As a recent high school graduate and 2024 Governor's Volunteerism & Community Service Award honoree, Ashley Coulson has been a dedicated volunteer in Y Street, the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth's youth-led statewide initiative, where she served 115 service hours in the past year. She helped lead the program's Share the Air campaign, working towards tobacco-free and e-cigarette-free parks, playgrounds, beaches, and trails across the Commonwealth. Her service included organizing booths at community events, gauging Virginians' attitudes toward tobacco-free outdoor policies, and meeting with elected officials and community leaders. Ashley also served on the Y Street Leadership Team for three consecutive...

Descriptions like “tireless” and “dedicated” are often applied to volunteer efforts, but Walter Camp’s commitment to service gives these expressions a new level of meaning. Those who work alongside Walter know that when he serves a cause, he doesn’t just talk about it. He is known for putting in the hard work to make things happen no matter the task at hand. As Secretary of the Virginia Beach Clean Community Commission, he went above and beyond his normal role to join other volunteers in the 2021 Great American Cleanup, helping scoop debris from the Virginia Beach shorelines in his kayak...

Robyn Pratt has spent her life using her personal and professional experiences to serve the people around her. Robyn is from Virginia but has spent the last four years in community with folks from California, Oregon and Georgia. Robyn's desire to serve was planted by her mother as a small child, and her love for service continues to grow with each passing day, as it did through her years of AmeriCorps service. She graduated college many light years ago with a degree in Human Services. She has since been an advocate for sexual assault survivors with The Center, taught many little...

Congratulations to Mt. Gileao Full Gospel International Ministries of Chesterfield -- winner of the 2017 Virginia Governor's Volunteerism and Community Service Awards for Outstanding Faith-Based Organization! With more than 5,000 members and a volunteer force of more than 800, Mt. Gilead Full Gospel International Ministries is one of the fastest growing congregations in the Richmond area. For the past 20 years, senior pastor Bishop Daniel Roberson, Jr., and his dynamic style of preaching, teaching and motivating has attracted a membership of service-minded individuals with a passion for outreach ministries. Over the past two years, Mt. Gilead has worked to assist...

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,"...

2016 Governor's Volunteerism Award Winners Governor Terry McAuliffe announced recipients of the 2016 Governor’s Volunteerism and Community Service Awards today during an awards ceremony held at the Governor’s Mansion on April 18th. These awards spotlight the outstanding efforts individual and organization volunteers make on behalf of citizens throughout the Commonwealth. “I am proud and honored to celebrate Virginia’s outstanding volunteers who have made such enormous contributions to those in need throughout the Commonwealth,” said Governor McAuliffe. “These individuals, organizations and companies set an example for us all to give back to our communities and embody the spirit of service which...