Mitzi Coles recently completed two service terms and is beginning her third term as an AmeriCorps member at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR), within their Dan River Year AmeriCorps program, which is dedicated to addressing community needs in Southern Virginia. Dan River Year AmeriCorps members build capacity in the region, strengthen community involvement, and address pressing needs through their focus on building the region’s science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and literacy capacity.   When Mitzi first joined the Dan River Year AmeriCorps program, it was a big adjustment. She recalls, "My first AmeriCorps term was very...

Congratulations to Tommy & Jimmy Davis of Mechanicsville - winner of the 2018 Governor's Volunteerism and Community Service Award for Outstanding Volunteer Family! For more than 15 years, brothers Tommy and Jimmy Davis dedicated their time and talents to providing much needed home repairs and re-building efforts to individuals and families in need. It was Tommy who first became dedicated to home repair outreach when on a mission trip to Romania. Later, he recruited his younger brother Jimmy to help with disaster relief following Hurricane Katrina. The brothers would later commit their lives to service through Resurrection Disaster Relief, a home repair...

Congratulations to Backpacks of Love Cumberland Elementary School Coordinators of Cumberland County -- winner of the 2017 Virginia Governor's Volunteerism and Community Service Award for Outstanding Educational Institution! Backpacks of Love, Inc., was born out of a personal mission from its founder Bobby Fulcher, who personally struggled with food scarcity while growing up. Backpacks of Love provides wholesome food to school children in the counties of Powhatan, Cumberland, and Buckingham, so that they don’t go hungry over the weekend. Backpacks of Love’s highly engaged board members collect all donations, distribute food items to schools, and solicit community and corporate sponsors....

Congratulations to Spring Hill Baptist Church of Blackstone - winner of the 2018 Governor's Volunteerism and Community Service Award for Outstanding Faith-Based Organization! Spring Hill Baptist Church is clearly a force for good in the small community of Blackstone. Their 300 members are providing countless concrete supports and, just as importantly, building bridges for better community relations. Spring Hill members can be found distributing food to the needy, holding tutoring programs for students, providing activities for senior citizens, and visiting shut-ins. Spring Hill organizes community-wide worship services, food and school supply drives, job fairs, a community clothes closet, Christmas donation programs, and much...

Recently volunteer Fire Chief John Morrison of Vienna was named the Volunteer Fire Chief of the Year by the International Association of Fire Chiefs. John was instrumental in the development of a Volunteer Management System uniting all 12 Fairfax County volunteer fire departments into a single portal to share resources, metrics and information.   The IAFC has honored one volunteer and one career firefighter annually since 1996. The Fire Chief of the Year award goes to a person who has "shown exemplary contributions in the areas of leadership, innovation, professional development, integrity, public service, and contributions to the fire service,"...

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...