Virginia was at the forefront of new volunteer initiatives and great success stories this year and it’s all laid out in our 2025 Annual Report. This year’s report brings you updates on our newest project, Volunteer River Counties; a volunteer project whose goal is to increase service participation in rural Virginia. Launched in January 2025, Volunteer River Counties has generated enthusiasm across the local communities in Lancaster, Middlesex and Northumberland counties. It has also established a service model that can be adopted by rural communities across Virginia.
Throughout this report we also share another year of successful stories of service. One of our greatest accomplishments was the launch of our Virginia Youth Mental Health Corps; building “service to career” pathways for young adults looking to enter the behavioral health field. In just three months, the program welcomed over 40 young adults who assisted in school-based mental health, community mental health and Youth Peer Recovery services.
AmeriCorps continues to have a great impact on service in Virginia. This year AmeriCorps distributed $7.5 million in grants for service projects throughout the state. Although volunteerism continues to be a key fiber of society, data shows that we are in an era of declining resources and evolving challenges in the human services sector. By combining insights from our Virginia Community Engagement Index (VCEI) and the SERVE Framework, we are offering tools and strategies to tackle the oncoming obstacles and maintain a strong community of service.
Serve Virginia continues to be guided by key stakeholders, the Governor’s Advisory Board on Service & Volunteerism and the Virginia Service Foundation. Our State Service Plan is in full swing, and our 2025 Annual Report outlines all the progress we are making. To the individuals and organizations working tirelessly to strengthen their communities, we are forever grateful. This has been an exciting year of service.
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