During the COVID-19 pandemic, Deirdre continued her volunteer service at Meals on Wheels and helped pack meals to be delivered to those who were unable to leave their residences due to safety reasons.Her favorite aspect of volunteering is offering assistance to older adults who have a difficult time helping themselves. Deirdre has a passion for educating others on the importance of caring for older adults. She has held an adjunct faculty position at Virginia Commonwealth University since 1984. She has also been a member of numerous professional affiliations, such as the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and the Virginia...

Congratulations to Jean Schiro-Zavela - winner of the 2020 Governor's Volunteerism and Community Service Award for Outstanding Adult Volunteer! Since 2011, Jean has dedicated 1,700 hours of volunteer time to Britepaths, a financial literacy program in Northern Virginia. Jean volunteers providing administrative support to the organization and is responsible for entering all of the data needed to implement, assess, and report on the program. In the first 11 months of 2019, Jean was instrumental in documenting and tracking the 900 individuals who attended free financial literacy education classes or who met with a financial planner. Additionally, she entered data for...

Rachel Haines came to serve as an AmeriCorps VISTA with the United Way of Southwest Virginia (UWSWVA) as they had just received funding for three new initiatives (credential study, a speakers’ bureau, and internships). At first it was a challenge to comprehend the scope of the region’s 19 cities/counties and 92 schools, but Rachel successfully navigated the area’s various unique communities and their needs. Rachel serves as a Youth Success Coordinator for UWSWVA’s Ignite Program. Ignite is the only regional workforce development program in the K12 school system providing career awareness and hands-on skill development to more than 30,000 students...

Congratulations to Quality Stone Concepts of Virginia Beach - winner of the 2018 Governor's Volunteerism and Community Service Award for Outstanding Small Business! In the Virginia Beach community, students with a desire to learn building trades and, ultimately, find good quality jobs have some rock solid allies. For nearly a decade, Quality Stone Concepts’ (QSC) owners and employees have volunteered with the Virginia Beach Education Foundation where they mentor students enrolled in construction courses at the Virginia Beach Technical & Career Education Center (TCE). Every two years, a new single-family home is completed by TCE students and the success of the project—The...

Evelyn Freeman, Peninsula Foster Grandparent Program Senior Corps – Foster Grandparent of the Year - Foster Grandparents are role models, mentors, and friends to children with exceptional needs.  At 91 years of age, Ms. Freeman has been serving for 14 years as a Foster Grandparent volunteer at the Discovery STEM Academy. Over the years of service with the program, she has watched many of her elementary students go on to graduate from high school and earn college degrees. Her positivity fills her students with hope and she’s always encouraging them that they can accomplish anything with commitment and hard work. Read...

National Service Alumni of the Year Huey Gordon & Lorie Schmiege, CARITAS, Richmond Both AmeriCorps Alums with CARITAS, the dynamic duo of Lori Schmiege and Huey Gordon manage the CARITAS Furniture Bank operations. Lori, who served from 2010-2011, and Huey, who served from 2011-2012, both react with empathy and a resolve to “get things done,” attitudes they developed as members. They are also both willing and happy to coach and mentor other AmeriCorps members and ultimately show these members how to be excellent employees when they move on to the workforce. Since joining CARITAS staff, they have mentored 40 AmeriCorps members...