Annandale Volunteers: Meet Toora Arsala

Welcome to Annandale Volunteers, our new weekly column which recognizes people who volunteer their time in Annandale and surrounding communities for their work in our neighborhoods. Every week, we will bring you a profile featuring a resident who spends their time giving back to the community.

This week, we're introducing you to Toora Arsala. Read on to learn more about him and how you can nominate a volunteer for us to feature!

Toora Arsala is a dedicated volunteer who has worked with various organizations that have ties to the Annandale community. The 21-year-old Centreville resident worked with Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) on his campaign as an intern and has volunteered with the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, Salvation Army, and Reston Interfaith. “I like to try different organizations a lot because I want to gain new experiences and skills,” said Arsala.

Arsala started volunteering in 2004 when he was a freshman in high school. Developmentally delayed as a child, Arsala said he had a hard time interacting with other students in school. He decided to get more involved with activities and joined the student senate, Interact club and Best Buddies club.

“In Best Buddies, I gained not only friendships, but the skills to go on and volunteer and help other organizations like Salvation Army, American Red Cross,” said Arsala.

He graduated with a special education diploma and said he was worried about the kind of opportunities available to him and doubted his chances of getting into a four-year university. Determined to overcome his challenges, Arsala continued his volunteer efforts, working with Habitat for Humanity and Celebrate Fairfax. Currently, he is the volunteer coordinator for Team Fairfax with Obama’s Organizing for America, which encourages grassroots advocacy. “I just really love helping out in the community. It’s a huge passion of mine,” said Arsala.

Recently, Arsala was nominated for a and won a Benchmark award for volunteering more than 500 hours. Last year, he won the youth benchmark award for volunteering more than 100 hours.

Now a freshman and political science major at , Arsala said his dream is to become a politician and focus on disabilities outreach. His main goal is to start a youth outreach program so that others can have a chance to volunteer in their community just like he has. “I have a strong vision to get the youth more involved because I know there are other high school students who are struggling like me,” Arsala said. “It’s a fun experience working with all of these organizations and I thank all of them for all they do. I just really love it.”

If you are a volunteer (or know someone who is a volunteer) and you'd like to be featured, send an e-mail to sherell@patch.com with your name, phone number and a brief one or two sentences about your volunteer experience.