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Austin family named finalists in Good Morning America contest

The Kinvig family has been giving back to their community for years.

AUSTIN, Texas — Good Morning America is running a contest that will send one deserving family to Walt Disney World Resort for a week-long vacation.

The Kinvig family from Austin was nominated for the contest by Generation SERVE, an organization that aims to engage children in volunteerism, because of the family's dedication to volunteering and giving back to their community.

The Kinvig's started volunteering at Generation SERVE in 2010, and over the years have volunteered 750 hours in Central Texas. Their volunteer activities ranged anywhere from training therapy dogs with The Dog Alliance to bundling diapers for the Austin Diaper Bank.

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Heather and Chris Kinvig have intentionally been integrating community service into their home-schooled children's education. Their daughters, Jewel and Avery, seem to have taken these lessons to heart.

For her eighth birthday, Jewel celebrated at Partnerships for Children's "Rainbow Room," and accepted donations for youth in foster care instead of getting presents. Avery chose to spend her fifth birthday stocking the shelves at El Buen Samaritano's food pantry.

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In 2017, the sisters organized a Halloween-themed food drive when they noticed the shelves at El Buen were looking bare. During the drive, the girls collected 75 pounds of food.

The top five finalists of the contest will be featured on GMA from Oct. 7 through 11, and the winning family will be chosen through a nationwide vote. The organization that nominated the winning family will also receive a $10,000 grant.

The Kinvigs have also been nominated for the first-ever Disney/Points of Light Volunteer Family of the Year award. The main goal of this contest is to share volunteering with others and encourage them to get out and help their communities, said Heather.

"It is a huge honor to be nominated by Generation Serve and an even bigger surprise to find out we've made it to the top 30," Heather said. "Volunteering and Gernation Serve is a huge part of our lives. Austin is such an amazing community and we are so fortunate to have been able to expose our girls to numerous local non-profits and raise them to always be thinking of ways to help others. In Avery's words 'We hope others can see how much fun volunteering can be!'"

WATCH: 10th Annual CASA Superhero Run

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