TJ Kim - Serve Virginia

TJ Kim

RICKETTSFRAN10131--C-CAP Director Fran Ricketts 10/24/2013 MATT ARMSTRONG PHOTO

TJ Kim

May 3, 2023

Congratulations to TJ Kim of McLean – winner of the 2021 Governor’s Volunteerism and Community Service Award for Outstanding Youth Volunteer! Becoming a Navy pilot has been one of TJ Kim’s greatest childhood dreams. To make his dream a reality, he began taking flying lessons as a teen. When TJ’s school and lacrosse season were shut down due to COVID-19, his flight training became one of the only activities he could still enjoy. The high school senior decided to combine his passion for flight with helping others as a way to help serve his community during this challenging time, he decided to combine his passion for flight with helping others. He created Operation SOS (Supplies Over the Skies) as a way to transport PPE to critical access, rural and community hospitals.

Operation SOS began by flying to Page Memorial Hospital in Luray (one of seven critical access hospitals in Virginia). From that mission, TJ received overwhelming gratitude from the hospital during a time when everyone wanted to focus donations on the big city hospitals. This interaction really inspired TJ and helped him recognize how much of an impact he could have by conducting these medical supply missions. Operation SOS now distributes supplies to critical access and other rural and community hospitals throughout Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia.

TJ coordinates every element of mission planning from sourcing PPE to flying the aircraft under dual instruction. For each mission, he sources local vendors, performs hospital outreach to gauge needs, and conducts strategic flight planning. To date, he has completed 22 missions and has sourced and delivered nearly 85,000 PPEs and ventilator supplies to 21 locations. As COVID-19 cases continue to surge, TJ plans to continue in his missions as long as he can source the supplies and fly them to the hospitals in need.

One message that he has continually reinforced in public is telling young people that “you are never too young to be thinking about helping others in times of need. All you need to do to make a difference is to think of others first and the impact you will have will follow.”

Read more Volunteer Stories!

Submit a Story!

Jay Rachakonda

Story of Service: Jay Rachakonda

Jay Rachakonda has always loved building things, from robots to community partnerships. Jay fell in love with robotics and engineering from a young age, and wanted to make sure his peers had the chance to see the fun in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) as well. When Jay learned about the barriers that kept his friends and classmates from participating in STEM activities, including required programs costs and COVID protocols, Jay became committed to finding ways to overcome challenges and inspire others to give STEM activities a try. Jay built on his long standing passion for STEM and robotics...

Lizzie Scott

Story of Service: Lizzie Scott

Senior Corps Senior Companion of the Year Lizzie Scott, Senior Services of Southeastern Virginia, Norfolk For the seniors in Lizzie Scott’s community, she provides so much more than companionship. Her dedication to service has enabled individuals to stay in their own homes and live independently. Mrs. Scott, who has volunteered with some of her clients for more than five years, transports them to medical appointments and errands, makes sure their pantries have plenty of food, and helps out doing light meal preparation and housework. She also links clients with much needed community resources. For one client, she provided assistance when faced...

AmeriCorps Assists After Tornado

Story of Service: AmeriCorps Assists After Tornado

When the devastating tornadoes swept through Appomattox County last week, hundreds of volunteers immediately appeared to support the affected families. Among the volunteers, 16 ready-to-serve AmeriCorps members were deployed to assist with debris removal and cleanup. Virginia State Parks Virginia Service and Conservation Corps AmeriCorps program worked alongside volunteers from the community and faith-based groups to lend a helping hand. The Conservation Corps normally serves at parks throughout Virginia to work on projects like trail building, volunteer recruitment, and interpretive programming. Their outdoor project skills make them ideal to serve during times of disaster. One member commented about how they...

Health Wagon

Story of Service: Health Wagon

Congratulations to the Health Wagon of Wise - winner of the 2019 Governor's Volunteerism and Community Service Award for Outstanding Faith-Based Organization! For more than 25 years, the Health Wagon has provided compassionate, quality health care to the medically under-served individuals and families in the Appalachian Mountains. Originally sent to the region in 1980 by the Richmond Catholic Diocese, Sister Bernie Kenny began dispensing healthcare from her Volkswagen Beetle. Today, the Health Wagon is a free, mobile clinic and two stationary clinics delivering quality health care which last year treated more than 4,000 of the neediest individuals in Southwestern Virginia – 86...

Robert Schnapp

Story of Service: Robert Schnapp

In Reston, Virginia, Robert Schnapp is the founder and leader of A Simple Gesture Reston, an effort that inspires and enables his community to help neighbors overcome the growing threat of hunger and food insecurity. Eight years ago, Bob realized that many donors work Monday through Friday “business hours” and that local pantries were mainly open for donations during those same hours, making it a challenge to donate. In the beginning, he served more than 40 hours a week to get the program off the ground, doing everything from signing up donors and drivers, to creating routes, sending emails, delivering...

GrandInvolve

Story of Service: GrandInvolve

Congratulations to GrandInvolve of Fairfax - winner of the 2017 Governor's Volunteerism and Community Service Award for Outstanding Community Organization! For many economically disadvantaged schools in Fairfax County, getting consistent volunteers to help out in the classroom is an immense challenge. The innovative GrandInvolve program places older adults who offer their skills and talents to students directly into the area’s elementary schools. The seniors volunteer at the schools at least once a week for several hours assisting with reading and math, material preparation, library services, mentoring and kindergarten readiness. Each volunteer builds lasting relationships with the students by coming back...

What’s Your Volunteer Personality?

Pair your passion with purpose. Take our Volunteer Personality Quiz and find out which volunteer direction is best for you.