A visionary has sight for a cause, Allison Bradford Gorrie can relate. She may be visually impaired, but Allison sees the impact of service pristinely.
Born with a birth defect that causes low vision, Allison, 16, has adapted to blindness and is a lifetime patient of the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Department of Ophthalmology. Not wanting her impairment to deter her from teenaged independence, she is learning to use bioptic driving glasses and other visual aids with the help of the UAB Center for Low Vision Rehabilitation. As a thank you, she created Songs for Sight, a musical event designed to raise money for UAB’s Department of Ophthalmology and the UAB Center for Low Vision Rehabilitation.
Enabling the partnership of the UAB Department of Ophthalmology, the Eye Sight Foundation of Alabama and community volunteers, Allison made Songs for Sight a successful benefit concert. Performances from several musical artists, including Grace Potter, Drew Mays and the Red Mountain Theatre Performing Ensemble, and a surprise appearance from Condoleezza Rice were some of the concert’s highlights. With over 600 attendees at Songs for Sight, Allison helped the audience to understand the challenges of vision impairment with the creative use of low vision glasses.
The extensive work that went into Songs for Sight reaped massive benefits. Allison’s fundraising efforts will vastly impact the low vision community in Alabama and worldwide. Half of the funds raised will be used to support research purposes at UAB Optic Nerve Imaging Center to develop imaging of the retina and analyze a variety of ocular, neurologic and systemic conditions. This type of optics research will now have the opportunity to improve the lives of people suffering from diseases such as diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, retinal degeneration and glaucoma. The UAB Center or Low Vision Rehabilitation will use the other half of the fundraising money to create a support group, expand the center’s operational needs, and develop assistive technology for young adults, which some insurance plans do not generally cover for the low vision community.
Allison’s commitment to the improvement of the low vision community helped Songs for Songs raise $420,000 for her cause. The success of this event demonstrates Allison’s indomitable spirit and how she approaches life with a positive attitude toward making a difference.
When dealing with the well being of the community, Adner Marcelin has no boundaries. A friend once told him that he could not invest his personal finances in his community. He simply said, “If it will help one person improve their situation, then it improves the community that I am a part of. That’s money well spent.”
Adner, 22, strives to make a positive influence in his community. He has mentored young people with Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Big Bend and the NAACP Youth Council to make a difference with others. Instead of merely talking about change, Adner takes initiative to make it happen. He founded Marcelin & Mason Community Outreach, Inc., a non-profit organization that leads dedicated individuals to mitigate the needs of the community through community service, empowerment and education.
Disaster relief, food and clothing drives and environmental clean-ups are some of the community service opportunities focused to educate others how important it is to give back regardless of status in life. Empowerment in the community focuses on financial education, health awareness, and other self-improvement tips. Marcelin & Mason Community Outreach Inc.’s last mission is to encourage others to be ambitious, providing scholarships to reward hard-working students in need.
Due to Adner’s dedication and service, his community senses that someone truly cares. After a Back To School Drive Adner held in August 2009, a young girl ran up and hugged him, thanking him for the backpack she has for school. His effect on his community has given people a new attitude and outlook on life.
Todd Schmidt knows sacrifice. As a U.S. Army Soldier of 13 years, he dedicates every day of his life to serving his country, and his unwavering desire to serve transcends patriotism.
Surveying local schools during his deployment in Afghanistan, he noticed the students desperately needed basic classroom and school supplies. After expressing his concern in letters for Afghan school conditions, his desire to better the Afghan community fostered several anonymous U.S. donors to send care packages on his behalf. Todd has since founded and led Operation Dreamseed, an organization that supports and funds education initiatives in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo, Colombia and Nicaragua.
Working to build, restore and renovate schools in Afghanistan, Todd works to give students quality for their educational efforts. In Afghanistan, he learned how important a solid education contributes to the stability and security of a global community, especially in countries blighted by conflict. As a result, Todd works to build schools and supply countless students with school supplies through Army units as well as establish English Language education scholarships in Nicaragua.
From Todd’s efforts, he and other volunteers have provided countless students in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo, Colombia and Nicaragua with the school supplies they need. The organization has rebuilt two schools in Afghanistan, supplied school necessities to several orphanages in Colombia and schools in Kosovo, and granted two scholarships to exceptional Nicaraguan students in 2009 to learn English.
Operation Dreamseed works to educate young minds, helping students receive the proper nurturing and care they need to succeed. For Todd, he knows that helping these children cultivates the seeds to help their dreams become reality.
In May 2008 when Grace, Sharon, and Eric Li observed the terrible disaster caused by a large earthquake in China, they founded the non-profit We Care Act at just 12, 11 and 7 years old.
We Care Act aides child disaster victims who suffer from lack of food, clothing, access to education and emotional support. We Care Act volunteers have provided food, clothing, books and a sense of community to survivors of the 2008 earthquake in China, Hurricane Ike and the recent earthquake in Haiti.
Through We Care Act, Grace, Sharon and Eric engage youth around the world to help others in need. They have recruited 30 team leaders from China, Canada, Singapore and the United States to get involved in disaster relief and community service. We Care Act unites young people through service and develops leadership skills in young volunteers to help them act as team leaders. We Care Act volunteers talk with friends and neighbors, educate the greater community and collect donations for disaster relief.
Utilizing school-wide donations of clothing and book drives at local elementary, middle and junior high schools, We Care Act has raised approximately $12,000 in funds and collected over 4,500 items, valued at an estimated $24,000 for survivors of disaster relief in the last two years.
The siblings
Grace, Sharon, and Eric Li are unique. At very young ages, they show determination and entrepreneurial spirits. They connect with family and friends to influence others and use their unique skill sets to provide needed supplies for natural disaster survivors.
Since the program started just 10 weeks ago, on Jan. 1, a million people already have volunteered or have committed to volunteer in their communities, according to Disney Parks and HandsOn Network, the nation's largest volunteer network and a facilitator of "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day."
It doesn't matter what age or what walk of life, everybody loves to be pampered. Gloria Owczarski knows that, which is why she's made it her duty to organize and lead “A Day of Beauty” for young adults from Atlanta area high school special education classes and their teachers, many of whom have never been in a salon.
A former salon manager, Gloria dedicates herself to giving one glorious day of makeovers every year to special needs youth and their teachers. She works all year long recruiting stylists to donate their services and a local salon to donate the space. When Gloria started “A Day of Beauty” seven years ago, 20 from the Special Olympics swim team she coaches got makeovers. This year, “A Day of Beauty” will serve over 300 students and teachers at no cost to the participants.
For Gloria, “A Day of Beauty” is about building confidence and helping the participants feel proud of themselves. Gloria shares, “This event is very close to my heart. My sister has Down's syndrome and she is my inspiration. I have been a Special Olympics swim coach for the past 10 years and I do this event for them.” Gloria knows being pampered makes the students and teachers involved feel like someone cares. For Gloria Owczarski, it's personal.
Gloria’s nominators could not say enough about her or “A Day of Beauty,” as Gloria not only serves the program’s participants, their teachers and parents, but she also gives individuals in the beauty industry and the surrounding community an opportunity to give back. One of Gloria’s nominators shared, “Gloria allows many of these students and teachers to experience a day where they are the stars, leaving with confidence in themselves. Not only are the participants treated to such a beautiful day, the volunteers know they have truly made a difference in the lives of these people - how much better can you get?!”
Gloria Owczarski is a beautiful woman who develops confidence in the special needs young adults in her community and mobilizes industry professionals and community partners to pay it forward by making a day of memories and happy smiles for a very special group of kids.
Betsey Beckmann will literally give you the clothes off of her back. In fact, she has. With a smile, she has given a child a coat of hers to keep warm during the brutal winters in the St. Louis, Missouri area. It is with this same wit and passion that Betsey started and organized Coat-A-Kid, an organization that provides coats to underserved families during the winter.
Betsey started the Coat-A-Kid organization single-handedly when she saw children without coats during winter months at her daughters’ school. She started by handing out coats to kids at her daughters’ school and progressively started adding others. Her efforts eventually lead to the birth of the non-profit Coat-A-Kid in 2001. But what makes Betsy’s organization so unique is her hands-on approach to serving kids in her community. She takes the time to shake each child’s hand and makes certain that the coats each child receives is in top-notch condition and fits perfectly. She also personally inscribes each child’s name into their new coat giving them a feeling of ownership.
Her personal efforts have resulted in phenomenal outcomes. In 2008 alone, Coat-A-Kid provided coats, hats and gloves to 900 children in 5 school districts, 3 Head Start programs and 6 foster homes. This year Betsy plans to increase her success by joining forces with the St. Louis Public Schools. This partnership ensures that the number of children impacted by Coat-A-Kid will increase to nearly 3,000 students.
Through her efforts, Betsey Beckmann has provided warmth to children who live without the luxury of a heated home or warm car. By training others, Betsey’s legacy of generosity will continue to provide for those in need through Coat-A-Kid.
Carly and Molly Houlahan have learned how to overcome challenges and use their tribulations to inspire change around the nation. After experiencing the loss of their grandfather to esophageal cancer at 9 and 11 years old, Carly and Molly started Hives for Lives, a honey business, to fundraise for cancer research.
Through their hands on approach (tending the bees and harvesting, spinning, bottling, labeling, and marketing the 12 ounce jars of honey themselves), Carly and Molly have donated more than $160,000 of their profits to find a cure for cancer. Selling their product at local fairs and through franchised grocery markets, approximately 20,000 people have purchased a jar of honey, which has supported about 8 years of cancer research. Through the funds raised, Carly and Molly have given chunks of $15,000-20,000 to fund eight researchers for a year on a new project for cancer research.
The girls’ dedication to change doesn’t stop there. These young entrepreneurs manage 50 kids under the age of 18 years old who volunteer their time to the business. They also maintain corporate relationships with Whole Foods Markets in 9 of 11 regions in support of the local honey market, work weekends and nights to maintain their business operations (selling at fairs and farmer’s markets, answering emails, working on their website and packing orders) while also offering advice at business conferences, bee keeping gatherings, schools, churches and community events. At these events, Carly and Molly promote the importance of bees to the environment, the joy of community service and the power of youth.
Their unique business has combined community service, entrepreneurism and environmentalism. While providing financial support for a cure to cancer, Carly and Molly also dedicate their time to educating the public on the important roles bees have on the environment. Honey is used to flavor food around the world yet over half of the domestic bee population has been lost to Colony Collapse Disorder. Through Hives of Lives, Carly and Molly make it their mission to inform the public of this phenomenon and to educate others on the impact bees have the world’s ecology and economy.
The extraordinary thing about Hives for Lives is not that the founders are now 17 and 15 years old. It is not that the girls have elected to base their business on something relatively uncommon and often misunderstood – honeybees. It is not that they have achieved scale and sustainability in such a relatively short period of time. Carly and Molly are remarkable young philanthropists and entrepreneurs who have affected change in their immediate world and in the larger world of business. They are shining examples of how one can turn his or her loss into a benefit for others.
Alyssa Hersey is a perfect example that change can start with anyone, anywhere at anytime. A young teen that excels at her school work, Alyssa has used her passion for change to inspire her peers through her organization USE IT! U can Serve Everywhere, Involve your Talent.
Alyssa has been taught the importance of giving back since the young age of 8. As she recalls on her website, “My parents have always demonstrated giving back and have shown me and my siblings that volunteering starts at home and there are no efforts too small.” It is with this same spirit of “starting at home” that Alyssa has formed an organization called USE IT! to encourage youth to utilize their existing talents to impact their community and improve lives through service and volunteering.
After lending her vocal talents for the United Way, American Cancer Society and Habitat for Humanity, Alyssa has decided to motivate others in using their own strengths to provoke change. She has lead others in volunteering with Alpha Omega Miracle Home, raising money for the Ronald McDonald House, and partnering with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to provide books to underserved students.
At 14 years old, Alyssa Hersey has used her talents and passion for volunteering to mobilize her friends and encouraged them to use their talents to serve the community. Alyssa’s efforts through USE IT! lead others to join her in bringing about change.
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Alison Bradford Gorrie
A visionary has sight for a cause, Allison Bradford Gorrie can relate. She may be visually impaired, but Allison sees the impact of service pristinely.
Born with a birth defect that causes low vision, Allison, 16, has adapted to blindness and is a lifetime patient of the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Department of Ophthalmology. Not...
