Daily Point of Light Award

The Daily Point of Light Award celebrates the power of the individual to spark change and improve the world. Whether it’s a mom leading a homegrown disaster relief drive or an athlete wielding their celebrity for good instead of goods – a Daily Point of Light embraces the challenge of tackling a community need through volunteer service. Learn more at www.pointsoflight.org/dailypointoflight. 

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Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Teen Builds Friendships, Fosters Acceptance Through Inclusive Team Sports
For Josh Kaplan, giving back to the community is part of who he is. Driven by the Jewish concept of Tikkun Olam, or “repairing the world,” he believes each of us has the power to create change and participate meaningfully in the world around us.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Family of Volunteers Are a Bright Light in Their Storm-Darkened Puerto Rico Community
After Hurricanes Irma and Maria left the island of Puerto Rico devastated and millions of resident without power, the Reyes Torres family stepped up to support to their neighbors in the wake of the disaster. Volunteering together as a family, they've helped remove downed trees and trash, and offered general support to members of their community in need.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Sociology Professor Helps Students Bridge the Generation Gap With Service
Finding a common thread between generations can sometimes be difficult these days. So, when one of Dr. Keith Whitworth’s students brought Cycling Without Age to his attention, he immediately jumped at the opportunity to bring the program to Texas Christian University.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

With Growing Community Garden Initiative, Teen Tackles Hunger and Obesity in Missouri
Sophie Bernstein always wanted to grow her own garden. At 12 years old, she was looking for a meaningful project to complete for her bat mitzvah – something that would serve a larger purpose and help the community. Sophie realized she had the perfect opportunity to start her garden, while also benefitting others by donating the crops that her garden produced to the local food bank. She had no idea where that project would take her.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Siblings Create Online Platform to Help Kids With Learning Differences Discover the Joy of Reading
For some kids and teens, developing a love of reading can be difficult. After their family experienced this firsthand, siblings Alana, Jacob and Reuben Blumenstein founded KidsRead2Kids.com to help promote both the love of reading, as well as access to reading for youth and adults alike.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

For This Family, Making Time to Volunteer Means Making Time to Spend Together
As a mom with two teenage daughters, Susan Birthright says finding dedicated time to spend together can be a challenge. That’s why she looks forward to her regular weekend volunteering projects with her daughters, Caitlin, age 14, and Morgan, age 16.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Veteran and Civil Right Activist Builds on MLK’s “Beloved Community” Through Service
Col. Nathan Thomas Jr. is a retired veteran who served more than 39 years in the Army and Air Force, but for this Alabama native, currently living in Melbourne, Florida, supporting his community has been a natural extension of his life’s work. As a teenager, Nathan marched alongside civil rights heroes in Birmingham and Selma, Alabama, and was beaten along with hundreds of other marchers in the horrific 1965 “Bloody Sunday” police attack in Selma. Nathan is inspired every day by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s idea of “The Beloved Community."

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Combining Her Passions, Volunteer Helps Connect Vets With Companion Pets
For military veterans who have proudly served, there can be physical and emotional injuries that make it difficult to transition back to civilian life – some estimates say as many as 20 percent of returning vets suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. Barbara Blair has touched the lives of many struggling vets in need of companionship through her efforts as the Georgia chapter director of Pets for Vets, where she leads state-wide programs for the national organization dedicated to veterans and rescued shelter pets.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

How a Data Engineer Used Tech Skills to Help Rescue 35,000 Disaster Victims
After spending a chaotic day on a boat rescuing people from Hurricane Harvey floodwaters, Matthew Marchetti set out to see if he could put his data engineering skills to work to find a more organized way to save those affected by the storm damage. He created a platform called CrowdSource Rescue to connect victims with volunteers while local officials and the U.S. Coast Guard were inundated with calls. Within hours of setting up the platform, Matthew received thousands of requests for rescue.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Military Wife Helps Strengthen Family Foundation for Veteran Community After Husband’s Traumatic Brain Injury
Lisa Colella is the president and founder of Healing Household 6, an organization dedicated to connecting caregivers of U.S. veterans with essential support as families face transitioning from active duty to the civilian world. When Lisa’s husband was forced into a medical retirement after he suffered a brain injury during deployment, the mother of two was forced to confront some issues that threatened to break up her family. Realizing there were others like her in the veteran community who needed critical resources, Lisa, now based in Charleston, South Carolina, started a Facebook group for families of veterans in an effort to strengthen the family foundation through support, and that initial network bloomed into what is now HH6.
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