July Volunteer Newsletter: Holly Braly, Hub Updates, 9/11 Day of Service

For Lancaster resident Holly Braly, community service is not a distant ideal; it is a daily practice. In recognition of her lifelong dedication to local youth and schools, Volunteer River Counties officially named Braly the July Volunteer of the Month.

Braly recently wrapped up an impressive eight-year tenure as the PTA president for Lancaster Elementary School. She is stepping down this summer to help transition new leadership as her youngest child will soon be finished with her time there. A graduate of Lancaster public schools herself, her deep roots led her into volunteerism years ago when a friend asked for help with publicity for the Lancaster County Virginia Education Foundation. When her own children entered the school system, joining the PTA was a natural next step.

Over the years, her volunteer service portfolio has expanded to Dream Fields, where she manages the concession stand, oversees inventory, and coordinates volunteer schedules. Her husband, Chris Braly, volunteers as the manager for operations at Dream Fields. In fact, Chris nominated Holly for the honor to recognize her tireless fundraising and operational work there!

Braly's philosophy on service is straightforward and brooks no excuses. She frequently encounters people who complain that there should be more activities or programs for kids in the community, to which she responds: "These things don't happen without people doing them." Instead of waiting for outside forces to improve the community, Braly says, "You can look around and wonder when somebody will do it. Or you can just jump in and get it done."

As a mom who works full-time from home for a trade association, Braly challenges the idea that people are too busy for community service. In her experience, the hesitation often stems from a misconception about the workload. "They always think it's a bigger burden or commitment than it really is. Once they get in there, they discover it's fun," she notes.

Braly emphasizes that small acts can make a massive difference. "You bite off what you can handle," Braly said. "Maybe that's just helping out one time a year at an event. But that helps! It's all our responsibility to make sure we get things done for the community. It takes everybody."

If you want to follow Braly's lead, find more information about volunteering at Dream Fields by visiting VolunteerRiverCounties.org.

HUB HIGHLIGHT

Find Your Team: New Feature Makes Volunteering Together Easier

You can now see who you will be working with on your next volunteer shift! The Volunteer River Counties hub has been updated to help you connect with fellow volunteers, build community, and coordinate with friends before you even arrive. This new feature lets you view a list of other registered volunteers for any given opportunity.

Best of all, you retain complete control over your own privacy:

• Privacy by design: To protect your identity, names display strictly as first name and last initial only (e.g., "Jane D.").
• Fully optional: This feature is turned off by default. Your name will never be visible to others unless you choose to share it.

How to manage your settings:

1. Sign In: Log into your account at Volunteer River Counties
2. Access Your Profile: Click your initials or profile picture in the top navigation bar and select View Profile.
3. Go to your Edit Profile tab.
4. Scroll down to Data and Communication Settings. Toggle your visibility to choose whether your name is shown to other volunteers.
5. Be sure to tap the Update Settings button.
6. Browse your favorite opportunities to see who else has signed up for your shifts!

MUSTER LIST

25 Years Later, Transform the Anniversary of 9/11 into America's Day of Doing Good

For the 25th anniversary of 9/11, millions of Americans will join together in a powerful expression of unity - putting aside differences to do good. Are you in?

In observance of the upcoming 25th anniversary of 9/11, the nonprofit 9/11 Day recently unveiled sweeping plans to unite tens of millions of Americans across political, geographic, generational, and cultural lines in the single largest day of doing good in American history.

"Our goal is to transform the 9/11 anniversary, for all time, into an annual moment of national reflection, unity and doing good in tribute to the 9/11 victims, their families, and the many first responders, recovery workers, volunteers, and military personnel who rose in service in response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks," said David Paine, president and co-founder of 9/11 Day. "We want to reclaim the day."

Reaching and Educating the Next Generation

More than 100 million Americans alive today are too young to remember the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 - or have a personal understanding of the impact of the rare period of unity and service in America that immediately followed the attacks.

To help bridge the generation gap, 9/11 Day has launched a comprehensive youth engagement and education initiative for the 25th anniversary of 9/11. 9/11 Day is offering an expanded library of free lesson plans, teachers' guides, and other classroom resources.

Ways to Unite for Good

9/11 Day invites partners nationwide to help make September 11, 2026, the largest day of unity and doing good in American history. Through the national Unite for Good campaign, activate your community in ways that fit your mission, audience, and capacity.