When it comes to volunteer work, it’s hard to put Jonathan Knight’s efforts into perspective.
“Every time we put out an email, he’s the first one to respond every time,” said Erin Mabery with Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters.
“He'll say, 'Yeah I’ll be there. Yeah, I can do it. What do you need help with? Where do you need me?'” said Kelly Lee with Humboldt Education Foundation.
Knight was recently named Desert Financial's Volunteer of the Year.
“I honestly prefer to be the man behind the curtain. This is killing me right now, Cameron,” said Knight, with a laugh.
Well, we’re pulling back that curtain and it’s easy to understand why.
If you volunteered three times last year that would be an amazing show of kindness.
In 2022, the 31-year-old married father of three has helped 24 different organizations at 160 different events, putting in more than 320 hours of volunteer work. He does this even as he works full-time as a local bank manager.
“Just to be able to be a part of something bigger than yourself, it’s very fulfilling,” said Knight.
Whether it’s food drives, parades, flag-planting, fundraising, and even dance mobs for good causes, if it’s in Yavapai County, you’ll probably find him lending a hand.
“He is involved in our ambassador program, our Prescott Area Young Professionals program,” said Sheri Heiney with the Prescott Chamber of Commerce.
Maybe it makes sense, after all, Knight is the son of a pastor and the brother of another one. Even his brother-in-law is a pastor.
“Honestly I’m just trying to keep up with the people around me,” laughed Knight.
As part of being named Volunteer of the Year, he was awarded a $1,500 check which he chose to donate to Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters.
“There’s always going to be moments that you can give, just find moments in life,” said Knight. “That natural progression will happen where you’re going to want to give more and more after you open that up.”
“If we had a thousand Jonathans in this community, the world would be a totally different place, let me tell ya,” said Mabery.
It’s certainly hard to argue with that.