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...

Descriptions like “tireless” and “dedicated” are often applied to volunteer efforts, but Walter Camp’s commitment to service gives these expressions a new level of meaning. Those who work alongside Walter know that when he serves a cause, he doesn’t just talk about it. He is known for putting in the hard work to make things happen no matter the task at hand. As Secretary of the Virginia Beach Clean Community Commission, he went above and beyond his normal role to join other volunteers in the 2021 Great American Cleanup, helping scoop debris from the Virginia Beach shorelines in his kayak...

2024 Governor's Volunteerism & Community Service Award honoree The Chapel has physical locations throughout the greater Richmond area and a life-giving online community, including Spanish-language worship services. The Chapel serves the community in a variety of ways, including monthly outreach to the homeless and worship services for those incarcerated at Chesterfield County Jail and in 42 state prisons in the Virginia Department of Corrections. They also have many partnerships with local outreach organizations as well as around the world.     The Chapel offers practical and enjoyable ways to discover life-changing community. Meaningful relationships aren’t always easy to find but The Chapel...

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...

Debbie Brubaker, a Franklin County beef and dairy farmer, has been honored with the 2019 Agriculture Advocate Award by the National Agriculture in the Classroom Organization and the National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry. The award recognizes Brubaker’s dedication to advancing agricultural literacy in her community for more than 10 years. In partnership with the Franklin County Farm Bureau Women’s Committee, Brubaker has provided information about agriculture to an estimated 60,000 children. Over the years, Brubaker expanded a one-day dairy event at her children’s school to include 20 learning stations that teach students about topics like milking...

Respected throughout the community for their holistic and deep commitment to making a difference, the impact of Highlands Fellowship can be felt through their fierce love for those most vulnerable in Southwest Virginia. Over 2,500 individuals have been mobilized to act as catalysts throughout the community, partnering to expand the breadth and depth of available resources to serve youth and families in foster care and kinship care networks. Their continually evolving wraparound approach has made a far-reaching and long-lasting impact by building relationships, strengthening systems, and inspiring others in the community to take action. Highlands Fellowship is recognized as an...