Cedar Mountain Community | Transylvania County
After Hurricane Helene, Caroline reached out to the Cedar Mountain Community Center and stepped in wherever help was needed. While the center was serving meals to hundreds of residents each day, she helped set up and serve meals, remove trash, clean the garden and restore the grounds around the damaged building. She returned with such enthusiasm that she often asked, “Can we come back tomorrow?” Caroline’s story shows that making a difference does not require a title or a large project. It can begin by reaching out, showing up and asking, “What else can I do?”

Upper Cartoogechaye Community | Macon County
When Graham learned that families in his rural community needed more affordable programs for students, he helped turn that need into action. As a member of the planning team for Impact 828, Graham worked with local schools, helped shape the program and developed activities before welcoming its first 12 middle school students. He then continued serving as a volunteer, building relationships with the students and helping them explore STEM subjects. Graham has also organized a drive that collected more than 5,000 canned goods and preserved local history through the Siler House restoration project. His story shows how listening to a community need and taking one step forward can grow into something that reaches many people.

Foscoe Community | Watauga County

After Hurricane Helene devastated her community, Lucy spent more than 100 hours helping neighbors recover. She removed mud, damaged flooring, drywall, insulation and heavy appliances from flooded homes, often working in difficult conditions while her own home was without power and water. Lucy then helped lead a student talent show that raised $25,000 for classmates directly affected by the storm. With more than 1,000 volunteer hours across disaster relief, youth programs and other community efforts, Lucy’s story shows how service can grow from meeting an immediate need and then finding another way to keep helping.

Center Community | Madison County

Eleura’s connection to the Center Community Center began in childhood, when she attended with her grandparents. By middle school, she was volunteering there regularly and continues to help prepare, package and carry out Sunday meals for neighbors who need them. After Hurricane Helene, Eleura expanded that service across Madison County by unloading trucks and helicopters, organizing donated supplies, palletizing water and packing boxes of necessities for affected families. Her story shows how growing up in a community can lead to caring for it in a deeper way and how simply returning to a familiar place and asking how you can help can become years of dependable service.

Peak Creek Ruritan Club | Ashe County
Aubriana found a way to serve her community by combining two things she loves: reading and writing. As a teen book reviewer for the Ashe County Public Library, she wrote and published reviews that encouraged hundreds of local teens to explore new books and think about how reading can shape their perspectives. She has also helped organize a winter event for children in need and raise funds for her school community through Beta Club. Aubriana’s story shows that community service can begin with a personal interest. By sharing something you already love, you may inspire others and create connections in ways you never expected.

Cedar Mountain Community | Transylvania County
Abby grew up attending potlucks, special events and pickleball games at the Cedar Mountain Community Center. After Hurricane Helene, that familiar gathering place became a relief hub serving three meals a day, and Abby stepped in to distribute food and drinks, carry groceries to cars and clean up after meals. Her service has also extended beyond the center. After her community lost several people to suicide, Abby helped organize “From Grief to Gratitude,” a public event connecting neighbors with mental health information and resources. Abby’s story shows how knowing and caring about your community can help you recognize when it needs you and give you the courage to respond.

Big Ivy Community Center | Buncombe County
Since 2019, Addy has volunteered more than 75 hours each year at the Big Ivy Community Center’s food pantry and thrift store. She organizes donations, packs and distributes food and supply boxes, helps shoppers find what they need and takes time to listen to the people the center serves. After Hurricane Helene, she also packed relief supplies, cleared fallen trees, shoveled mud from a local business and carried water to a neighbor. Through years of consistent service, Addy has built genuine relationships and learned to see each person beyond labels or circumstances. Her story shows that lasting community impact often grows from returning regularly, helping with everyday needs and truly getting to know your neighbors.

Buladean Community Foundation | Mitchell County
Hunter’s service to the Buladean Community Center began years before Hurricane Helene through his work maintaining its grounds and baseball field and helping establish a community fitness center. After the storm devastated the area, he volunteered at the center every day as it became a major relief hub. Working from daylight to dark, Hunter unloaded trucks, organized essential supplies, distributed goods, coordinated with disaster-relief groups and set up generators for neighbors who could not do it themselves. He also helped families clean out flooded homes and properties. Hunter’s story shows the value of building a relationship with your community before a crisis and being ready to step forward when your neighbors need you most.

Upper Hickory Nut Gorge Community | Henderson County
Diego found a way to serve his community through the talent he had spent years developing. He and his sister performed at Upper Hickory Nut Gorge Community Center events and fundraisers, bringing neighbors together through music. He also played outreach concerts at retirement homes and performed for preschoolers at the Edneyville Library. Beyond music, Diego volunteered at MANNA FoodBank and used his performances to help raise support for youth music programs. Diego’s story shows that community service does not have to look the same for everyone. The skills and passions you already have can become a meaningful way to connect with and give back to others.

Deep Gap Ruritan Community | Watauga County
While running on the Boone Greenway during a cold winter, Ellary began noticing signs of people sleeping in the surrounding woods. Rather than look away, she created a fundraiser that raised nearly $3,000 within weeks. She used the donations to purchase tents, tarps, sleeping bags, socks, gloves and hand warmers for unhoused neighbors who could not safely stay in shelters during the pandemic. Ellary also carried student voices to the Watauga County Board of Education as a student representative. Her story shows what can happen when we allow compassion to move us from simply noticing a problem to taking the first step toward helping.

Nantahala Community Club | Macon County
Jacen has consistently stepped forward to serve his close-knit Nantahala community. During the COVID pandemic, he helped with weekly food distribution for an entire year. He also placed flags on veterans’ graves, helped older residents with technology, volunteered with Nantahala Fire and Rescue and assisted with community activities whenever needed. As student council president, he brought other students together to organize Veterans Day breakfasts and school events. Jacen’s story shows that lasting community impact often comes from showing up week after week, noticing where help is needed and using every opportunity to serve.

Martins Creek Community | Cherokee County
Kinslie discovered the power of simply being present for someone through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Western North Carolina. Beginning in her junior year, she was matched with a five-year-old student and became a caring, consistent mentor in her life. Kinslie also helped senior citizens select necessities and properly fitting shoes through Samaritan’s Feet, packed Thanksgiving meals for families in need and volunteered at youth sports camps. In Martins Creek, she supported community events and sang with her church choir at the community’s longstanding gospel singings. Kinslie’s story shows that giving your time, attention and encouragement can make someone feel seen and can be one of the most meaningful ways to serve.

Rosscraggon Wood | Buncombe County
A lifelong member of Rosscraggon Wood, Oliver has helped care for the preserve through seasonal cleanups, trail maintenance and reforestation projects. As Youth Service Coordinator, he organized and led young volunteers while working to keep the preserve accessible for members of all ages and abilities. When flooding threatened the community’s picnic shelter, Oliver helped develop a plan and worked alongside other members to dig drainage channels and protect this important gathering place. His story shows how growing up in a community can become an opportunity to lead, preserve its traditions and help carry it into the future.

Avery’s Creek Community | Buncombe County
For her Eagle Scout project, Peyton designed sensory and fidget boards for the calm spaces in first-grade classrooms at Avery’s Creek Elementary, the school she once attended. She planned the project, organized supplies and led other Scouts in creating the boards, which teachers reported were being used often by students. Peyton also helped build two outdoor libraries and a reading bench at the Avery’s Creek Community Center, participated in grounds and playground cleanups and helped lead Scout events and leadership training there. Peyton’s story shows how one thoughtful idea can become a project that meets a real need and makes a lasting difference for others.

Bill’s Creek Community | Rutherford County
After moving to North Carolina, Westyn found connection and purpose by serving his new community. As operations manager for the Bill’s Creek Community Center food pantry, he collected donations, stocked and organized the pantry each week and recruited other young people to volunteer. He also helped lead a school food drive that collected about 3,000 cans for Hickory Nut Gorge Outreach and supported local youth as a tutor, mentor and basketball coach. Westyn’s story shows that serving others can help you find your place in a new community and that stepping forward can inspire others to get involved alongside you.

Walnut Creek Community | Madison County
Irvin turned one of his greatest challenges into a way to help others. After moving from Mexico to Madison County and learning English, he began encouraging other English-language learners at school and helping them stay on track. Each summer, he returned to his neighborhood in Mexico and taught English to local children. In Madison County, he used his lunch and tutoring periods to help elementary students with reading and math, supported the high school’s food and clothing closet, participated in school cleanups and helped teachers organize their classrooms. Irvin’s story shows how the challenges you overcome can become the very tools you use to lift up others.

Beaverdam Community | Buncombe County
When Abigail recognized that newly arrived immigrant students at Enka High School needed additional support, she created an after-school tutoring program that connected them with bilingual student tutors. She also adjusted her own schedule to work one-on-one with newcomers who spoke little English, helping them understand their classes and feel less alone in a new school. Through Key Club and National Honor Society, Abigail led a prom dress drive, coat drive for Ukraine relief and school blood drive, collected more than 1,200 menstrual products and organized other local service projects. Abigail’s story shows how noticing who may be overlooked and inviting others to help can turn one student’s concern into lasting support for an entire community.

Upper Laurel Community | Madison County
Joanna saw that local elementary school media centers needed support and created the Madison County Fall Book Drive. She organized the project, raised community awareness and collected books to help improve and restore these important learning spaces for younger students. Joanna also packaged food boxes for local families through The Lord’s Harvest, helped clean school grounds, renovated school donation areas and organized drives and other service projects through student clubs. Her story shows that young people do not have to wait for someone else to begin; a need they notice in their school or neighborhood can become the starting point for a project that brings others together and strengthens their community.

Snowbird Community | Graham County
Having grown up participating in Snowbird youth sports, Kensley later gave back by refereeing youth volleyball games and mentoring younger athletes. She also volunteered for several years at the local food pantry, where she helped distribute food to families in need. Through Celebrate Recovery, she served meals to community members, and at Sweetgum Baptist Church, she worked with children during Vacation Bible School. Kensley’s story shows how the activities and organizations that shape us when we are young can become places where we return to serve, encourage others and help strengthen our community.

Little River Community | Transylvania County
As Youth Volunteer Liaison for the Boys & Girls Club, Lucy connected her peers with opportunities to support local fundraising events. She recruited volunteers, organized shifts, shared event information and stayed in contact with participants to make sure each event had the help it needed. Lucy also volunteered three days a week in seventh-grade math classes at Brevard Academy, working individually with students and helping them prepare for tests until they felt more confident. She also wrote encouraging letters through Letters Against Depression. Lucy’s story shows how organizing others and sharing your own strengths help more people become involved in their community.

Little River Community | Transylvania County
Zorabella used her interest in science to investigate the health of the Little River near her home. After testing the water and river-bottom organisms, she discovered significant microplastic pollution in an area considered environmentally clean. She contacted water-quality experts at MountainTrue for field training, then shared her research methods and findings with the organization. Zorabella also brought attention to the issue through research competitions, a published article and a documentary about student science. She later investigated possible microplastic contamination in the purified water used by a local pharmaceutical company. Zorabella’s story shows how curiosity about a local concern can grow into research that raises awareness and helps protect a community’s natural resources.