Jean Schiro-Zavela - Serve Virginia

Jean Schiro-Zavela

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

Jean Schiro-Zavela

May 3, 2023

Congratulations to Jean Schiro-Zavela – winner of the 2020 Governor’s Volunteerism and Community Service Award for Outstanding Adult Volunteer! Since 2011, Jean has dedicated 1,700 hours of volunteer time to Britepaths, a financial literacy program in Northern Virginia. Jean volunteers providing administrative support to the organization and is responsible for entering all of the data needed to implement, assess, and report on the program. In the first 11 months of 2019, Jean was instrumental in documenting and tracking the 900 individuals who attended free financial literacy education classes or who met with a financial planner. Additionally, she entered data for and tracked another 663 individuals who attended one-on-one sessions with a financial literacy mentor. Her competence, commitment, and passion has helped hundreds of Virginia families become financially self-sufficient. Read more Volunteer Stories! Submit a Story!

Aniyah Hubert

Story of Service: Aniyah Hubert

Congratulations to Aniya Hubert - winner of the 2020 Governor's Volunteerism and Community Service Award for Outstanding Young Adult Volunteer! Aniyah, a senior at Averett University, began volunteering at a young age and continued throughout her high school and college career. She has served organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, Bacon Street Counseling Center, Thrive Peninsula Food Pantry, Sister4Sister on campus service group supporting young girls, and online as a crisis textile to aide individuals experiencing trauma. A double major in Marketing and Psychology, Aniyah was just inducted in the National Society of Leadership of Success because of her high...

Middlesex County Museum and Historical Society

Story of Service: Middlesex County Museum and Historical Society

The Middlesex County Museum and Historical Society is one of the oldest county museums in the state of Virginia, covering more than 400 years of local history. The museum's exhibits feature an array of objects and items not seen together before: fossils and Indian artifacts, 19th Century textiles and clothing, a 1930s country store, agricultural and industrial tools, historical money, toys, and medical instruments. The exhibits contain stories of the past, including local African American history, Civil War, Revolutionary War, WWI, and WWII eras. These exhibits and the museum's educational outreach are made possible through the outstanding support of volunteers....

Denise and Michael Forgione

Story of Service: Denise and Michael Forgione

Congratulations to Denise and Michael Forgione of Chantilly - winner of the 2019 Governor's Volunteerism and Community Service Award for Outstanding Volunteer Family! For many low-income, mentally challenged and disabled adults in Northern Virginia, Denise and Mike Forgione have provided the support they need to live active and independent lives. Denise discovered her passion service while working for Loudoun Volunteer Caregivers as the Money Management Program Coordinator where she helped individuals manage their finances so that they could retain their independence. During this time, she helped the program grow more than 300 percent, and also volunteered along with her husband Mike...

Jayeesh Chennupati

Story of Service: Jayeesh Chennupati

Jayeesh Chennupati is an AmeriCorps VISTA member serving at United Way of the Virginia Peninsula (UWVP) through a capacity-building project managed by Serve Virginia. In college, Jayeesh already knew about national service as a way to make an impact thanks to his interest in Peace Corps service. After graduation, however, he sought out AmeriCorps as a way to cultivate new skills and gain a better understanding of the world. He recalls, "I decided to take a year to develop some skills [and] really learn about poverty in a dimension that I haven't explored before." In considering the biggest challenge he...

Kimbra Staten

Story of Service: Kimbra Staten

Kimbra, with the Rappahannock Goodwill - Goodskills Literacy Corps Americorps program in Fredericksburg, says the experience has opened up a whole new world to her. "I've had an exciting service year and as I begin on my second term I am elated on what I will discover about myself and others that I tutor," she says. "The most rewarding experience is meeting and interacting with a diversity of people. This volunteer position has enlightened me in enormous ways. Between the personal development training, conferences, workshops and online studies -- I feel confident that AmeriCorps will propel me into being an...

Virginia Latino Higher Education Network

Story of Service: Virginia Latino Higher Education Network

Congratulations to Virginia Latino Higher Education Network of Weems - winner of the 2019 Governor's Volunteerism and Community Service Award for Outstanding Community Organization! The Virginia Latino Higher Education Network (VALHEN) is a positive catalyst in the lives of hundreds of Virginia’s Hispanic students. VALHEN is the only state-wide, volunteer-driven, nonprofit which supports, promotes, and advocates for Latino success and advancement in higher education, to ensure that every Hispanic/Latino in Virginia is college and career ready. VALHEN has shown remarkable success through its four programs: the Hispanic College Institute, the Scholarship Program; the Lecture Series, and the annual Encuentro meeting of...

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