Kaila Mardoyan

2016 VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR

The Little Lighthouse Volunteer of the Year is reserved annually for the LLF volunteer who selflessly donates their time to better those less fortunate, while being an upstanding citizen in our community. The Volunteer of the Year is honored annually at the Hearts & Stars Gala.

Kaila was born and raised in Columbia, Missouri, and moved to South Florida when she was only 22. She currently works for Douglas Elliman selling luxury real estate in the Miami market, while also managing restaurant partnerships for Velocity, a reservation and mobile payments application.

From a young age her parents instilled in her the significance of helping those in need – a lifestyle she continues to this day – volunteering with the Little Lighthouse Foundation (“LLF”) since 2011. Kaila’s altruistic beliefs manifested from her father’s words: “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” In a few shorts years, Kaila has taken on the responsibility of Chapter Leader for two LLF programs: Beauty All Around at The Lotus House and Step Up with the City of Miami Beach. She is the only LLF Chapter Leader to manage two separate programs. “Volunteering helps me to identify small elements of life that I take for granted each day. These precious moments give my life a higher purpose,” she explained earlier this year. Kaila often volunteers with other LLF chapters and hasn’t missed a Holiday Toy Drive in five years.

Kaila’s energy to better the community through volunteerism while developing herself into an ambitious and amicable citizen have earned her the honor of Little Lighthouse Foundation 2016 Volunteer of the Year.