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. 

Videos from this campaign

Content from this campaign

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Houston Resident Uses Volunteer Coordination Experience, Tech Skills to Help After Hurricane Harvey
When Ronnie Devries realized how many Houston residents were in need following the devastation of Hurricane Harvey, he knew he could help. With experience as the volunteer coordinator for TXRX Labs, a local nonprofit “hackerspace,” Ronnie helped create a makeshift command center at Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center – which quickly became a shelter for thousands of residents displaced by the storm. Working overnight, he helped set up a system for volunteer coordination to ensure volunteers were matched with all aspects of shelter operations.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

In Memory of Yeardley Love, Family Seeks to Educate Young Adults on Warning Signs of Domestic Abuse
In memory of Yeardley Love, a victim of domestic abuse, Sharon and Lexie Love founded the One Love Foundation to help make sure that this avoidable tragedy never happens to anybody else. The Loves hope to educate people, especially young adults, on the signs of unhealthy relationships so that they or their loved ones can get out of an abusive relationship before it’s too late.

Education

Millennial Uses Technology to Connect Students, Communities Across the Globe
Picture a student in science class, seated at a desk, her computer on. The student isn’t writing a paper about her studies or reading class materials, according to Akash Patel. She is interacting with students halfway around the world in Australia, touring their classroom, hearing about what their science quiz will cover that week. The child, from her desk in America’s heartland, is experiencing a world she may never get to travel to – but because of the World Experiences Foundation, she’s learning from it.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Bay Area Teen Aims to Rewrite the Story of Underprivileged Youth Through Literacy
“The single biggest indicator for academic success is having books at home,” said Fatima Yousef, the 16-year-old founder of the nonprofit Stories for a Future. While it’s a statistic she knows by heart, she also knows that having books may not be a reality for many low-income youth.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Helping Wounded Veterans and Their Caregivers Find Support and Healing
There is a consequence of war so huge and powerful that it can envelop a veteran’s entire life and dreams, upending his or her family’s lives as well. The internal anguish of post-traumatic stress and brain injury doesn’t always show on the outside. But it can be as difficult and frustrating – to both veterans and caregivers – as physical battle injuries, simmering relentlessly for decades and sometimes exploding at unexpected times.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Arizona Teen Provides Backpacks and School Supplies to Give Every Child a Chance at Success
When Kaitlyn Martinez heard that one of her friends failed a homework assignment because she didn’t have the simple school supplies of a pencil and paper at home, she wanted to do something to help. Two years later, 14-year-old Kaitlyn is CEO of nonprofit Backpacks 4 Kids AZ, providing students across Arizona with backpacks full of the school supplies they need to succeed.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Friendship Inspires One Girl to 'Light Up the World' for SMA Awareness
“In elementary school, my best friend, Kale, was in a wheelchair and I didn’t know why,” said Bailey Walter, of North Tonawanda, New York. “It took me a long time to ask about it, but in fourth grade I talked to his mom and found out he was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy at 18 months old.” Bailey told her mom she wanted to help Kale. Her goal? For them to dance together by the sixth-grade dance.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Passion for Public Health and Commitment to Service Helps One Volunteer Find Her Fit
Sydney Lawrence was working as a scribe in the emergency department of a hospital and just about to begin graduate school to pursue a certificate in public health when, in a chance meeting, she heard about an organization called HOLA – a nonprofit dedicated to providing sustainable healthcare solutions to developing countries in Latin America.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Country Music Star Shares His Heart and Voice to Lift Up Nation's Wounded Heroes
Country music legend Lee Greenwood has a voice, and a heart, for service. As the national ambassador for Helping a Hero, he flies all over the country to perform and present wounded soldiers with keys to new, handicap-accessible homes. He is also a spokesperson for Disabled American Veterans, “Products for Good” and the Honor 1 Campaign. Lee has performed his iconic 1983 hit, “God Bless the USA,” at numerous charitable events throughout his career, including a performance at New York City’s Yankee Stadium just a few days after 9/11.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Turning Passion into Action, Skilled Cook Empowers Young People to Make Healthy Food Choices
Kim Doyle Wille, a Colorado native, has been passionate about cooking since she was a young girl creating meals in her childhood home. Creating a nonprofit focused on healthy food options for the students and families in Garfield County was a natural way to turn that passion into action.
Points of Light logo

More from Points of Light

  1. Impact Measurement
    Stories, learning opportunities and news about impact measurement for corporate social impact initiatives.

  2. Community for Employee Civic Engagement
    Whether you’re a team of one or 100, helping employees effect positive change improves social problems and enables communities to thrive. Points of...

  3. Points of Light Corporate Institute
    The Points of Light Corporate Institute is the go-to resource for community-minded companies looking to build and expand effective employee volunteer...

  4. 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...

  5. The Points of Light Blog on Volunteering and Social Good
    The Points of Light blog celebrates the power of volunteers to change the world – whether it’s a mom leading a homegrown disaster relief drive, an...