Cydny Neville
RICKETTSFRAN10131--C-CAP Director Fran Ricketts 10/24/2013 MATT ARMSTRONG PHOTO

Soles4Souls

Story of Service: Soles4Souls

On a April 9, the curved pathway leading to the Graduate Life Center’s entrance across from Squires Student Center at VA Tech was lined with bags brimming with shoes. More than 1,100 pairs of footwear of all sizes, the result of a month-long drive coordinated by the Graduate School’s Office for Recruitment, Diversity, and Inclusion (ORDI) were headed for a Soles4Souls intake center. Assist. Dean and ORDI Dir. Shernita Lee and support programs specialist Shania Clinedinst spearheaded the drive as a service project exemplifying Martin Luther King Jr.’s message that people cannot walk alone. “ORDI placed bins to collect shoes...
RICKETTSFRAN10131--C-CAP Director Fran Ricketts 10/24/2013 MATT ARMSTRONG PHOTO

Addison Raso

Story of Service: Addison Raso

Congratulations to Addison Raso of Hanover County - winner of the 2018 Governor's Volunteerism and Community Service Award for Outstanding Youth Volunteer! At just 16 years old, Addison Raso has a lot to teach all of us about love, compassion, and selflessness. Addison has dedicated hundreds of hours serving others since she was 9 years old and has a special passion for service to individuals with disabilities. This passion led her to propose an initiative at her church for a special needs ministry. Through God Inspire Friendships Together (GIFT) at Restoration Church in Mechanicsville, Addison leads a ministry each week -- creating...
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Tracy Keller

Story of Service: Tracy Keller

As an honoree on the January 2024 Serve Virginia Honor Roll, Tracy Keller has been an ambassador of girl leadership since her teen years in Girl Scouts. There, she earned the highest award, the Gold Award, for creating and carrying out an elementary educational program on prevention of tobacco use. Now, more than thirty years later and as CEO of the Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast since 2005, Tracy continues to facilitate conversations that empower girls and women, and helps shape programs within her community. Recently, Tracy embraced the challenge of volunteering as the lead for the Empowering Girls...

Fran Ricketts

Story of Service: Fran Ricketts

 For the families and individuals in the Winchester area who have fallen on hard times and face a struggle to even provide themselves with basic needs, Fran Ricketts is an angel of mercy providing hope during dark times. Fran, the winner of the 2016 Governor's Volunteerism Award for Outstanding Senior Volunteer has dedicated her life to helping others for more than 30 years. Her life’s work has been serving through the Congregational Community Action Project (CCAP), a council of 200 churches and synagogues dedicated to addressing the needs of the poor and disadvantaged in Winchester. Fran manages the entire program...
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Feed More

Story of Service: Feed More

As Central Virginia’s core hunger relief organization and a member of the Virginia Volunteerism Network, Feed More is where neighbors come together to uplift the soul of their community. Feed More’s service area covers 29 countries and 5 cities in Central Virginia, stretching from the Northern Neck, west to Louisa, and down to the North Carolina border. Feed More’s comprehensive programs and network of more than 400 distribution partners help ensure neighbors have access to healthy meals – because they believe that no one should go hungry and that thriving communities start with full plates. In 2024, Feed More distributed...
RICKETTSFRAN10131--C-CAP Director Fran Ricketts 10/24/2013 MATT ARMSTRONG PHOTO

Lori Schmiege & Huey Gordon

Story of Service: Lori Schmiege & Huey Gordon

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...

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