Congratulations to The Blanco Family - winner of the 2020 Governor's Volunteerism and Community Service Award for Outstanding Volunteer Family! Located in Fairfax Station, the Workhouse Arts Center is a vibrant and thriving visual and performing arts center which operates a multitude of programs for the community. The center relies on a strong team of dedicated volunteers to ensure their arts, education, history, and community programs run smoothly. Enter the Blanco Family! For the past 10 years, the entire family serves as an integral part of making the center a huge success in connecting the community with the arts. The...

When Veronica McMillian founded the Micro-Nonprofit Network in 2009, she wanted to educate, empower, and equip small nonprofits through capacity building and program development. Since then, the Network has helped more than 300 small nonprofits (making $50,000 or less in the first three years) become 501c3 organizations and create sustainable infrastructure that empowers them to thrive with pride. Though she holds an M.A. in Human Services Counseling from Regent University and is an adjunct instructor at Tidewater Community College, her nonprofit expertise comes from firsthand experience starting and running her own nonprofits. After her first nonprofit shuttered in the 2008...

Rachel Haines came to serve as an AmeriCorps VISTA with the United Way of Southwest Virginia (UWSWVA) as they had just received funding for three new initiatives (credential study, a speakers’ bureau, and internships). At first it was a challenge to comprehend the scope of the region’s 19 cities/counties and 92 schools, but Rachel successfully navigated the area’s various unique communities and their needs. Rachel serves as a Youth Success Coordinator for UWSWVA’s Ignite Program. Ignite is the only regional workforce development program in the K12 school system providing career awareness and hands-on skill development to more than 30,000 students...

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 Capital One Coders of Richmond - winner of the 2021 Governor's Volunteerism and Community Service Award for Outstanding Corporation! Capital One Coders grew out of an idea that was sparked in 2014 by a Capital One staff member who saw a gap in computer training in K-12 classrooms. The company created Capital One Coders to inspire students from all walks of life to consider computer science as an attainable and exciting career path. In partnership with public schools and other youth-serving nonprofits, the program helps middle school students cultivate a greater interest in computer science during a critical...

AmeriCorps VISTA Member of the Year William Griswold, Community Services Block Grant - CAPUP, Richmond In just a short time serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA with CAPUP, Will has shown a strong talent for developing community relationships. As a long-overdue needs assessment was just kicking off, Will worked to develop critical relationships with local educational institutions by recruiting students to assist with the process. He was involved in all aspects of the effort – managing and motivating volunteers and reaching out to key players in the community. Will’s successes were pivotal to the effectiveness of the needs assessment, which will ultimately...