens first and always follows through.
During his tenure, Shailen has spearheaded two major initiatives that have trained over 750 students to support underserved populations in their communities. His hands-on approach spans leading the organization’s Student Leadership team, advising the Board and acting as the primary liaison for critical community partnerships. Beyond organizing supply drives and mentoring programs, Shailen has single-handedly taken charge of fund development. Over the past four years, his dedicated grant-writing efforts have raised more than $50,000 for operational sustainability.
This blend of strategic execution and deep compassion has earned Shailen distinct regional and national recognition. He stands as the youngest-ever recipient of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Triangle Young Philanthropist Award, celebrating his sophisticated approach to nonprofit development. Additionally, his thousands of hours of dedication have been recognized with the prestigious Gold Presidential Volunteer Service Award. Read on to hear more of Shailen’s inspiring story.
Shailen Fofaria serving on the Governor’s Advisory Council for Student Safety and WellBeing, sharing student perspectives to help inform policymakers across North Carolina.
Tell us about your volunteer role.
Youth Ambassadors of Service, which we call YAS, is a completely youth-founded, youth-led and youth-focused organization, so of course we bring the youth flair to it. YAS has been a part of my life for the past four years. We’re a nonprofit that works to mobilize students to create real impactful change in their communities past just one-time volunteerism. We know students have the desire to volunteer and make an impact, and sometimes they just need the resources and the knowledge, especially from their peers. That’s where we step in.
My first couple of years I got to know the nonprofit really well. I served as our grant writer for the first two years, as well as participating in our program. Not only was I able to continue to do my work with causes that were important to me, like food insecurity and youth advocacy, but I was also in the background and learning what it means to run a nonprofit. These past two years I’ve gotten to take on a more senior leadership role, and get to run our day-to-day programs, do a lot of mentorship—which is the most special part to me—and just continue to build out my repertoire of nonprofit management. It’s amazing to get to impact my community in the way that I get to do every day.
What inspired you to get started with this initiative?
In the summer after my eighth-grade year, I joined a webinar. My mom had told me, “You need to find something to do this summer and in high school, so why don’t you join this service webinar and see what kind of opportunities you can find?” Of course, I grumbled and I groaned, and I decided, “I’ll just join for a little bit, not too long. She’s at work, she won’t know, so let me just check it out for a little bit.”
I joined, and I met our amazing executive director, Sonali, who I now work with, and we hit it off. Her big thing was, “We can make service fun, just check us out and see if you like it.” So I did some more research. I went to an event. It was one of our early events in 2022, and I got the opportunity to learn more about the organization, and just fell in love. From there, everything that I did, I did because I wanted to, and not because someone else made me, which was really special. That’s how I knew I wanted to work in the sector that I had chosen.
Why is service so important to you?
When I grew up, my dad had told me from the beginning, “Service heals the soul.” That was his big thing. When you are dealing with everything around you, when you’re dealing with hardship outside, when you don’t feel satisfied, you don’t feel fulfilled, service will always get you to where you need to be. I had grown up on that mantra. When I found YAS, that was the initial thing. Service was what I was looking for.
As you grow up, people find the things they’re interested in. My brother was really interested in homelessness and animal care; others are interested in medicine. I just had this idea of serving in general in mind. So, when I learned about Youth Ambassadors of Service, and I learned about a nonprofit that helps with youth advocacy in this space, they tell students, “You have a voice, let’s use it to make this real impactful change.”
It can be in any cause area; you don’t have to specialize in just food insecurity, or housing insecurity, or clothing insecurity, you can do it in whichever fashion. I fell in love because youth advocacy was one issue that was important to me. It can reflect so many other issues. You don’t necessarily just have to affect one demographic or population of people, and so that has spilled into other nonprofit and philanthropic work that I’ve done, and other advocacy work that I’ve done. It was a catalyst for all that.
What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?
It might be a little cliché, but I think it would have to be the students that I’ve gotten to meet along the way. A lot of them, especially from the beginning, are learning alongside like-minded students. It really does change the way you think, and it changes the kind of person you are. At the beginning, that was the coolest part.
Now, as a more senior person in this space and within the nonprofit, getting to mentor and give advice to these other students is so incredibly invaluable. Sonali—I keep mentioning her name—but she has been such an incredible mentor to me, and to be able to pass that down to students who I was just in their place two or three years ago, or who strive for the things that I’ve had the amazing opportunity to do, being able to work with them and say, “Hey, we have the same dreams, and I can help you get to your next step, and we can do it together.”
What’s the point of knowledge if it’s not to be shared? Getting to mentor students and learn about everyone’s different journey, and see why they like to serve, is my favorite part of it all.
What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer?
Number one: my dad was right; service does heal the soul. You will never get back from volunteering or the opportunity to mentor students and feel down. These things are things I look forward to. I’ve spent hundreds of hours working, and most of the time it doesn’t feel like work. It feels like I came to help someone else, and it left me feeling more fulfilled.
Number two is that everybody carves their own path, and they all come from different backgrounds, and it’s so amazing to just understand where everyone is coming from. I know through YAS we serve a wide demographic of people, and sometimes it seems that service can be inaccessible because it’s something you have to have the luxury of time for, or the luxury of resources. But we have had so many students that may not have had the same financial means that come through the program and feel so deeply about serving that they make it work, and we try to meet them in the middle and make it work for them as well.
The third thing, which is one of the biggest things to me, is that service is incorporated into every aspect of our life. I feel like a lot of students, when they start to understand the impact that they can make, they understand how it affects everything around them, and it gives them a new perspective of thinking. Through my work at YAS and my grant writing, I learned the term “lived experiences,” because grant makers love to put that phrase into these grants. Lived experiences and understanding people and situations from a different perspective has been incredibly cool to me. When I go into these new spaces and I meet new people, I’m able to think what the community has done for them, and how they help their own community in their own way.
Shailen receiving an award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals Triangle NC Chapter for his grant writing work, which helped raise over $50,000 for Youth Ambassadors of Service (YAS).
Why is it important for others to get involved with causes they care about?
Everything is intertwined and everything has a way of coming back to you. Somebody poured into your cup when you were younger, somebody poured into someone else’s cup that then poured into you when you were at a formative age, or when you were trying to learn or navigate a new space. I believe it’s up to us as people to then go pour into other people’s cups.
Any advice for people who want to start volunteering?
My biggest piece of advice would be just to get started. You’ll find your niche in some way. The coolest thing about volunteering is, like I said before, you can never do it wrong. Number two, the only way to find exactly a cause you love or a nonprofit you really want to work with is to go and try it out, have that experiment. There are so many opportunities in people’s cities or just in people’s resources, but also reach out to those in your network. You might be surprised at who you know, in their free time, volunteers at an animal shelter or at a food bank because that’s something important to them. Tag along, see what you like. Volunteering is always more fun when you do it with other people you love, too, which I think sometimes people don’t think about. It doesn’t have to be that you just have to go and do this alone—bring a couple of friends, go with your family, make that difference and feel the warmth and that fulfillment together.
What do you want people to learn from your story?
Number one, for all the youth out there, use youth to your advantage. People love to hear the ideas of youth. People love to include new perspectives and lived experiences into their work and into their new way of thinking. Use that as a youth, really make your difference, and the world is your oyster with the incredible opportunities that we’re given now. There’s almost nothing you can’t do, or nothing you can’t set out to do.
Number two, I know I’ve said this, but service really does heal the soul. I hope people do really understand that serving others and pouring back into people’s buckets and into people’s cups is just one of the reasons that all of us were put here on this earth.
Do you want to make a difference in your community like Shailen? Find local volunteer opportunities.
