THE STORY BEHIND SERVICE: COLIN WHITE’S WMCD JOURNEY

If you ask Colin White what he’ll remember most about his three years on our youth team, he probably won’t start talking about the events he helped plan, the interviews he helped with, or the countless hours spent preparing for each annual all-nighter.

Instead, he’ll talk about a feeling. A feeling that doesn’t quite have a name.

For years, Colin has described it as “unexplainable.” It’s a word many of us have heard him use more than once, and somehow, it always seems fitting. Because if you’ve experienced what it feels like to spend months working toward something that exists solely to help someone else, you know exactly what he means. And if you haven’t, it’s almost impossible to put into words.

Colin’s first all-nighter was in 2023 during his freshman year at Westfield High School. After signing up for what was supposed to just be a fun night out, he enjoyed the experience so much that he joined the Youth Team as the next natural step. At the time, it was simply another way to get involved. 

But what kept him coming back was something much deeper. “I found the event held more weight,” Colin reflected. “It shined a light on what service really means.”

That was the spark that lit the fire for the next three years. Whether he was helping promote events around school, encouraging classmates to participate, sharing updates on social media, or simply talking to anyone who would listen about why the All-Nighter mattered, Colin became one of the Youth Team’s strongest ambassadors. He never needed an official title to lead. His enthusiasm for the mission spoke for itself, and people naturally listened because they knew he genuinely believed in what he was saying.

One moment, in particular, stood out to him and changed the way he viewed service. At the closing ceremony of his very first All-Nighter, a family benefitting from Rick’s Place services stood in front of all the participants and shared her story. It was a story of the loss in their family and the ways grief has changed their lives. Colin remembers sitting in the audience, listening as she spoke about the challenges she had faced and the difference the organization had made in her life.

It was one of the only times he can remember crying.

"It was a reminder that we are all humans," he said. "Everyone is far more similar than we are different. Being able to hear the story of one person allows you to imagine how many other people may be in similar situations and how the help you give can help so many others."

For Colin, that moment transformed volunteering from something you do into something you believe. Hearing just one person's story made him realize that the impact of the All-Nighter stretched far beyond the walls of the event itself. It reinforced a lesson that would shape the rest of his time with WMCD: service isn't about recognition. It's about choosing to do something simply because someone else needs it.

And that idea didn’t just shape his time with WMCD, but also his role in every community he was a part of. As he gave a final speech at the 2026 All-Nighter, he reflected on that philosophy.

"You don't go into it expecting anything out of it," he told the audience. "And I think that is crucial. Not just for success financially, but as a member of your community, whether that's your school, your town, your city, or simply as a person on Earth."

Over three years on the Youth Team, those words became what Colin lived by. As he would promote events, encourage friends to get involved, and spread WMCD’s mission, he realized that volunteering had changed him just as much as his community. 

"I have grown as a leader and as a human," he reflected. "I've become far more confident and it has become much easier to approach others. I've become far more thoughtful, appreciating what I have far more and appreciating what I can give to others," he said. "It has grown my self-worth as I realize how even the smallest gestures can mean the world, but also how much a united community can accomplish."

Appearing twice on Rock on Westfield, Colin had the opportunity to share this philosophy to a much larger audience. What he expected to be an exciting interview quickly became one of the defining experiences of his time on the Youth Team.

"It was incredible to be able to share not just what the All-Nighters are, but what they mean with a wider audience," he said. "Harry Rock was an amazing host, and you could tell how much he truly cared about listening to us."

For someone who had discovered the power of stories through volunteering, those conversations opened another door. They inspired Colin to pursue journalism, where listening carefully and helping others understand one another are just as important as asking the right questions. This fall, Colin will attend Skidmore College to study journalism, carrying with him the lessons he first discovered at WMCD.

Looking back, he doesn't talk about awards or accomplishments. He talks about people. He talks about community. And he talks about the feeling that first kept him coming back. "It's incredible what we can put on and what we can do," he said during his closing remarks. "I think being involved is just so important wherever you are."

As Colin embarks on a new journey, we know he will continue telling stories that truly matter. Whether that takes place through journalism, volunteering, or simply taking the time to listen to the people around him, we know he’ll be doing good.

And while he still might describe the impact of WMCD as "unexplainable," we think he came closer than he realizes.

Because sometimes the greatest lesson you learn from giving back isn't how much you've helped someone else.

It's discovering just how much the experience has changed you.