Many Virginians care deeply about their communities, but most do not know that there’s an entire statewide effort dedicated to helping people turn that passion into meaningful action. Serve Virginia—a partnership between the Office on Volunteerism and Community Service at VDSS and the Virginia Service Foundation—brought together leaders from across the Commonwealth to engage in this work on a national stage.

Serve Virginia supported 36 Virginia volunteers and organizational leaders in attending the Points of Light annual conference in Washington, DC. The Points of Light Conference is a global gathering that brings together more than 1,000 nonprofit professionals, social impact leaders, and CSR professionals to strengthen volunteerism, advance civic engagement, and inspire citizens to take action to build a better world. Founded by former President George H.W. Bush in 1990, Points of Light is the world’s largest organization dedicated to volunteer service and civic engagement.

Conference participants engaged in four busy days of engaging keynote speeches from nationally recognized speakers, interactive workshops led by industry experts and research teams, and networking sessions and receptions designed to connect people across sectors. For the Virginia attendees, this conference opened the door to new ideas, new partnerships, and new possibilities—offering tools and inspiration they will carry back into their communities across the Commonwealth. Alex Vanik, VDSS, and Elizabeth Richardson, AmeriCorps VISTA serving with Serve Virginia, presented a popular conference workshop about innovations in rural volunteer engagement, and the amazing impact created through the first year of Volunteer River Counties (a volunteer hub launched by Serve Virginia, engaging 90+ partners serving the Northern Neck).

The experiences and insights gained through the conference will help strengthen Virginia’s culture of service and deepen its impact across the Commonwealth.

View pictures of our Poins of Light experience.