Throughout the year, you’ve seen or read about how volunteers from different business sectors are changing the lives of the people we support throughout the YAI Network. We thought we'd share some insights from a few of our partners.

Dionna Hines-Marshburn, a Macy's Corporate Volunteer since 2010, has led the annual Macy's holiday party at NYL's Roosevelt Children's Center. For her, being involved with YAI is personal. Dionna has a 20-year-old son with autism, who came out of his shell while participating in YAI's after-school program in the Bronx.

"I'm giving back to the people who helped me personally. All of the Macy's employees who participate get a warm feeling about our involvement. Some of the children are verbal and some are nonverbal, but you see their faces light up when Santa arrives. You can see their appreciation and happiness. Alan Chrzanowski, VP of Gross Margin Planning looks forward to playing Santa every year. The event means so much to all of that participate. We all leave there smiling for the rest of the day."

For Lou Riccio of Child Life Technology, a network of volunteers that focuses on supporting the application of technology to enhance the lives of children, partnering with YAI benefits the CLT team. A recent CLT project helped develop an adaptive toy for preschoolers with limited or no use of their hands or feet at our Roosevelt Children's Center. This encourages play and can help them understand how to operate their wheelchair and other devices which promote independence.

"Due to its specialized focus, matching technology professionals with project opportunities at YAI gives me deep insight and perspective into what successful implementation entails. This helps my credibility and ability to deliver on projects for other health care organizations supporting the general population. I am especially excited to work with YAI as the organization is open to exchanging new ideas in following through on its commitment to the people it supports."

Max Martinelli's involvement with YAI began as a teenager. That experience – meeting other children and teens with disabilities – left an indelible impression. As an Account Executive, AOL Platforms, at Advertising.com, Max is a member of YAI's Brighter Futures Society for young professionals. He was instrumental in bringing a team of AOL professionals to YAI as part of AOL's Monster Help Day of volunteering this year.

"I love my job, and I love my life. But my life is a lot more than my job -- there's way too much to list. But one part is volunteering, and there are a few causes that are very important to me. Improving the quality of life for people with developmental disabilities is one of those causes. I remember meeting children and teens with disabilities at Frost Valley YMCA, a sleep-away summer camp where, at 16, I became a counselor with YAI's Mainstreaming-At-Camp program. I liked that they were having the same opportunities as other campers and would participate in activities alongside their peers without disabilities.

That experience is why I continue to volunteer, most recently playing in a weekly basketball with people in YAI's Manhattan Recreation Services program.

I'm privileged enough to work for a company that has a sense of corporate responsibility. We are encouraged to volunteer, and even have a scheduled day every year where the entire company spends the day volunteering in various organized capacities. I have worked with YAI to schedule an event. I led a group of analysts, lawyers, data scientists, and salespeople to YAI's headquarters on 34th street, and we spent a few hours helping individuals seeking employment develop LinkedIn profiles and more importantly, understand the skills they had developed, and how those could be presented when applying for jobs. This is fulfilling on many levels, since applying for jobs and improving skill sets is core to many people, and we want to be able to help.

I try not to define myself by my job, but that seems hard to do for me and for my peers. But my experience is that people want to donate their time and energy, and they want to see the results. I think every person wants to do good deeds, but many don't know how or where to start. Often organized corporate volunteering is an easy and accessible option, especially when leadership of the volunteer events comes from individual employees, who are empowered to create those events with the charities and causes close to them. I wish there was a lot more of that."