Legacy Issue

Nonprofit

Performance

Magazine

The Legacy of Volunteers

NRV Leading Lights

he horrific shooting events of

April 16, 2007 on the campus of

Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia,

made our community acutely aware of

life’s fragile nature, of how precious our

loved ones are, and of the importance

of volunteers. The seemingly endless

procession of first responders,

students and staff, counselors, and

a huge number of ordinary citizens

performing extraordinary volunteer

service, inspired the Virginia Tech German

Club Alumni Foundation, a 125-year-old

service/leadership fraternal organization,

to develop a way to recognize and promote

volunteerism. In an effort to provide a

permanent memorial to the victims, New

River Valley Leading Lights was formed.

Note: the New River Valley (NRV) is a

region in southwest Virginia composed of

four counties and one city in the Blacksburg

area.

NRV Leading Lights is led by a board

of directors composed of leaders in local

foundations, churches, civic organizations,

nonprofits, universities, and businesses. NRV

Leading Lights has the following mission:

To recognize volunteers from all sectors

in the New River Valley who are making

community-changing impacts and serving

as a model to inspire others. During its

eight-year existence, almost 400 volunteers

have been honored at an annual banquet

and $40,000 has been donated to our local

communities via the charity of choice of

the nine high school, nine collegiate and

28 general public award winners. These

volunteers have been highlighted throughout

the year via newspaper articles and our

website and Facebook postings.

When we asked ourselves just how important

volunteerism was to the NRV, we found the

annual economic impact was an astounding

$50.7 million. This is calculated based on

DiCk ArNOLD

our population of 180,000, 25% of whom we

estimate volunteer, multiplied by the median

50 hours donated, multiplied by the national

average value of volunteer time of $22.55/

hour. More importantly, suppose we imagine

that one day, all volunteers simply didn’t

show up. What would our communities do?

What basic needs would go unmet? What

opportunities to grow, learn, and thrive would

be lost? The truth is that we likely cross paths

with volunteers one or more times a day, no

matter where we are. Volunteers, young and

old, have an enormous impact on the health

and well-being of our communities!

• Volunteers deliver critical services as

EMTs and fire fighters,RedCross workers,

delivering meals to homebound seniors, or

manning phone lines at domestic violence

and sexual assault centers.

• Volunteers tutor, teach, mentor, coach,

lead and support young people through

schools, Scouting, Big Brothers Big

Sisters, 4H, Young Life, science fairs,

sports, and more.

• Volunteers serve the medical field by

educating us on health and safety,donating

human organs, providing services at dental

and medical clinics, and in hospitals,

clinics and nursing homes.They also raise

funds for research into diseases via things

like Relay for Life, athletic events, and

benefit auctions.

• Volunteers aid animals through rescue

shelters and humane societies, adoptions,

veterinary expertise and wildlife

rehabilitation centers.

• Volunteers improve our culture at

libraries, art centers, theaters, music

and symphonies, museums, and

historical societies.

• Volunteers come to our aid in

emergency situations such as fires,

floods, hurricanes and tornadoes, by

providing shelter, food and clothing,

rebuilding homes and schools, and

repairing infrastructure.

• Volunteers meet the needs of the less

fortunate by donating and manning food

and clothing banks, building homes,

helping the homeless, serving at such

facilities as the Montgomery County

Christmas Store, and caring for our

veterans and senior citizens.

We are thankful and humbled by their

generosity of spirit and compassion for our

fellow human beings here in the New River

Valley, and we are committed to continuing

to seek, honor and promote these valuable

volunteers.

Dick Arnold is a consultant for the United Methodist

Church’s Global Ministries, where he developed and

directs the In Mission Together partnership program

in nine Eastern European and Balkan countries. Prior

to that, he held engineering, public affairs/government

relations and management positions with large

corporations. Dick helped found NRV Leading Lights,

and serves, or has served, on Boards of Directors and in

leadership positions as a volunteer with numerous trade

associations, nonprofit organizations and his church.