Bryanna Folks is an AmeriCorps NCCC alum and currently serving as site supervisor for NCCC Team River 4. She discovered AmeriCorps through a friend of a friend who had been involved in the program in the past. Bryanna recalls, "My friend and I were both attending Virginia Tech at the time and were both unhappy with the educational experience we were receiving due to COVID-19 causing all of our classes to be online. We both decided we wanted to take charge of our lives and experiences and do something that would help others and also teach us new skills." Before...

Congratulations to Doug Mueller, one of the many dedicated Virginia volunteers who was nominated for the 2023 Serve Virginia Honor Roll, which spotlights the volunteers that serve their communities in a variety of ways, promoting quality of life and creating a lasting impact for others across the Commonwealth! In early 2020, when Doug began volunteering at the Hoffler Creek Wildlife Preserve near Portsmouth, Virginia, he had retired from a job in the U.S. government and was mourning the death of his 95-year-old father just months earlier. Doug recalls, "Dad was standing by my side when I enlisted in the U.S....

As a Summer 2024 Serve Virginia Honor Roll honoree, Dee Dee Schrader's inspiration to serve comes from her grandmother. She recalls employees at the local card store asking her grandmother if they could take her coat: "They knew she would be there for hours picking cards for everyone she knew, not just for holidays or birthdays, but for bad days, sad days, and days she thought we needed a lift. She wanted to brighten people’s spirits; to let everyone she touched know they were loved. They did matter." Dee Dee reflects, "I was never forgotten by her and those cards...

2024 Governor's Volunteerism & Community Service Award honoree Alisa Thornton is currently the Chair of the Virginia Department of Social Services’ Parent Advisory Council and owner of Another Touch Solutions. She is a kinship provider, parent advocate, and realtor. Alisa is also a former Family Support Partner and Peer Recovery Specialist with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), where she was the 2023 recipient of the NAMI Virginia Hope Award. Through her service, she has helped hundreds of families navigate available services and resources, getting them the help they need. She is also currently certified as a trainer to conduct...

Zoie Sickey is a first-generation college graduate and a second-year Virginia College Advising Corps adviser at Salem High School. She studied biomedical engineering at Virginia Commonwealth University and plans to pursue a career in higher education after she completes her service with VCAC. Zoie reflects, “I was fortunate to have a wonderful academic adviser during my time as an undergraduate student, and when I was in the process of job searching, he inspired me to consider advising as a possible career. Because of his suggestion, I came across the posting to become a college adviser with VCAC and have loved...

Congratulations to the Health Wagon of Wise - winner of the 2019 Governor's Volunteerism and Community Service Award for Outstanding Faith-Based Organization! For more than 25 years, the Health Wagon has provided compassionate, quality health care to the medically under-served individuals and families in the Appalachian Mountains. Originally sent to the region in 1980 by the Richmond Catholic Diocese, Sister Bernie Kenny began dispensing healthcare from her Volkswagen Beetle. Today, the Health Wagon is a free, mobile clinic and two stationary clinics delivering quality health care which last year treated more than 4,000 of the neediest individuals in Southwestern Virginia – 86...