About the Daily Point of Light Award
The Daily Point of Light Award is a national volunteer award that celebrates extraordinary everyday service. Points of Light created it to honor individuals who take action to create change in their communities. Recognition goes beyond celebrating one person and helps more people see what is possible and inspires others to serve.
Honor Someone Whose Service Deserves to be Seen
The Daily Point of Light Award is a way to celebrate people whose volunteer service reflects care, commitment, and real community impact. If you know someone who is making a difference through sustained service, this is a chance to recognize their work and help their story reach others.
Who Can Be Nominated
- Volunteers of any age
- Individuals creating meaningful community impact
- People whose service shows consistency, leadership, or sustained commitment
- Changemakers whose work helps others, solves problems, or strengthens community ties
How the Nomination Process Works
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Step One
Submit a nomination and share who the volunteer is, what they do, and why their service matters.
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Step Two
The Points of Light team reviews submissions and may follow up for additional details if needed.
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Step Three
Selected honorees are featured and celebrated, inspiring others to take action and give back.
Eligibility
The Daily Point of Light Award is open to legal U.S. residents whose volunteer service is unpaid and not court-ordered. Nominees may receive a nominal stipend or paid time off to volunteer and still be eligible. In most cases, the service should have been ongoing for at least six uninterrupted months, except in disaster relief.
Strong nominations reflect service that responds to a real community need, shows clear impact, and has a path to continue over time.
Criteria
Nominations are reviewed using three core criteria:
- A clear community need and a thoughtful response
- Demonstrated impact, including outputs or outcomes
- An innovative or distinctive approach to addressing serious social problems
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Daily Point of Light Honorees
Each Daily Point of Light story highlights an individual whose volunteer service is meeting real needs and creating meaningful change. Collectively, these stories show what service looks like in action and how one person’s commitment can motivate more people to make a difference.
Know someone whose service deserves recognition?
Nominate a volunteer for the Daily Point of Light Award and help bring their story to light so it can reach and inspire others to act.
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Where Small Steps to Provide School Supplies Meet Big Community Impact
Nayana Paturi is the high schooler behind Coloring Brighter Futures, and she’s proof that you're never too young to change your community. Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Nayana Paturi. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point…
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BRIDGING THE TECHNOLOGICAL DIVIDE FOR SENIORS
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Dhilan Patel. Read his story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light. Dhilan Patel saw his grandparents struggling to connect with others during COVID, and realized he could…
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The Lonely Road Through the Long Middle
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Eleanor Shell. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light. Eleanor Shell, a 49-year-old ordained Presbyterian minister and mother of three, is intimately familiar with having…
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Opening the Curtain for Every Kid
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Albert Luo. Read his story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light. Albert Luo still remembers sitting in the New Amsterdam Theatre, waiting for the curtain to rise on the Broadway…
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This Volunteer is Helping Break the Cycle of Period Poverty
Randi (right) receives the Regeneron Volunteer of the Year Award in 2026 for her work with the MoonCatcher Project./ Courtesy Randi Broadwell Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Randi Broadwell. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family…
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HELPING OTHERS NAVIGATE THE STORMS OF LIFE
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Linda Wise. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light. VOLUNTEERS FROM MINUTEMAN DISASTER RESPONSE OUT IN THE FIELD. Linda Wise has volunteered for 40 years,…
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In Honor of His Brother, Teen Volunteers for Cancer Families
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Joshua Bie. Read his story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light. Joshua (center) poses with a check for $5,000 to donate to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles for…
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Meet the Founder Bringing Free Libraries to Clinics and Classrooms
Cyra at A Promising Pages’ Bookseed event at Lake Mist Apartment Homes in Charlotte, North Carolina, where Literary Vault Book Boxes and other literacy resources were distributed to local families to make reading more accessible and exciting. Meet Daily Point…