Last year, 62.8 million Americans volunteered 7.9 billion hours. Based on the Independent Sector’s valuation of a volunteer hour ($23.56 in 2015), all that time is worth more than $186 billion. That sounds like a lot until you realize that the number of people who volunteered last year is only slightly more than 25 percent of the country’s population.

HandsOn Greater Richmond, which provides volunteer management resources to the nonprofit sector, wants to inspire the remaining 75 percent of the population to get involved as well. That’s because volunteerism not only strengthens our communities, but it also helps each individual learn what they really care about, the skills they have, and how they want to share their time and talent.

While there are many Richmond volunteers at the center of change, they aren’t always recognized. Below we’ve profiled four volunteer leaders who choose to engage in their community at a deeper level. They show up. They learn. They inspire. We hope you’ll join them. These are but a few of the people at the center of change.

Zi Huang
Leader since 2015
Project: Food Pantry Couriers
Community Partner: Goochland Free Clinic and Family Services (GFCFS)

Zi Huang was new to Richmond when he searched online for volunteer opportunities and found the HandsOn site. First attending a few projects, Huang ultimately decided to serve as a volunteer leader on a project where he couriered food donated by grocery stores back to the food pantry.
While leading projects with HandsOn, Huang finished his master’s in physiology and biophysics with an emphasis on neuro-immunology, and after being accepted to VCU School of Medicine, he decided to expand his service at GFCFS. At that time, he found time to also help in the clinic, shadowing doctors (who are also volunteers) and taking patient histories.
Huang speaks three dialects of Chinese and is also a volunteer EMT. His goal is to travel and practice medicine abroad in programs like Doctors without Borders. He explains, “People working together help other people – it’s what I enjoy most about volunteering.”

“Really I just want everyone to be happy. To get there, there are a lot of things that you need: food, shelter, basic health, clothing. GFCFS supports all of these needs – they are really good for the community.”

Heather Myers
Leader since 2014
Project: Cleaning the Trails
Community Partner: James River Park System (JRPS)
HandsOn Day Projects Committee

Becoming a leader for JRPS was a natural fit for Heather Myers. Her father was a federal transportation engineer for 35 years, studying the environmental impact of new roads and moving people. “[The river] is a huge part of Richmond,” she says. “The James is flowing through this capital city and people are starting to get behind the need to clean up the river.”

Her volunteer efforts were highlighted when she was chosen as a finalist in 2015 for the Enrichmond Trailblazer Awards and received the 2016 James River Advisory Council’s Stewards of the River Communication Award for her work with JRPS and HandsOn. Recently, she became part of the James River Association River Rats (the ears, eyes, and voice of the James) to protect the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Myers has also served as membership development chair of the first Young Women’s Leadership Alliance, the YWCA’s young professional board.

By day, Myers advances user experience at Bonfire Funds, a local startup, bringing human-centered design and empathy to technology. She previously worked on user experience and digital innovation at Capital One. “You may work numerous jobs, have different projects and bosses, but your community, or who you volunteer with – that’s your core,” Myers notes. “For me, volunteerism is about doing what’s right and finding balance in my own life.”

Donna Sneed
Leader since 2013
Project: Activities with Residents
Community Partner: SupportOne

Donna Sneed isn’t new to service. As a birthday present to herself in 2008, she decided to begin a new tradition. Each year she would begin devoting her birthday month to volunteerism. She began by assisting Project Homeless Connect, a program by Homeward designed to connect chronically homeless individuals with much needed services.

HandsOn Greater Richmond quickly realized Sneed’s leadership and today she makes it a point to consciously schedule a variety of volunteer opportunities into her calendar. She credits her drive to give back to her mother. “Growing up in a single-parent home, my mom was a go-getter and I always saw her moving and I felt at some point I was a giver, that there was something in me that wanted to help,” explains Sneed.

One of the many volunteer projects that moves Sneed is SupportOne, a residential program serving adults with intellectual disabilities, where she helps youth volunteers realize a similar spirit. “Many youth come not knowing what to expect,” says Sneed. “Hopefully they walk away knowing more and not bullying [or] picking on others. It opens kids up to the nuances of individuals with disabilities.”

When not assisting SupportOne, Sneed serves as a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) volunteer, gathering information to advocate for children who may have experienced child abuse and neglect. “With CASA, later in life they remember one person who was on their side and got the judge to hear what they had to say,” says Sneed.

Sneed has found a way to impact her community while at the same time finishing two degrees, working, and parenting. “Volunteering is an outlet for me to focus on something and someone else.”

Claire Tetrick
Leader since 2011
Project: Dog Care & Cleaning
Community Partner: BARK (Bandit’s Adoption and Rescue of K-9s)

A dog lover all her life, Claire Tetrick hit a snag when she moved back to Richmond.

“I was in an apartment in the Fan and couldn’t have a dog,” she recalls. That’s when a coworker recommended volunteering with HandsOn Greater Richmond. She was quickly connected with BARK, a non-profit rescue operation staffed entirely by volunteers.

After one interaction with the organization, she decided to return every Saturday. That was over eight years ago.

Through BARK, Tetrick has helped the organization rescue countless dogs from animal shelters in the Richmond area and find them loving, forever homes. Through this volunteering work, she also got an opportunity to learn more about dogs and how to take care of them; from understanding the specific dietary needs (like the best food for goldendoodle puppy) and other needs of each animal, to knowing how to take care of sick or injured dogs, she gained the expertise that now allows her to safely care for any dog.

Working with dogs helped her understand a lot about these furry friends. For instance, she wasn’t aware that CBD and Footwear for dogs existed. It has been a great learning curve for her. And since she was spending so much time at BARK, HandsOn asked Tetrick to become a volunteer leader in addition to working on BARK’s board, managing their website, handling their social media, running their foster program, and retrieving dogs from out-of-state. While taking care of dogs, it might be essential to pay regular visits to a Veterinarian for the early detection of disease, vaccinations, and the treatment of any serious health issue. As a caretaker, it seems like a big responsibility to pay attention towards the safety and health of the pets.

With Tetrick’s help, the Ashland animal shelter recently won an $180,000 “Animal Planet” national renovation contest, which aired in September. “It was huge to see how not only our volunteers, but the entire rescue village, and beyond, were rooting for us, sending us encouragement, asking for updates,” she says.
When asked why she’s volunteered so much of her time for so long, Tetrick explains, “I have the time and he interest. I should use it productively in order to give back in a way that I feel is meaningful. There is a home out there for every dog and BARK will help find it.”