Francine Nelson - Serve Virginia

Francine Nelson

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

Francine Nelson

May 3, 2023

Senior Corps RSVP Volunteer of the Year Francine Nelson, Volunteer Prince William, Manassas Francine Nelson, a retired educator, has dedicated her time and talents teaching fourth grade students in Prince William County the skills they need to handle being at home alone at the end of the school day. The ‘Safe at Home Safe Alone” program is a partnership between Volunteer Prince William, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Tech, Virginia State University, American Red Cross and Prince William County Sheriff’s Office. Ms. Nelson’s participation in the program has reached more than 1,700 students, many of whom attend Title I schools. Her calm demeanor and steady, step-bystep guidance has done much to instill students’ faith in themselves and make them feel better able to handle the challenges of being home alone. Ms. Nelson clearly loves what she does and is one of those individuals who was born to teach and work with children and youth. The success of “Safe at Home Safe Alone” is due in large part to her ongoing support and expertise. Read more Volunteer Stories! Submit a Story!

The Hope Center

Story of Service: The Hope Center

Congratulations to The Hope Center of Petersburg - winner of the 2020 Governor's Volunteerism and Community Service Award for Outstanding Community Organization! The Hope Center, which serves as the community outreach of Downtown Churches United, Inc. (DCU), contributes more than 14,000 hours of service to the Petersburg community annually. Providing hunger and financial relief services, The Hope Center operates the Daily Feeding Program, which includes a food pantry, help with paying utility bill payments, and regular blood pressure screenings. The Hope Center is Petersburg's largest social service charity dedicated to alleviating hunger. Access to healthy food and hunger are critical...

Ryan Bocompani

Story of Service: Ryan Bocompani

Ryan Bocompani is a well-recognized leader and advocate for service at Christopher Newport University (CNU). He has held numerous service positions at CNU, including President of the CNU chapter of Where is The Line, where he works with fellow students and faculty to promote awareness of interrelational and interpersonal violence on college campuses. Through this service, he has helped host events such as Shadow Event, where individuals impacted by interpersonal or interrelational are given the opportunity to share their stories. In addition, Ryan has dedicated himself to creating change at CNU, assisting in creating new Title IX policies for the...

Virginia Cancer Specialists of Arlington

Story of Service: Virginia Cancer Specialists of Arlington

In Arlington, when low-income uninsured patients need cancer care, they have a wonderful option: Virginia Cancer Specialists of Arlington (VCS) -- winner of the 2016 Governor's Volunteerism Award for Outstanding Small Business. Without VCS, these patients would likely not receive the cancer treatment they need, which can often cost more than $50,000 a month. Fortunately superior care is provided because VCS believes that health care for all community members is a human right and that, as members of the community, VCS is responsible for helping anyone in need, regardless of that person’s ability to pay. VCS is an outstanding partner...

Claudia Ramirez Cuéllar

Story of Service: Claudia Ramirez Cuéllar

AmeriCorps member Claudia Ramirez Cuéllar currently serves at Aspire Afterschool Learning as the Parent Coordinator in the AmeriCorps Learning Links program. In her role, Claudia connects with the parents of Aspire students to share student progress, successes, and challenges. She greets parents as they pick up their students and communicates regularly through phone calls and text messages. She also organizes monthly talks for parents on relevant topics, such as how to read report cards, how parent-teacher conferences work, keeping children safe on the internet, and advice surrounding mental health for the parents and children. As a result of her proactive...

Bezawit Getachew Mulatu

Story of Service: Bezawit Getachew Mulatu

2024 Governor's Volunteerism & Community Service Award honoree Bezawit Getachew Mulatu is a University of Richmond (UR) pre-med and pre-law student dedicated to improving lives and fostering inclusivity. She serves as a first responder with UR Emergency Medical Services and the Tuckahoe Volunteer Rescue Squad, as well as a volunteer clinician at CrossOver Health Ministry and with the Virginia Medical Reserve Corps. She strives to be conversational in multiple languages, including American Sign Language, and learns Braille to ensure inclusive communication in her future medical and legal roles. She also enjoys making balloon animals from surgical gloves and performing...

Mark Fero

Story of Service: Mark Fero

Having offered years of service and expertise to Serve Virginia, Mark Fero recently concluded his term on the Governor’s Advisory Board on Service and Volunteerism (GAB). Mark first got involved in service and volunteerism in 1988 when Robert Eggar asked him if he wanted to volunteer and help him start the DC Central Kitchen, an iconic nonprofit and social enterprise that combats hunger and poverty through job training and job creation, which opened in 1989. Mark reflects, "Since then, DC Central Kitchen has became one of the most respected and emulated nonprofit agencies in the world, producing and distributing more than 4,000...

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