Herndon — Herndon Councilmember Grace Wolf has years of volunteer experience, with the Council For the Arts of Herndon, the Herndon Festival and the Girl Scouts among other things.

But she also got her daughter Lani, a freshman in high school involved at an early age.

"I think kids have an innate interest in helping others, and when you can find something that lets them do that, but doesn’t feel like work, it really gets them into that mindset," Wolf said.

She admits that when her daughter was young she was "volunteered for" the events, but Wolf says her daughter soon grew into it.

"She went from a participant to running the events in what felt like not much time at all," Wolf said. "A lot of these places have a core group of volunteers, and that includes families, so she can see people her own age, and we see people who started when they were young and are now in college and still coming back."

Wolf and her daughter were nominated for a Volunteer Service Award from Volunteer Fairfax, which will hold its award ceremony in April.

In addition to work with the Council for the Arts of Herndon, Lani Wolf has also volunteered at the Herndon Library, the Taste of the Town, the Herndon Festival, the Kate Hanley Shelter and has volunteered more than 100 hours in the past year. She was also awarded the middle school volunteer of the year in 2008 by the Fairfax Partnership for Youth.

Grace Wolf has served as president of the Arts Council since 2004, and has volunteered more than 500 hours in the past year. She was also awarded one of the Town of Herndon’s Volunteers of the Year in 2006.

Volunteer Fairfax is a county initiative to provide networking and opportunities to people looking for community service. Their annual awards will be held April 27 at The Waterford in Springfield. More information can be found at www.volunteerfairfax.org.