2024 Governor's Volunteerism & Community Service Award honoree the Youth Education Program (YEP) is a Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia team of certified Extension Master Gardeners that provides hands-on youth gardening education at local schools and youth organizations. With a focus on sustainable practices, YEP’s 10-15 members collectively worked approximately 1,400 hours in the past year and served nearly 20 different youth organizations, including elementary schools in Alexandria and Arlington, the local Boys and Girls Club of Greater Washington, and the Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center.   YEP members empower kids, caregivers, and teachers to practice sustainable gardening through fun activities related...

Respected throughout the community for their holistic and deep commitment to making a difference, the impact of Highlands Fellowship can be felt through their fierce love for those most vulnerable in Southwest Virginia. Over 2,500 individuals have been mobilized to act as catalysts throughout the community, partnering to expand the breadth and depth of available resources to serve youth and families in foster care and kinship care networks. Their continually evolving wraparound approach has made a far-reaching and long-lasting impact by building relationships, strengthening systems, and inspiring others in the community to take action. Highlands Fellowship is recognized as an...

Congratulations to Edward L. Weiner Esq. - winner of the 2020 Governor's Volunteerism and Community Service Award for Outstanding Senior Volunteer! Attorney Ed Weiner has combined his love for jazz and justice to raise much-needed revenue for music scholarships at George Mason University and for and supporting civil legal aid. Ed, who previously served as the past president of the Virginia State Bar and Fairfax Bar and presides over a highly successful annual Law Day event entitled “Weiner Roasts,” developed a special concert event and formed a nonprofit, Jazz4Justice, which has been replicated both within Virginia and across the country....

As one of our January 2024 Serve Virginia Honor Roll honorees, Becky McCully's volunteer service in the theatre and choral programs at Patrick Henry High School (PHHS) in Ashland, Virginia, has had a profound impact on both students and the broader community. Beyond the tangible contributions to the success of productions, she has played a pivotal role in creating a vibrant and inclusive artistic environment. She has been volunteering at PHHS since 2021 but previously volunteered by mentoring theatre students when she lived in Texas. By offering her time and expertise, she has provided essential support to students, helping them...

Congratulations to Olivia Gilbert - winner of the 2020 Governor's Volunteerism and Community Service Award for Outstanding Youth Volunteer! You could say Olivia Gilbert has been volunteering all her life. When 13-year-old Olivia was just four years old she began sending care packages to her cousin, Drew's, unit in Afghanistan. After Drew returned to the U.S. she began collecting food at her birthday parties for the Prince George Food Bank. In 2014, she began collecting food from her school and later expanded to collecting donations from her after school care organization and dance classmates. Today she receives donations from family,...

2024 Governor's Volunteerism & Community Service Award honoree the ODU Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is an entrepreneurial accelerator dedicated to providing economic development to veterans and underserved or disadvantaged individuals. Through its collective programs in the past year, the Institute provided 4,055 thirty-minute counseling sessions, created 498 new entrepreneurs, established 54 startup businesses, enabled 76 contracts totaling $13 million, and created 498 new jobs.  Despite a significant military footprint, Hampton Roads experiences significant challenges in social mobility and financial wellbeing. The Institute recognizes this and works to create grant strategies to assist these populations. These strategies include the Veterans...