Avery Park, one of the first female Eagle Scouts, awarded Youth Service Award for her impact

NBC4 Community Reporter Molette Green spoke with the Thomas Jefferson High School student about her award-winning volunteer project.

About Avery's Eagle Scout project for Doorways

"The need Avery addressed is this: organizing our fifth floor storage space and creating an online inventory tracking system for the items therein," said Joy Myers, Doorways' Chief Development Officer, when speaking at Avery Park's Eagle Court of Honor ceremony. "While that may not sound like a lot, remember that at the intersections of all of Doorways' various work, we encounter families and individuals in crisis. Many are fleeing violence and have only the clothes on their bodies," Joy said. "We try to have everything on-hand to make our care comfortable for the survivor and their family." Avery also factored in Doorways' forthcoming office move, ensuring the new storage system was portable.

"The beautiful space Avery created for our comfort and care supplies is a bright projection of the combination of who she is and Doorways' mission," Joy said. "The survivors are centered in that space, and when our staff need to grab something for a family that is undoubtedly experiencing one of the most traumatic times of their lives, the spark and service of Avery welcomes them."

At Volunteer Arlington's 2023 Arlington Cares event, Avery was presented with the Youth Service Award for her project supporting Doorways and our clients.

Doorways Earns Latest Seal from Spur Local (formerly the Catalogue for Philanthropy)

"We at Spur Local, formerly the Catalogue for Philanthropy, have created a simpler way to connect with critical nonprofits in your neighborhood."

"All our nonprofit partners are highly trusted—not only by the Spur Local team, but more importantly by the 170+ residents who live or work in our region and volunteer to choose these nonprofits."

The Pew Charitable Trusts: How Housing Costs Drive Levels of Homelessness

"A new analysis of rent prices and homelessness in American cities demonstrates the strong connection between the two: homelessness is high in urban areas where rents are high, and homelessness rises when rents rise."

TIME: Tropical Storm Hilary and Maui Fires Show Climate Change is Worsening Homelessness

"Another link worth considering is the way in which climate change creates more homelessness and further stresses strained housing systems. Hurricane Katrina, for example, displaced 800,000 people. Of course, many rebuilt or relocated—but not everyone. Four years after the storm, 12,000 people remained without shelter, according to a report from the National Coalition for the Homeless."