“Service starts at home” guides Lars Lyon Award winner
Duke Community Affairs is proud to recognize the contributions of Ashley Talwar, the 2024 winner of the Lars Lyon Volunteer Service Award. The award acknowledges a Duke undergraduate who has made a difference in a local school or non-profit organization, embodying the legacy of former student Lars Lyon. Ashley, a rising junior studying biomedical engineering on a pre-medical track, has demonstrated ongoing dedication to serving homeless populations as the co-founder of The Backpack Project Durham.
From a young age, Ashley moved to a wide array of communities full of people of all ages and backgrounds. This exposure to different people and the inequities they experienced helped inspire her path to service. Guided by her family’s motto of “service starts at home,” she began her dedicated commitment to alleviating the burdens of those experiencing homelessness in her hometown of Westfield, New Jersey. She led her high school community service club through an expansion to meet a greater range of local needs, including implementing tutoring services and various supply drives.
During Ashley’s tenure, her team has packed and distributed 375 bags a year and held 50 events, including a panel discussing perspectives on homelessness.
Leading efforts to address homelessness
Ashley’s commitment to service continued to expand at Duke through her leadership in the The Backpack Project Durham (TBPD). The Backpack Project works to provide those experiencing homelessness with essential supplies through backpack distributions and other events. Homelessness continues to be an important issue, particularly due to the affordable housing problems that plague Durham. Since 2020, the number of unsheltered people has more than doubled. This makes TBPD’s work more relevant now than ever.
Photo credit: Ashley Talwar
The Backpack Project under Ashley aims not only to provide supplies and resources to those experiencing homelessness, but also to help establish personal connections through service and eliminate the stigmas surrounding homelessness. They achieve this mission through multiple partnerships with community non-profits such as Durham Rescue Mission and student-led organizations like Duke EMS of which Ashley is also a member. Their most notable partnership is with Families Moving Forward. Together, they host room renovations for a family in a shelter to make them feel more at home, as well as tutoring programs for children, paint nights, and more.
Ashley’s dedication was echoed by those she leads. Executive Board member, Shloka Bhakta, said Ashley is someone who “always has new ideas for club events and partnerships” and regularly “takes extra care to make sure [club members] see [their] projects through.” Her peers emphasized that her “passion and drive towards [the mission of TBPD]” was singular and is what “makes her worthy of this award.”
Annual award includes $15,000 towards tuition
As the 2024 Lars Lyon Award Recipient, Ashley received $15,000 towards her tuition for the 2024-2025 academic year. This award is a testament to her unwavering dedication to service and the improvement of conditions and resources for those experiencing homelessness. We are excited to see the continued impact of Ashley’s work through the rest of her Duke career. You can continue to follow the work of The Backpack Project Durham and contribute here.
If you know of someone who embodies the spirt of the Lars Lyon Award, next year’s nominations will open Spring 2025.
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