By Carrie Martin
Kirsten Sprott, an administrator/technical release representative in the Public Affairs Office at LLNL, has a passion for giving through service. She helps others on a regular basis both on and off the job. Volunteering for nonprofit charitable organizations for more than 20 years, she found a way to fuel her passion and give back to the community through LLNL’s Brighter Holidays program.
Brighter Holidays, which started in 1989, is a grassroots program that provides food and gifts for the less fortunate during the holiday season. Sprott has served as the Brighter Holidays directorate liaison for the Director’s Office (DO) for the past 17 years. She coordinates the adoption of families for the departments within the DO including for her own department, Public Affairs.
“Brighter Holidays is a wonderful program,” Sprott said. “The holiday season can be a difficult time for many families both financially and emotionally. Brighter Holidays offers employees the chance to contribute in some way and help those in need. Most people don’t know where to go or how to help, Brighter Holidays provides an avenue to give back.”
Sprott takes responsibility for the whole process from start to finish. From reaching out to local agencies to find families in need and then working with the family to get their needs lists and wish lists. She then creates gift tags to place on the tree on display in the building lobby. Once the wrapped gifts are placed under the tree, just before the holiday, she loads them all up and personally delivers the gifts to the family at their home. This has shown Sprott first-hand the impact of employees’ generosity to this program.
“In 2017, we adopted two families who lost their homes in the Santa Rosa fires,” Sprott said. “These families lost everything in the fire. They were under a tremendous amount of stress dealing with trying to find a rental home, insurance issues, etc. It was so amazing to deliver gifts to these families during this time and make their holiday special.”
Some families in the program have never experienced Christmas the way that most families do. Sprott recalled that in 2019 a family was adopted consisting of a single mom, her newborn baby girl and her seven-year-old daughter. “Due to the generosity of Lab employees, in addition to gifts, we were able to deliver a Christmas tree and set it up with ornaments and lights. The family had never had a tree before. When we walked in with all the gifts, the look on the little girl’s face was priceless. She had never seen so many presents.”
Employees can help by getting involved not only during the holidays but all year long. There are many opportunities to help, one of which is through the Livermore Laboratory Employee Services Association’s (LLESA) Brighter Days. The Brighter Days campaign is an extension of the Brighter Holidays program and helps the community through acts of kindness throughout the year. As part of Brighter Days, LLESA periodically coordinates Labwide charitable programs and shares employee recommended giving opportunities throughout the year. (See pages 16-17.)
Outside of work, Sprott’s main passion (in addition to exercising) is volunteering for charitable organizations. “Volunteering is so important because it gives me an opportunity to make a difference and give back. Along the way I get to meet new people and be a part of a community. Volunteering gives me a sense of purpose.”
Since 2001, she has served as a board member/volunteer for the Exceptional Needs Network (ENN), a non-profit that provides camps for special-needs children.
“It was my involvement with ENN that really ignited my passion to volunteer. Seeing those kiddos having so much fun at camp and their parents getting some well-needed respite made me so happy. Knowing that I played a part in that made me feel so good I wanted to just keep doing more and more.”
She also volunteers for the Taylor Family Foundation (since 2002), whose mission is “to preserve the wellness and enhance the quality of life for children in Northern California living with life-threatening and chronic illnesses, developmental disabilities and youth-at-risk through unique therapeutic experiences and support.”
Sprott is one of the founding members and past board members for the National Charity League, Livermore chapter which was started in 2014. The National Charity League is a nonprofit organization that provides community service and volunteering opportunities for mothers and their daughters.
Since 2017, she has volunteered for the Tim Tebow Foundation’s Night to Shine, Tri-Valley, an unforgettable prom night experience for special needs ages 14 and older. She collects prom dresses for participants and serves as a buddy for one special attendee.
Her most recent volunteer experience (since 2020) is delivering meals for Culinary Angels, a non-profit organization that provides healing, nutrient-rich meals to people going through a serious health challenge.
Through her involvement and dedication, Sprott has instilled a charitable and giving spirit into her family as well. “Both of my kids are very involved with ENN because they grew up seeing how much fun the kids were having through the experience. When they were old enough to start volunteering, they were all in, without me even asking. They asked me.”
She and her daughter Taylor were both involved with the National Charity League, before she went off to study nursing in college. “We volunteered hundreds of hours together.”
Sprott has demonstrated to her fellow LLNL employees what it means to serve others.
