Congratulations to Lucy Cummins of Richmond - winner of the 2021 Governor's Volunteerism and Community Service Award for Outstanding Young Adult Volunteer! The Health Brigade, a free clinic in downtown Richmond, became a vital resource for many as COVID-19 infections began to rise in Central Virginia. Lucy Cummins may have originally stepped into her role as a patient navigator to assist with Spanish interpretation and translation services, but quickly pivoted to address and overcome a number of challenges presented by the pandemic. Putting aside her own academic needs in developing her translation skills, Lucy got to work helping to get...

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...

“I have always been drawn to public service,” reflects Rumana Chattopadhyay-Reid, who started volunteering as a teenager in West Bengal, India. She regularly volunteered for 4-5 hours each weekend in a neonatal care facility while completing her bachelor’s degree. After moving to South India for graduate school, she met the man who would become her husband, an American student who was studying abroad. Together, they moved to the United States, where Rumana began teaching at a reservation school and the couple started a family.   Then, the COVID-19 pandemic arrived and changed everything. Rumana became a stay-at-home mother, working to ensure that...

The Virginia Community Healthcare Association recently named Denise Bland Volunteer of the Year for her work with the Eastern Shore Rural Health System, Inc. Denise's efforts helped to expand primary care to eight locations offering a wide range of services including primary medical care, dental care, behavioral health services, pharmacy assistance services, pediatrics, and a robust school dental program.   She has served Eastern Shore Rural Health as board president for 17 years through June 25, 2019. When Eastern Shore Rural Health first began in 1976, the organization’s focus was to make primary care more accessible to people living on...

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...

Debbie Farrar is a retired police officer and has also been a group exercise instructor for most of her adult life. As a volunteer, she currently teaches SAIL (Stay Active and Independent for Life), an evidence-based fall prevention program centered around a strength, balance and fitness program for adults 65 and older. Debbie recalls, "I heard about SAIL from a friend of mine who is in her 70s and asked Loudoun County’s Cascades Senior Center about it. I went through teacher training in 2023 and have been teaching ever since. The program lasts for 12 weeks. I have a student...