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 were a bright spot in my day. I knew someone was out there cheering for me; reminding me it was ok not to be okay. I was still loved. I made a difference.”

To share this inspiration with others, Dee Dee started A Bright Spot, which sends free cards and that special moment of care to seniors, military personnel far from home, children in foster placement, refugee children, children in the hospital, and anyone else needing a lift. “For one moment of the day, they can forget everything and stop, pause, and know they are loved and that they do matter,” says Dee Dee.

Since Dee Dee started the effort in 2021, A Bright Spot has brightened the lives of over 31,000 people in 48 states, with the support of 613 individual volunteers and 30 group volunteers.

“Small gestures make a significant impact. That is why I started A Bright Spot. To make a difference, one life at a time,” says Dee Dee. “We aim to make others feel seen, heard, appreciated, supported, and loved. We do this through supportive cards and notes.”