Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Bettina Lee. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.
In January 2025, the Palisades Wildfire devastated Southern California. Beyond the destruction of land and impact to communities, it also exposed the severe health risks faced by those living in the nation’s most wildfire-prone region. Recognizing that firefighters, in particular, are chronically exposed to respiratory carcinogens, local high school student Bettina Lee took action by establishing Project Pulmonary. As the founder and executive director, she focuses on providing pulmonary rehabilitation and long-term health resources to fire crews.
Bettina’s work addresses the immediate physical needs of these first responders, while also advocating for proactive lung health management. She’s received more than $25,000 in funding to install detoxification saunas at fire stations, allowing firefighters to remove toxins from their systems post-exposure. Additionally, she has managed nationwide hydration drives that distributed over 13,000 items, including water and sugar-free electrolyte packets, to crews in the field.
Bettina coordinates directly with fire departments to ensure that all donated resources and equipment align with the specific operational needs of each station. The organization also prioritizes community engagement and mental health through the Letters for Lungs initiative, which saw 400 volunteers write and deliver more than 2,000 handwritten cards to over 120 stations in Southern California. These messages provide community support while specifically encouraging firefighters to seek regular lung cancer screenings. To date, these efforts have reached more than 10,000 firefighters across 200 different stations.
Project Pulmonary continues its influence through legislative and public advocacy. Bettina has partnered with two legislators and hosted booths at major events with a combined attendance of 12,000 people, to raise awareness for respiratory safety. Through social media and local business partnerships, she has built a network of chapters that provide recovery resources to over 1,200 firefighters. Read on to hear more of her inspiring story.
Tell us about your volunteer role.
I’m the founder and executive director of Project Pulmonary, a youth-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to protecting the long-term respiratory health of firefighters in wildfire-prone communities. My role looks different every single day. One afternoon I might be coordinating a hydration drive across multiple fire stations, and the next I am sitting across from a legislator trying to convince them to fund detoxification sauna installations. I write the grant proposals, manage our chapter network spanning 15+ states, run our social media and show up to every fire station visit personally. It is a lot for one person, but honestly, I would not have it any other way.
A fire station visit with LAFD for Letters4Lungs holiday donation.
What inspired you to get started with this initiative?
When I was 8 years old, my house caught on fire. I remember the heat and the panic, and then a 6’4” firefighter ran into my home and carried me out without hesitation. He did not know me. He did not stop to think about the risk. He just came in and got me out.
Years later, watching my grandfather lose his battle with lung cancer while simultaneously learning about the carcinogenic realities of wildfire smoke, everything clicked. I realized that the same people who had saved my life were quietly being failed by the systems meant to protect them. I felt a moral responsibility to do something about it, and so Project Pulmonary was born.
Why is this issue so important to you?
Because I’ve seen what it looks like when it’s too late. My grandfather was diagnosed with terminal non-small cell lung cancer, and I held his hand as he slipped away. That is not something you forget. Living in Rancho Cucamonga, at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains, wildfire smoke is not an abstract concept for me. It’s the air I breathe. It is the orange sky I watched swallow my neighborhood during the Palisades Wildfire. Knowing that the firefighters who run toward those flames are quietly accumulating carcinogens in their lungs with every deployment, and that most of them will not find out until the damage is irreversible, is something I simply cannot sit with and do nothing about.
What are your long-term plans or goals for the organization?
My long-term vision for Project Pulmonary is to make prophylactic pulmonary care a standard part of firefighter protocol nationwide, not an afterthought. Right now we’re operating across 30+ chapters in 15+ states, but I want every wildfire-prone community in the country to have a chapter actively advocating for their local firefighters.
Beyond expansion, I want to push for policy change at the federal level that mandates post-exposure rehabilitation resources like detoxification saunas and PPE washers in every fire station. I also want to continue developing our educational outreach so that the next generation grows up understanding that lung cancer screening is not optional, it is preventative.
What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?
Honestly, it’s the small moments that hit hardest. It’s a firefighter telling you that nobody had ever brought them LiquidIV before and asking where we had been all these years. It’s an elementary schooler running up to you after Letters4Lungs to tell you they told their parents about lung cancer screening at dinner. It’s a station captain shaking your hand and saying he shared our letter with his entire crew. None of those moments make the news, but they are the reason I keep going. Every single one of them reminds me that this work is reaching people, and that it matters.
What have you learned through your experiences volunteering?
I have learned that good intentions mean nothing without precision. When we first started our hydration drives, donation bins filled up with bottled water because that is what people defaulted to. But fire stations already had water. What they needed was electrolyte replenishment, something most donors had never even considered. That experience completely changed how I approached service. I stopped asking what I wanted to give and started asking what people actually needed. I also learned that persistence is everything. Navigating fire district hierarchies, legislative review cycles and county procurement processes as a 17-year-old is not easy, but every closed door taught me how to find a window.
A fire station visit with Station 71 in Fontana Fire District for hydration drive donation.
Why is it important for others to get involved with causes they care about?
Because waiting for someone else to fix the problem is how the problem never gets fixed. I think a lot of people assume that change is something that happens to communities rather than something communities create. But every single initiative within Project Pulmonary started with one person deciding that the gap they saw was worth closing. You don’t have to have all the answers or a perfect plan. You just have to care enough to start. And once you start, you realize pretty quickly that there are so many other people who care just as much and were waiting for someone to take the first step.
Any advice for people who want to start volunteering?
Start before you feel ready, because you will never feel ready. When I founded Project Pulmonary, I was a 5’1” high schooler walking into fire stations and legislative offices trying to convince professionals twice my age and twice my height to trust me. It was intimidating every single time. But I showed up anyway, and I kept showing up, and eventually the trust came.
Find something that genuinely breaks your heart, because that heartbreak is what will keep you going on the days when progress feels invisible. And do not underestimate the power of being young. People expect less from you, which means that every time you exceed those expectations, you leave a lasting impression.
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Yingman Tang. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.
Yingman Tang is a 28-year-old Chinese PhD student at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). After earning her master’s in lighting design for theater, she is now researching AI and theater with a minor focus in Chinese-American theater.
As an only child and the first in her family to go to college, her high-level educational pursuits are especially meaningful. Her time in the U.S. has been productive outside of her studies, too, learning about how American culture vary as she explores different states on school breaks.
Yingman’s interest in cultural pursuits include that of her own as well. Recently finishing her term as president of the Chinese American Association of Central Illinois (CAACI)—the first student to hold the position—she now serves as president emeritus and strategic advisor. This well-regarded group has been organizing Chinese cultural, educational and civic events for 25 years.
In her role, Yingman builds bridges between Americans and their foreign-born neighbors as well as connecting the large Asian—particularly Chinese population—through things like holiday celebrations, educational opportunities and artistic performances. Whether connecting with their cultural roots or learning something new, both students and residents are delighted.
Through her 50 to 60 monthly volunteer hours, Yingman also helped secure CAACI’s first-ever $2,000 Urbana Arts Grant which expanded the organization’s programming. After graduation, she hopes to find a teaching role at a university and share her knowledge with students in pursuit of their goals.
Yingman plays the erhu at an event she organized called “Get to Know Traditional Chinese Fold Music.” During the event, audience members were invited to explore and try different traditional instruments and experience the unique sounds they produce.
What inspires you to get started with this initiative?
As an international student, I’ve experienced how difficult it can be to feel connected in a new environment. Immigrants, international residents and students don’t always have access to cultural resources. They miss their hometown but may lack the information to connect, not just to Americans, but to those who share their cultural background.
CAACI organizes events and tries to help people. For example, we’ll do a Chinese Lunar New Year celebration. A lot of people look forward to it because they can’t go home. They feel isolated. Through that event, they meet friends from their native country and celebrate together. They eat food and share stories. That’s meaningful. It inspires me to create spaces where people feel supported, informed and culturally connected.
Tell us about your volunteer role with the Chinese American Association of Central Illinois.
My role isn’t huge, but there are a lot of details. When I host an event, I first look for the venue and negotiate the date and rental fee. Then, we find funding by reaching out to businesses. And I negotiate with the performers or musicians, etc. There are a lot of behind-the-scenes aspects to discuss.
We’ll have one or two events per month, and we have annual events like the Chinese Lunar New Year Festival, the Dragon Board Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival. They’re the biggest festivals in China. Last week, our organization partnered with the Jasmine Field Orchestra, to host an event called “Get to Know Traditional Chinese Folk Music.” Families could come and bring their kids. We’re trying to find any opportunity to show how wonderful Chinese culture is, to let the city remember us.
Many events I’ve held were because of feedback from residents. For example, I invited students from UIUC to an event to share their academic experiences and their future careers. I’d heard from one of the homestay moms who is an immigrant herself, unfamiliar with the US education system. She asked if I could help parents help their kids find out about majors.
I also contribute to broader community engagement and cross-cultural understanding. I was invited to provide suggestions to the mayor of Champaign before her trip to China. I shared perspectives on cultural context and communication to support a more informed and respectful exchange. After her return, I helped organize a community conversation where she shared her experience with local residents.
What has been your favorite event?
My favorite is the Chinese Lunar New Year event. It’s the biggest event that CAACI hosts with 400 to 500 attendees this February. I enjoy hearing the applause from the crowd, especially when the show ends. I can see the artists smile. When other people are happy, it makes me happy.
Yingman Tang studies theater and explores American culture with her dog Boshi, the Chinese word for a doctoral degree.
What are your long-term plans or goals for the organization?
We’re trying to build a platform to sell used goods. Many students don’t have enough money to buy new stuff when they move in but don’t have a trusted platform to buy used.
Additionally, not everyone can afford to eat at a restaurant, but restaurants throw away food at night because they only want to sell fresh items the next day. We think it might help both students and restaurants to ask the latter to sell food to students that would otherwise be wasted for a low price. So, we’re trying to build an application to facilitate that. The plan is to have it ready by the end of summer break.
What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer?
I didn’t know there were so many needs from local people. Not just students, but moms. They aren’t familiar with the American educational system. And right now, politics are chaotic. People are worried about their visas and about speaking publicly about the relationship between China and America.
People have questions, but they don’t know who can help. Once I stepped into the role, I became the helper. No matter who you are, you can find me.
Tell us about future partnerships, programs or events that you are excited about.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is in September or October. I spoke with a local who wants to share Chinese tea and the clothing called Qipao, which originated in the Qing Dynasty. She wants to showcase them, so I’m helping with that.
What do you want people to learn from your story?
Help people. Even small actions can make a difference. I organize events. It’s not a huge thing, but it’s meaningful. What matters most is being willing to take the first step and stay committed.
Do you want to make a difference in your community like Yingman? Find local volunteer opportunities.
California Teen Dedicates Hundreds of Hours to Literacy
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Amelia Sarkisian. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.
Growing up as the child and grandchild of teachers, Amelia Sarkisian learned early that education has the power to change lives. It’s a lesson that has stuck and one she has spent the past three years putting into practice.
When the Los Angeles 11th grader arrived at high school and discovered Wise Readers to Leaders (WRTL) — a nonprofit that runs literacy programs for students from under-resourced Title I schools — she didn’t hesitate. Three years and more than 260 hours later, she has become one of the organization’s most invested teen volunteers.
Amelia tutors a third-grade student one-on-one each week throughout the school year, assists in a classroom of 40 second and third graders every summer, and co-chairs the Teen Board’s Enrichment Committee, where she oversees 37 high schoolers as they design and teach virtual enrichment courses — everything from coding to performing arts to journalism — to kindergarten through eighth grade scholars.
Back at her own school, she founded and runs a 13-member WRTL club, collected more than 600 donated books for the organization and launched the first city-wide Los Angeles Student Service Leadership Summit, bringing together 60 students from five high schools to share best practices in community service.
What first got you interested in Wise Readers to Leaders?
I’ve always loved reading — it’s been a big part of my life growing up. But when I used to go with my sister to read books to preschoolers at a child development center, I noticed how some of them couldn’t sit through an entire book. That really worried me, honestly. When I got to high school and found out about Wise Readers to Leaders, I knew it would be a perfect opportunity to keep working on the literacy gap.
Can you describe the different roles you have with the organization?
On the Teen Board, I co-chair the Enrichment Committee, overseeing 37 high schoolers who design and teach their own Zoom classes throughout the year to the same kids in the summer program — kindergarteners through eighth graders. We each teach whatever we’re passionate about, so I run a computer science class while others teach performing arts, journalism, architecture, ASL, fitness and nutrition to name a few. Through all of it, over 100 scholars have had the chance to explore subjects their families typically can’t afford to provide outside of school.
I also tutor a third grader named David one-on-one every week throughout the school year, and each summer I work as a Junior Literacy Leader in a classroom of 40 second and third graders. And at my school, I founded a WRTL club — now 13 members strong — where we recruit volunteers, run book drives, and spread awareness about the organization’s work.
As the WRTL Teen Board’s Enrichment Committee co-chair, Amelia introduces the committee’s mission to new members./ Courtesy Amelia Sarkisian
How do you make reading fun for kids who might be reluctant or struggling?
The most important thing is just acting like you love it yourself. I find that the scholars really look up to us as teens, so if we’re excited to read the next chapter, they’re going to want to be too. I also try to add game-like elements — we do a lot of Kahoot for comprehension at the end of chapters. And it’s not just reading the whole time. We’ll stop and talk about the story. For instance, would you have made the same choice as the character? Making it interactive is the best way I know to get them to love it.
Do you have a specific memory of a student having a breakthrough moment?
Last summer I was helping in a second and third grade classroom, and the teacher offered a little duck toy as a prize for whoever wrote the most sentences in their journal. Two girls in the class got so excited and really wanted that prize. They wrote so many sentences as I was helping them with the grammar and punctuation. But when journal time ended, they both begged to keep going. They wrote through lunch.
They gave up their recess. Just to keep writing and make sure everything was right.
What struck me was that at the start of the summer, a lot of those kids had been really reluctant to write at all because they didn’t have the confidence. And here these two were, giving up their free time because they wanted to. Seeing that transformation made me realize what we’re doing actually matters.
Tell us about David, your one-on-one tutoring student.
The biggest change I’ve seen in him is his confidence. At the beginning, he was really shy and we would take turns reading because he wasn’t sure of himself. Now we’ve actually moved into a fourth-grade book because he was flying through the third-grade ones so fast. We started with the Magic Tree House series because he loved those, and now we’re reading a new book from the suggested reading list. He tells me about his favorite books and gets excited to keep going. Honestly, we’ve become great friends.
You also launched the first LA Student Service Leadership Summit. What was that like to organize?
I had attended the Educators’ Consortium for Service Learning the year before and was really inspired by the keynote speaker, Cathy Berger Kaye, and the way she talked about community engagement. So we invited her back and brought together students from five different high schools in the LA area for a workshop day.
We learned about best practices for leading service clubs and what it means to be a good leader. But the biggest takeaway was this perspective shift — that service isn’t about imposing help on someone who needs it, but about a real exchange of ideas between people. I think everyone left with something meaningful to bring back to their school and community.
What keeps you going when things get overwhelming?
Just knowing that what I’m doing is actually helping people and making a difference in their lives. The education these kids are getting can change the whole trajectory of where they go. And then there are those moments — like the girls at journal time, or David telling me he wants to keep reading. When I remember those, it’s not hard to show up again.
What advice would you give to a young person who wants to start volunteering?
Start with what you think is the most important issue you see around you. It shouldn’t feel forced — it should come from something genuine, maybe something connected to an academic interest or something you notice in your community. And don’t think it has to be something huge. Helping one kid learn to read is going to change his life. Just do whatever you can.
Providing Hope Through Difficult Medical Diagnoses
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Bhavya Uppalapati. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.
Most Americans, at some point, have run into difficulties navigating the complicated–and expensive–American healthcare system. Fourteen-year-old Bhavya Uppalapati has had a front row seat on how those challenges affect people already dealing with life-altering conditions.
For the last two years, Bhavya has been leading efforts to support, educate and advocate for families affected by rare conditions with the Rare Disease Council of America (RDCA), an organization she founded to empower patients and give families like hers a louder voice in health policy. As executive director, her advocacy on Capitol Hill and beyond has led to increased visibility for funding priorities and ways for young people to engage.
Bhavya has raised over $25,000 through grants, sponsorships, partnerships and individual donations. Her coalition spans 20+ countries and connects patient families, researchers and policymakers. The organization produces educational materials that not only help families understand conditions but navigate diagnoses and access care. And their op-eds bring attention to associated issues.
What inspires you to volunteer?
I’ve watched people struggle, not just because resources don’t exist, but because they don’t know where to find them or how to navigate systems. That gap between what’s available and what people need–or can actually use–motivates me. Volunteering gives me a way to contribute solutions instead of just recognizing problems.
Tell us about your volunteer role with the Rare Disease Council of America.
Early on, I was involved in almost every part of the work–outreach, writing policy and briefs, researching issues and trying to get meetings with anyone willing to listen. A lot of it was learning by doing.
As we’ve grown, I’ve been more focused on leadership and long-term direction. One of my main responsibilities is overseeing the development of policy briefings. That involves identifying key issues in rare disease access, conducting research and translating that into clear, actionable recommendations that can be shared with policymakers and global health organizations. I’ve delivered more than 78 briefings to congressional offices, federal agencies and international bodies like the World Health Organization and the World Bank.
Another important part of my role is acting as a bridge between groups by making policymakers aware of patient experiences and helping researchers understand where there are gaps in care. I also strategize on building our chapter structures, creating systems for research and collaboration, and mentoring new members. It’s important to ensure our growth is sustainable and that the work can continue as leadership transitions.
What inspired you to get started with this initiative?
The rare disease was never theoretical for me; it was part of how my family experienced the healthcare system. I saw how much time, energy and persistence it took to get basic answers, a diagnosis, a specialist familiar with the condition and access to treatment.
At 12, I didn’t have the language to describe policy gaps or structural issues. I just understood that families were constantly trying to navigate something incredibly complex without support and that many of the decisions affecting them were being made in spaces they didn’t have access to. Starting RDCA was a way to give patients and families a voice.
What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?
What stays with me the most are the personal impacts. One example is when a family used one of our diagnostic navigation guides to successfully challenge an insurance denial and get the therapy their child needed. That kind of outcome puts everything into perspective. The work isn’t theoretical; it’s directly affecting people’s lives.
What other types of education materials do you create?
We build broader patient advocacy toolkits that walk someone through things like how to prepare for an appointment with a specialist or document symptoms in a way that’s useful. We put together policy explainers that break down things like Medicaid coverage, prior authorization or newborn screening in a way that doesn’t require a policy background to understand.
Another piece is template-based resources that include sample appeal letters, outreach emails and documentation formats that people can adapt to their own situation. We’ve also started creating shorter formats like one-pages and quick reference sheets meant to be easy to use in high stress situations where someone doesn’t have time to read long documents.
What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer?
Initially, I thought that if I did research and presented strong data, it would be enough to drive change. Eventually, I realized that impact equally depends on how you communicate an issue. You can have the right solution, but if it’s not framed in a way that fits the priorities of the person in the room, it ultimately won’t go anywhere.
Why is it important for others to get involved with causes they care about?
The issues people care about don’t move on their own. Without people pushing, asking questions and staying involved, a lot of problems just stay where they are. The people closest to an issue usually understand it best, and when they get involved, they bring perspective that you can’t get from reports or data alone.
How can people help this cause in their own area?
Start by learning, so you can contribute in a way that’s actually helpful, not just well-intentioned. Rare diseases are complex, and each one is different, but there are common challenges across the board.
The most useful thing you can do is directly support patients and families. That could mean volunteering with advocacy organizations, helping with outreach or just sharing reliable information. Many families are navigating this without clear guidance, so connecting someone to the right resources matters.
What do you want people to learn from your story?
You don’t need to wait for the right moment or the right credentials to do meaningful work. When I started the RDCA, I didn’t have a clear roadmap or prior experience in policy. What mattered was recognizing a problem and being willing to take the first step. With consistency, small steps can grow into something much larger. If you can build something that empowers others to contribute and lead, that’s where lasting change happens.
Making the Desert Beautiful for the Next Generation
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Natalia Smith. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.
Natalia Smith always loved to be outside. But a random email request from an organization looking for volunteers to work outdoors catapulted her life of service into high gear. Back in 2017, Natalia was at work in her professional role when Natural Restorations submitted a request for volunteers through her company portal. The organization works to remove trash and graffiti from outdoor recreation and wilderness areas, revitalize natural areas through replanting projects and enrich the lives of military veterans and other community members. After one day of participation, Natalia was hooked.
From picking up trash and debris to clearing away invasive species that grow after wildfires, Natalia got to better the world for the next generation while embracing her love of the great outdoors.
Natalia views her volunteer work as a way to lead by example and inspire others. While she originally saw picking up trash as something minimal, she describes it now as a drop of water that accumulates together and becomes something much larger. She also finds tremendous solace by investing in a strong work/life balance, since being in nature provides her with restorative benefits for the mind and body. She encourages anyone who finds that restorative feeling through volunteer work to pursue the pathway that provides it.
While Natalia has found great success in her volunteer work thus far, she’s only just getting started. After seven years as a volunteer, she’s hoping to get even more involved with Natural Restoration’s work by helping the organization fundraise and write new grants. She’s even expanded her sights beyond the organization, becoming a volunteer lead with the Tonto National Forest Mesa Ranger District. They have a River Rangers program, and in 2024 asked Natalia to lead their volunteer group. In that role, Natalia is literally guiding the next generation of environmental volunteers into action. Her experience is a strong example of just how far a volunteer can grow if they’re willing to step outside of their comfort zone.
NATALIA SMITH, A VOLUNTEER WITH NATURAL RESTORATIONS, ASSISTS DURING A GREEN FRIDAY EVENT AFTER THANKSGIVING AT NEEDLE ROCK ON THE LOWER VERDE RIVER IN THE TONTO NATURAL FOREST. /COURTESY NATALIA SMITH
What inspired you to get started with this initiative?
Growing up, spending time outdoors with my family and friends was an inexpensive way to go out and have fun and explore the natural world around me. I’ve always enjoyed outdoor recreation, like hiking, biking, wildlife and being out in nature. I completed an environmental science degree in 2013 and started my environmental health and safety career at Salt River Project (SRP), where I work. I was looking for opportunities in my community that would match my passion for the environment and outdoor recreation and my skill set. Natural Restorations sent a request for volunteers through our company portal, and they did such a good job of organizing the event. It wasn’t completely 100% work. You still could listen to the birds and see the wildlife and make connections with other community members out there, but they were steadfast with the determination of getting these areas cleaned up and keeping them scenic and having an impact.
What inspires you to volunteer?
I think it just comes from the fact that I can. The tasks that I do aren’t really any more difficult than what I would do in my day-to-day life. Picking up trash seems like a dirty job, but it’s as simple as just seeing it there and taking care of it, and wanting to have some kind of positive impact. It’s the instant gratification of seeing an area that looked kind of messy beforehand. Just getting that stuff cleaned up, you turn around and see it’s so much better for the people that are going to come after you.
Tell us about your volunteer role with Natural Restorations.
We do a multitude of things. The bulk of what I do with natural restorations is go out to outdoor recreation areas, either public lands, state trust lands or natural forests, and clean up trash and debris. That is the main goal of what we do. We go in and clean up trash and debris that shouldn’t be there and should be out in dumpsters. We’ve also moved into doing invasive vegetation removal and replanting of native desert species like saguaro cactus in areas that have been scarred by human-caused wildfires on the forest service land. We’ll go in, clear an area of invasive, non-native grasses that would promote wildfire, and then we’ll plant native saguaro cactus.
Also, I do a lot of promotion with my company, SRP, so I try to encourage my coworkers to come out and join the volunteer events. I share my experience, like how my employer has a grant program that’s based on employee volunteer hours. Depending on how many hours I spend with that organization, I can get them grant funding to continue to support their mission of doing the cleanups and restoration.
What are your long-term plans or goals for the organization?
To get more involved. We’re in Arizona, so with this type of outdoor work, the limitations are always that the weather here gets pretty warm. I just always want to share their mission and support them, as well as engage with other folks in my community. I’d like to help them with their fundraising and educate the community, which is also part of what they do by making real positive differences and inspiring people to be good stewards of these areas that should be protected. We should pitch in and be responsible with outdoor ethics and how we go out and adventure, and make sure that we leave these areas in a condition that other people will enjoy for future generations.
What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?
I would say interacting with community members that may not be there for the event. Maybe they’re just out there doing their thing, fishing or whatever. They don’t know anything about it. But then they see us out there working, and they ask us what we’re doing, and they see that we’re just picking up trash and trying to tidy up the area, and they join in. With the right gloves, trash grabber and bags, they’re willing to jump in and help out. Of course, the kids are always my favorite, because they get to spend time with their family and friends and other youth volunteers that are out there. They get to see their peers out there doing the same thing, and I’m hoping that it inspires those future generations.
What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer?
Changing conditions and adapting to challenges. We’re in an outdoor environment, so sometimes there’s weather, and sometimes there’s wildlife interactions. It can all change. Getting to interact with different members of my community, and being able to talk to them and engage them in a way that makes them want to join in, has been a good learning experience. I’ve had a lot of opportunities and now can network with additional organizations that have the same goals of environmental stewardship, ecosystem health and responsible recreation through these volunteer events.
NATALIA SMITH (RIGHT) LEADS VOLUNTEERS ON THE LOWER SALT RIVER AS THE VOLUNTEER LEAD FOR THE TONTO NATIONAL FOREST MESA RANGER DISTRICT RIVER RANGERS PROGRAM. /COURTESY NATALIA SMITH
Any advice for people who want to start volunteering?
There are lots of resources available. You can just go to Google and search. It was always intimidating for me initially. What could I do? I thought I didn’t have the experience, but there are a lot of organizations that are very welcoming to volunteers with varying skill sets. Then you find that organization that matches your passion. I find it very rewarding to have my work and then this other thing that I do, and sometimes they cross paths and mesh together. But I’ve also met a lot of really great people and built relationships and now friendships, and it’s all surrounding this positive impact on our community.
What do you want people to learn from your story?
There are lots of opportunities. Sometimes you just have to be the one to go out and initiate it. Take that first step. Reach out to your friends and family. Maybe the first one you choose isn’t the right one, but then you keep looking at other options and exploring your local municipalities or what your friends and family do. There’s likely an organization or nonprofit that could really use assistance and your skill set and another set of hands to help with the lifting and spreading the information and engagement with our community.
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Elspeth Luu. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.
Elspeth Luu, 18, is a long-time bicycling enthusiast. Experiencing the effects of climate change has also made her an advocate for sustainability. In 2022, Elspeth started Utmost Atmos in response to the California wildfires to promote sustainability, accessibility and environmental education. One of her signature programs launched by collecting bicycles local kids had outgrown or were no longer using.
She and her friends–and some of her 19-member team–refurbish and donate them along with often brand-new helmets. With a budget of over $22,000 thanks to donations and grants, they are able to purchase the tools needed to keep old bikes out of the landfill and make students who would otherwise be unable to afford them very happy. Funds also go towards environmental education in Title I schools.
When she’s not working on Utmost Atmos, Elspeth plays the cello with her school’s orchestra as well as the San Jose Youth Symphony and has written multiple pieces with lyrics following an environmental theme.
What inspired you to get started with this initiative?
One September morning, a wave of smoke filled my lungs as I stepped outside and an orange haze had settled over the sky, casting a glow over my backyard. Learning that this was fueled by wildfires intensified by climate change, I felt compelled to act. I started by meticulously separating my waste into recyclables, composting trash and swapping car rides for bike rides. But I realized it wasn’t a battle I could fight alone.
So, I gathered friends for weekly rides around the neighborhood that we called Cycle Saturdays, which eventually expanded to neighboring schools. I also noticed that some students in our community couldn’t afford bikes or helmets, and it sparked the idea to refurbish and donate secondhand bicycles to underserved youth to further promote both accessibility and sustainability.
Over several months, I worked on a grant proposal for this idea, eventually receiving $20,000 from the Silicon Valley Clean Energy Education Fund. With that funding, I put up flyers, reached out to my local church and knocked on doors to collect bicycles that families had outgrown. I recruited friends from school, orchestra and my neighborhood.
Together, we hosted Saturday repair shops, giving students from Title I schools safe, refurnished bikes. What started as a small project grew into Utmost Atmos, an organization dedicated to empowering youth to take action against climate change by hosting bicycle and helmet donation drives, leading safe riding workshops, organizing environmental art contests and visiting schools to talk about sustainability. Since its founding, our team has reached over 10,000 students across California.
I believe that one of the most impactful ways we can fight climate change is by educating youth. This is especially important for communities with fewer resources, as they are often the ones who contribute least to the factors of climate change, yet bear the greatest burden.
Elspeth Luu (back left), founder of Utmost Atmos, and team members meet up before a bicycle and helmet informational session and distribution events at an elementary school.
Tell us about your volunteer role with Utmost Atmos.
In my role as executive director, I write grant proposals, organize bicycle and helmet drives, lead sustainability visits to schools and generally, oversee our team. I coordinate partnerships and manage outreach as well.
For sustainability visits, we reach out to the school and ask if we can go in and present. It may be related to bicycling and bicycle safety or general environmental education, like what climate change is and what you can do to mitigate it.
One of the art competitions we did was the Canvas for Climate contest. Students submitted artwork relating to a prompt about climate change or a more general environmental concept they wanted to portray. For our current contest, the Earthlight Story Awards, elementary and middle school students will submit short stories, either a personal narrative or a work of fiction.
Refurbishing bicycles takes a lot of specialized knowledge. Is that something you’ve picked up through experience?
Yes. It’s a continual journey. I wouldn’t call myself an expert. We’ve had a lot of support from the community. One example is Mr. Tony Le who, the president of the Almaden Cycle Touring Club. He has a lot of knowledge and has connected us with some good resources.
What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?
Working with other passionate individuals to connect our community with environmental resources has made me value relationships over metrics: the smile of the 7-year-old girl whose helmet I fitted or the painting of a sixth grader entering our climate advocacy artwork competition. This is proof of what a team of students can accomplish together.
What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer?
Growth starts small. It starts with an idea and, sometimes, asking for help. There will be times that feel less successful than others, but each step builds progress. Change is often slow, but it’s worth it to see the positive impact you’re making on other people’s lives.
Elspeth promotes Utmost Atmos’ environmental initiatives to festival attendees.
Tell us about future partnerships, programs or events that you are excited about.
We’re currently working on the Earthlight Story Awards and would love more people to submit. We’re also working on a mobile app to promote climate literacy and environmental education. There are three parts to it. One is a gamified quiz, which helps users learn more about waste disposal. Another is an interactive map of different waste disposal locations. And the last part is a scholarship and opportunity database that we’ll be continually updating so students are aware of ways to get involved if they‘re passionate about the environment and sustainability.
Any advice for people who want to start volunteering?
Figure out what matters to you and why. If you care deeply about something, other people will see that, and they’ll care too.
What do you want people to learn from your story?
It doesn’t take a big person to create change, just a big imagination and the will to begin.
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Maya Jones. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.
Five years ago, in eighth grade, Maya Jones started volunteering with JaxTHRIVE. As the daughter of an immigrant, the idea of helping people who make the U.S. their adopted home adjust and feel welcome was an attractive mission. JaxTHRIVE supports refugee students in the transition to their new home with initiatives like financial literacy training and both virtual and in-person tutoring. While they consistently host around 40 students from the Jacksonville area, they’re always looking to welcome more students and volunteers.
Maya’s introduction to community service was through scouting. She has been in Scouts since middle school and, last year, became an Eagle Scout with a conservation education initiative designed to protect a local river. Given her lifelong love of sailing, protecting the water was personal. It’s where she and the varsity sailing team she co-captains spend much of their time. This fall, Maya will head to Dartmouth, where she plans to begin her path to medical school and, like her mother, become a doctor.
What inspires you to volunteer?
When scouting opened its doors to girls, I became one of the founding members of my troop. That was my entryway into community service. Through scouting, you have opportunities to do things like park cleanups and serve outdoor areas.
Maya Jones (right), co-president of JaxTHRIVE, helps a young refugee student with an art project at one of the organization’s weekly tutoring sessions.
Tell us about your volunteer role with JaxTHRIVE.
As co-president, I help galvanize over 150 volunteers from across 11 different high schools in Jacksonville. I do a lot of behind-the-scenes work, coordinating and making sure new volunteers know what to expect and what to do. On Super Saturdays, which are our in-person tutoring sessions, I usually welcome everyone and give a speech about what we do, who I am and my availability for questions. We divide students into three age groups and offer ESL, science, math and art instruction they can rotate through each week.
I’m also the founder and president of JaxTHRIVE at my high school. I essentially do the same thing there, but on a smaller scale. This year, I also started the EmpowHer initiative, which is our female empowerment chapter. It involved self-defense clinics, financial literacy workshops, a mind-body wellness clinic and a hygiene product drive. We also went to see the Barbie movie. We’ve increased our volunteer recruitment by 20% over the past year, mostly through word-of-mouth and by creating fun volunteering opportunities.
In many of the countries these students have come from, being a girl is hard. They deal with a lot of oppression. Learning more about our culture, embracing being a woman and getting to go to school, seems to help them adjust.
I also co-authored a children’s book last year, called Serena of Kandahar: An Afghan Girl’s Journey to Change the World. It’s a true story about a young refugee who came to the U.S. from Afghanistan. She was never involved in JaxThrive, but she’s helped us out a lot.
What inspired you to get started with this initiative?
The mission is meaningful to me, because my mom is an immigrant. She was born and raised in Mumbai, India and then decided to immigrate to the United States in her early twenties to continue studying. I can relate to how coming to this country can be a really unsettling process. JaxTHRIVE is all about making our students feel like they belong as they start their new life here.
What are your long-term plans or goals for the organization?
I think starting a JaxTHRIVE club at Dartmouth could be a really great opportunity, and we offer virtual tutoring, so they could be involved with that. I just hope to see the program grow and continue to flourish.
What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?
It’s watching students go from kids who can barely say a sentence in English without pausing or forgetting a word to fully conversing with them with enthusiasm and confidence. It’s amazing to see how fast they pick it up over the course of our tutoring sessions.
What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer?
I’ve learned the importance of patience. It can be challenging not to jump right in, try to fix everything and make changes all at once. But if you’re a steady pillar of support for another person, over time, they’ll open up even more.
Tell us about future partnerships, programs or events that you are excited about.
We have some fun, camp-style activities planned for the summer. We’ll kick things off with a drive and ask volunteers to bring in summer reading books and different items–crayons, chalk, bubbles and fun things like that–for goodie bags for the kids.
Why is it important for others to get involved with causes they care about?
When you do something you’re passionate about, it takes form so much better than something your heart’s not in. I’ve seen the passion our volunteers have for working with these kids and how much they enjoy spending half of their Saturday with them.
Any advice for people who want to start volunteering?
In areas with higher refugee populations that don’t have resources like JaxThrive, it’s important to understand the barrier in language and culture. Be patient. This is a whole new world for them, and it’s important to be there to help with whatever they might need.
Often, our refugee students are put in a grade in their school based on age, not knowledge and skills. The education transition can be really difficult coming from one country to another. I think schools also should recognize that and be there to support them.
What do you want people to learn from your story?
It’s always easier to show kindness to someone than to ignore them. Often, our refugee students feel isolated. That’s a hard feeling at such a young age, to be so new to something and not be welcomed. I want people to learn to lead their life with love and kindness. We are all in it together, and that sense of community is so important. Spread love, not hatred.
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honorees Sumedha Rao and Sanvi Pandey. Read their story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.
Sumedha Rao and Sanvi Pandey loved to read as children, and they want everyone to have that opportunity. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the duo was looking to do something positive for the community. Both high school students, they got the idea to start small. They began delivering books to children in hospitals and pediatric therapy centers. But with each book they delivered, Sumedha and Sanvi realized they possessed a world full of potential change.
Sumedha and Sanvi started gathering books off their own shelves, and even requested ones their friends, family and neighbors no longer wanted. They established The Bookmark Project, a student-led literacy initiative focused on expanding access to books for children in under-resourced communities. Along with a team of volunteers recruited from their classmates, the group continued to expand by leading book drives and partnering with schools, hospitals, therapy centers and libraries. Since then, they launched new chapters in Michigan and North Carolina and have collected and donated more than 41,500 books that have been sent as far as India and Uganda. The team’s international expansion is particularly exciting, as it has allowed The Bookmark Project to distribute books to children in a rural Indian village and support the construction of an Indian library so they can have their own space to learn and grow.
Sumedha and Sanvi’s work to encourage literacy across the globe exploded into a worldwide phenomenon. They’ve connected with community leaders and have been invited to speak about the importance of youth-led service. Still, the duo wants to make it clear that there’s nothing wrong with starting small and asking for help along the way. What began as a mission to help others find a bright light during a period of darkness evolved into a groundbreaking mission to comfort, educate and inspire children through the power of words. That journey is available to anyone ready to explore the world of volunteerism.
What inspired you to get started with this initiative?
Sumedha:We wanted to do something for the community. We know this was definitely a difficult time for a lot of people, especially with their mental health, and a lot of children were in the hospital. We wanted to do something small, so we collected books from our shelves and from our neighbors’ shelves and then donated them to a local hospital. We were seeing how much of an impact books can have on children, even though it was just a couple of books we donated. It just made it so meaningful to us. That’s why we continued growing it even further.
What inspires you to volunteer?
Sanvi:I think it’s very rewarding once you get into it. You meet a lot of different people and see a lot of different experiences that you aren’t exposed to in any other format. It also teaches you a lot about yourself, getting to help other people. It teaches you a lot about what’s important to you and what you value, which I think is just important to know and apply throughout your life. I think it makes you a better person because of what you learn, and by getting to interact with all different kinds of people.
Tell us about your volunteer role with The Bookmark Project?
Sumedha: Because we co-founded it at the beginning, it was just the two of us. We led a lot of the hands-on things, such as going to collect the books and then packing them, especially when it was smaller donations. Now we do a lot more leading of everyone else. We have volunteers who come in to help us with our book packing events. After we contact different libraries, bookstores and people willing to donate from schools or other places, we gather all those books, and then we contact places that want these books for donations. Once we get an idea of what they want, we get volunteers to come in to help us organize these books and get them ready to be shipped out. Now we have our team, and we have our roles divided within our team. We have different roles, like marketing, communications and just keeping track of the work and goals.
SUMEDHA (LEFT) AND SANVI (RIGHT) LEAD VOLUNTEERS AT A BOOK PACKING EVENT, HELPING SORT AND PACK BOOKS FOR COMMUNITIES LACKING EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES. /COURTESY SUMEDHA RAO AND SANVI PANDEY
What are your long-term plans or goals for the organization?
Sanvi: Within the last couple of months to a year, we’ve started doing a couple of international donations to India and Africa. We would like to continue expanding that. It’s a little more difficult for us to go abroad, of course, because it’s expensive, but that’s something we want to expand and see how we can effectively do. We also want to continue to expand throughout the United States. We’ve started building chapters in Michigan and Texas, so perhaps expanding to different states and identifying areas that have fewer resources that we could support.
What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?
Sumedha: One thing that is definitely rewarding is when we get to work with the little kids. We’ve actually gone into different Montessori schools and talked to these kids, and they have also done book drives for us. Just being there and seeing how much they want to help is so rewarding. Not only the Montessori schools, but also the kids to whom we donate the books. We’ve gotten a lot of videos from Africa and India, and just seeing how much those books mean to them is definitely very rewarding.
What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer?
Sanvi: We didn’t realize how big and important our mission would eventually become. But we’ve learned a lot about just the importance of literacy, especially at a young age. I think it’s something that is not as considered, especially in more fortunate areas, but having books at a young age really impacts a child’s trajectory and how well they do in school. It can put certain children at a disadvantage compared to their peers, and I feel like we didn’t even realize that before we started.
SUMEDHA (LEFT) AND SANVI (RIGHT) ORGANIZE BOOKS DURING A PACKING EVENT, PREPARING DONATIONS TO BE SHIPPED TO UNDERSERVED AREAS, HOSPITALS AND SCHOOLS ACROSS THE CHICAGOLAND AREA, AS WELL AS UGANDA AND INDIA. /COURTESY SUMEDHA RAO AND SANVI PANDEY
Why is it important for others to get involved with causes they care about?
Sanvi:I think it teaches you a lot about yourself. I think you learn about what you value, and also, it’s just very meaningful to do something that is bigger than yourself. You learn a lot about your community, and you build a lot of valuable relationships with people that you wouldn’t have relationships with otherwise.
Sumedha: It’s also whatever is important to you. Being involved in volunteering, in that sense, can really broaden your perspectives and introduce you to new things that you wouldn’t have seen before.
Any advice for people who want to start volunteering?
Sumedha: It’s always okay to just start small. Nobody really knows what they’re doing once they start. But just getting that initial start and knowing that it’s okay to ask others for help. Nobody finds it annoying when you ask for help. I think just starting small and asking for help is definitely one of the main things.
One Teen’s Sustainability Strategy Is Put into Action
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Josie Kim. Read his story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.
Josie Kim’s mission to combat climate change all began with messy water faucets. A high school student, Josie’s mission for sustainability started through her co-presidency of her school’s Climate Club. As a freshman, she noticed that her school’s water faucets caused a tremendous amount of water waste because the flow was so strong. Along with the club, Josie was inspired to start investing in low-flow faucets, and had over 100 replaced within the school. The low-flow faucet aerator project went on to save over 300,000 gallons of water per year for her school, and catapulted Josie’s climate activism mission into full gear.
Now, Josie volunteers with the Student Climate Action Council, a student council working to advance sustainability initiatives and create a greener school system. A representative of 22,000 students, Josie works tirelessly to plan dynamic events that engage students and the local community to get active, whether it’s advocating for an eight-pillar plan that prioritizes sustainability or beautifying the local community. Josie dedicates around 15 hours a month to the organization, which is a hefty lift considering her full workload as a high school senior. Still, her unwavering dedication to the cause continues.
Josie is planning on heading off to college next year. She hopes to study a combination of government and environmental studies, so she can work to implement the knowledge of climate action she has learned through her volunteerism over the last several years. Through her dedication to service, Josie has carved out a path to a potential future career that is looking particularly bright. Her story is an empowering testimonial to just how much one person can learn if they’re willing to dip their toes into the world of volunteerism.
JOSIE KIM, A VOLUNTEER WITH THE STUDENT CLIMATE ACTION COUNCIL, STANDS IN FRONT OF MARYLAND REPRESENTATIVE SARAH ELFRETH’S OFFICE./COURTESY JOSIE KIM
What inspires you to volunteer?
I think what inspires me is my grandparents. Knowing that they come from an immigrant background from South Korea, I can see how hard they worked to build a life here. I think that coming from an immigrant family, a little bit later down the generational line, I’ve seen how every small change can really have a rippling effect throughout generations. Realizing that motivates me to put my best foot forward, even in daily aspects of my life. I try to put my best foot forward with this knowledge in mind.
Tell us about your volunteer role with the Student Climate Action Council (SCAC).
I’m the North Central Council Member for the Student Climate Action Council. In the role, I serve as the co-events chair, and I co-founded the events committee. In the events committee, we plan a lot of community events that encourage Montgomery County to get together and work towards advocating for different solutions to climate change.
For example, last year we hosted a town hall that had over 60 participants, both virtually and online, with several Board of Education members showing up to do Q&As and speeches. Beyond that, we also work to plan other events, like a beautification project at a local school where we did murals and tree planting. This year, we’re planning the Sustainability Summit, where we’re inviting a bunch of different organizations to come and talk to students about different climate careers and ways to get involved in climate advocacy.
What inspired you to get started with this initiative?
I’ve always had an interest in environmental studies because of the impact it has on the world, and especially the impact it has on a younger generation. We obviously aren’t seeing the full impact of climate change right now. We’ll see it in decades from now, or even a few years from now. During my freshman year of high school, I was able to get involved in a few different extracurricular activities, the main one being our school’s climate club. I was able to see the impact of climate change through this and learn about how a youth voice can get involved. In a lot of different other avenues, it’s very difficult to have this very young and active voice and advocacy, but I felt that in the climate change advocacy space, it was very receptive. From there, I worked up to a county level of advocacy, which I achieved through my position in the Student Climate Action Council.
What are your long-term plans or goals for the organization?
One of the projects we’re working on now is the climate change action plan, an eight-pillar plan that we’re hoping MCPS will adopt. For example, one of the eight pillars is climate literacy. We have a detailed plan that we talked about with different experts in the area to ensure that we’re getting the full range of knowledge that is needed to be put into investing in it. We’re working on that with MCPS, and we’ve been working on that for the past year or so. One of our main goals is to get that passed by the Board of Education. Once we do that, that would be one of our main projects for future years.
What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?
The most rewarding part is working with other students and learning about how they have gotten involved in the climate advocacy space. I know there are a lot of different ways for students to get involved. Being able to partner and learn about how they’re expanding their voice is such a great opportunity. Through the town hall, we were able to invite different student-led organizations and learn about the work that they’re doing. Seeing how broad this movement is within the youth community, and being able to help expand that, is something that is very impactful to me.
What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer?
I’ve learned a lot of different skills, but I think one of the main things that most people can take away from this is that any advocacy movement is such a collaborative thing. It requires such close work with other people, whether that be in the same council or just communicating with teachers and adults, to make sure that your voice is heard. Communication and teamwork play such a central role, and they go hand in hand. To collaborate well, you also need communication. If everyone were to work together, then this goal would be able to progress even further.
Why is it important for others to get involved with causes they care about?
Our youth voice is often lacking in a lot of different areas. We always hear about how adults think, or what adults think are the best solutions to investing in infrastructure or green infrastructure within Montgomery County, but we don’t really account for what the students think or what they’re actually experiencing on a day-to-day classroom basis. For example, one of the main issues that I was facing in my freshman year was really messy water faucets. A lot of water would be wasted because the water flow was too strong. Because of that, my Climate Club was inspired to start investing in low-flow fountains. We actually replaced over 100 within our school. I think changes like that, that come from the student experience, are the most impactful.
What do you want people to learn from your story?
The key takeaway here is that the youth voice really can make a difference. For everybody reading this, I think one of the most important things is that they should get their voice out there and try to work on problems that they’re passionate about. Initially, I wasn’t sure if I could actually make any impactful changes within my school system. But the first step is to try to get involved with local organizations. If you do that, you’ll be working toward a pretty impactful and profound goal.
Military Spouse Turns Her Experience into a Lifeline for Others
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Liudmila Frank. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.
Born in Belarus and raised in Italy, Liudmila Frank met her husband in Italy and has spent the past four and a half years living on U.S. military bases in Japan. She holds a master’s degree and built a career in HR before her life as a military spouse brought everything to a halt — she couldn’t work for two and a half years while waiting for her green card and, later, citizenship.
That experience — the isolation, the stalled career, the feeling of starting over from zero — is exactly what drove her to volunteer with the Foreign-Born Military Spouse Network (FMSN), a community of more than 5,800 spouses from around the world. As Events Manager, she organized virtual workshops on everything from career development to mental health to cultural adaptation.
More recently, she transitioned into a Career and Education Coordinator role, meeting one-on-one with spouses to help them navigate resumes, job searches and the often-confusing process of getting foreign credentials recognized in the U.S. As a fellow foreign-born military spouse herself, she draws on her own experience navigating life in a new country to help others find their footing.
What inspired you to start volunteering with the Foreign-Born Military Spouse Network?
I always loved helping others — it’s something I enjoy and it feels natural to me. But when I learned about FMSN and their mission, I really connected with it. As a foreign-born military spouse myself, I understand the many struggles this community faces. I thought that through FMSN, I could use my own experience and my professional background to support not just one person I’d met, but many more spouses. I wanted to turn my wish to help others into something more meaningful and more organized.
Liudmila proudly represents the Foreign-Born Military Spouse Network in Okinawa, Japan./ Courtesy Liudmila Frank
What are the particular challenges that foreign-born military spouses face?
A lot of foreign-born military spouses were highly educated and had established careers in their home countries. When they move to a new country to be with their spouse, they have to start from zero — their education or credentials may not be recognized, their English may not be strong and the cultural shock can be intense. They feel lonely, isolated, not understood.
And it becomes even harder when the spouse has to leave for a deployment or a TDY. Now they’re alone in a new environment, having to learn and adjust to a whole range of new things. If they have kids, they also have to manage the children and explain why their parent isn’t there. It can be very hard.
What kinds of events did you organize as Events Manager?
I organized events on career readiness, curfew safety, cultural integration and mental health — because mental health is something a lot of spouses really struggle with. We hosted speakers over Zoom, usually with 45 minutes of presentation followed by a Q&A. I also coordinated with partners who came to talk about the resources they offer, like degree evaluation services, which is so important for foreign-born spouses whose education may not automatically be recognized in the U.S.
One of my favorite events was on mental health. The speaker was a foreign-born military spouse herself, and she described the struggles of adapting to military life in a foreign country so well. People saw themselves in what she was saying. We came out of that event with more resources and a clearer sense of how to approach those difficulties. Every event is also a connection — we create opportunities for spouses to meet each other and share experiences.
Tell us about your new role as Career and Education Coordinator.
Now I get to use my HR background directly. I meet with foreign-born spouses one-on-one over Zoom to talk about their goals, their experience, and what they’re struggling with. I help them with things like resume reviews, job searches, certification options and understanding how to get their previous education or credentials recognized in America. A lot of them don’t even know where to start, so I try to guide them and help them figure out the next steps.
We also have partners who provide additional resources — things like degree evaluation or certification programs specifically for foreign-born spouses. And sometimes if a spouse speaks Italian or Russian, I can communicate in their language. But mostly we work in English, and if someone doesn’t speak it well, we can always find someone in our network who speaks their language.
Liudmila (left) and fellow FMSN volunteers connect foreign-born military spouses with resources./ Courtesy Liudmila Frank
What has been the most rewarding part of this work?
When a spouse says, “Now I feel less alone,” or “Now I know what my next step is,” that is a moment that feels very special to me. I joke with my colleagues sometimes that I feel even more happy than the spouses do, because of how much joy it gives me to help them, to give them clarity, to give them some hope for the future.
FMSN makes sure that no spouse feels alone or left behind. We build community, we support each other, we share resources. And that feels very personal to me because I know what it is to need that.
What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned through volunteering?
I’ve learned that even a small gesture can make a big difference in someone’s life. Sometimes it’s just one conversation, one event, one piece of information — and it can completely change how someone feels about the future.
I’ve also learned that it’s very important to listen. Every spouse has a different story, a different culture, a different background. We cannot assume we know what they’re going through. Being patient, staying open and working as a team — that’s what allows us to really support this community.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to start volunteering?
Start small and start where you are. You don’t need a perfect plan or a lot of free time. Just a few hours can make a big difference for someone. Choose a cause that feels meaningful to you, and don’t be afraid to ask questions — the whole volunteering experience is a learning process. The most important thing is to show up, to care and to be consistent.
