VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — April is National Volunteer Month. In honor of the yearly celebration, 13News Now shares a Windsor man's mission to give back and pay tribute to his late loved ones.
Sterling White travels to and from the Virginia Tech Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center or AREC in Virginia Beach every day.
"Basically [for] about six, a good six years," White said.
The center on 1444 Diamond Springs Road has a lot going on, from work in several on-site greenhouses to research and extension programs, prep work for plant sales, plus much more.
"I call it a jewel, a gem basically," said White, who called AREC a piece of Blacksburg at the Beach. "A lot of people don't even know that this place even exists."
At AREC, visitors can also find 28 gardens like the Tidewater Arboretum, completely free for the public and maintained largely by Virginia Beach Master Gardeners.
"It's just amazing all the work that's put into this by volunteers," White said.
But for him, a particular spot at the AREC is his haven on Earth — the garden he and his mother Linda White Tusinski have poured their hearts into.
"She started buying different flowers," White said.
The flowers and plants Tusinski donated were to beautify a memorial site for the lives lost in the 2007 Virginia Tech mass shooting 17 years ago.
One of the 32 killed was Sterling's cousin, Nicole Regina White, a junior at Tech and Smithfield High School grad who is remembered as a giving person and volunteer with multiple organizations.
"To give back, it's a passion," he said.
For him, the garden also memorializes another life.
"Her feeling was this is where she wanted to be put," White said.
His mom had diabetes and heart disease; she died in September 2022. Her ashes were spread at the memorial garden.
Research associate and Sterling's mentor Dr. Laurie Fox helped with the tribute. "Dr. Fox said, 'Well, we'll put her over on the other side of the memorial garden. We'll come in and plant flowers on that side," White said.
Every day, he helps maintain the grounds. As seen at the gazebo on the AREC campus, White and dozens of other volunteers have different reasons why they keep coming out.
"Great laughter, enjoy the friendship, enjoy the sunshine," one volunteer wrote.
"I come here every day. I drive 45 minutes one way," White said. "What pulls me back is the passion my mother had for this place, the passion, the way she felt the love for this place. That's a big sentimental value on me."
Volunteers with AREC clocked more than 10,000 hours in 2023. Leaders estimate their hourly value at $31.80 if they were paid.