Mother-Daughter Volunteer Duo Share a Passion for Making a Difference

In honor of Family Volunteer Day, Nov. 19, Points of Light and Disney are recognizing families with the Daily Point of Light Award. Meet today’s winning family, the Dobson family of Atlanta, Georgia, and nominate someone in your community.

Courtesy: ReGina Dobson
ReGina and Jamie Dobson

People say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, and that is especially true for ReGina and Jamie Dobson, a mother and daughter duo that takes every chance to volunteer in their community of Atlanta.

ReGina, 57, has been volunteering for about 25 years, but her passion for volunteerism doesn’t stop with her. She has instilled that same passion into her daughter, Jamie.

“My mom brought me along when I was about 6 or 7; so from that age, I knew that volunteer work was important,” Jamie said. 

ReGina began volunteering after reading a newspaper article about a small group of professionals who volunteered in their community by cleaning up neighborhoods and schools. These professionals happened to be the founding members of Hands On Atlanta. The story sparked ReGina’s interest, and her first project was at an elementary school in downtown Atlanta.

“It was very enjoyable,” ReGina said. “You just felt like you made a difference. I’ve been hooked ever since.”

Since then, her role has changed from volunteer, to volunteer leader, to project coordinator and now task leader. She also sits on the Hands On Atlanta committee.

Genora Crooke, volunteer relations manager at Hands On Atlanta, described ReGina as a bubbly, warm and friendly person who always goes out of her way to make sure needs are met.

“She’s there if we call. Even if we don’t call, she calls us to find out if we need anything,” Genora said. “She’s one of the best, the very best.”

Together, ReGina and Jamie have organized and led volunteer projects, built picnic tables, painted classrooms, planted trees, repaired fences and more.

Courtesy: ReGina Dobson
ReGina standing in front of her completed bench at a Hands On Atlanta event.

“I get in there and get my hands dirty because I enjoy that,” ReGina said. “Sometimes people just write a check and give out money. They don’t know what it’s doing, what effort it’s going into. When you work with Hands On Atlanta, it makes a difference.”

Being a military child, ReGina has been around the world and knows the importance of exposing children to “more than just their little neighborhood or their little street corner.”

She believes getting young people to volunteer, as she did with Jamie, will help prepare them for the future and let them know that “you can go wherever you want to go, be whatever you want to be and not let anything hold you back.”

Now that Jamie is in college, this mother-daughter team is separated, but they don’t plan on stopping their volunteer work.

“It’s just the little things and doing a bunch of little things, that will make a difference,” ReGina said.

See how your family can get involved on Family Volunteer Day.

Female Entrepreneur Employs the Power of Technology to Detect and Prevent Child Abuse

Each year L’Oreal Paris and Points of Light recognize, celebrate and support Women of Worth who make a beautiful difference in their communities. For exceptional commitment to service, 10 honorees each receive a $10,000 grant to support their most cherished cause. One honoree, selected during the open online vote, receives an additional $25,000 grant.

“We exist for one simple, critical reason,” said Carly Yoost, a dynamic entrepreneur who worked fearlessly to co-create the Child Rescue Coalition. “To protect children from sexual abuse and emotional suffering, and rescue them from harm’s way.”

Looking at a pin map from the Child Rescue Coalition is alarming. Thousands of virtual pins dot an international map identifying locales where child pornography is, at that very moment, being viewed and traded by sexual predators. Robust technology developed by the CRC in Boca Raton, Florida, is allowing law enforcement to track predators, monitor their activities, thwart potential assaults, and make important arrests. In the last three years, the data provided by the CRC has led to the arrest of 7,776 child predators and the rescue of 1,788 children who were targets of potential sexual attacks.

Yoost is the former co-CEO of TLO, LLC, a data solutions provider founded by her father that specializes in investigative and risk management tools and child protection technology. After their father’s passing in 2013, Yoost and her sister kept ownership of the child protection technology portion of the company and founded the nonprofit Child Rescue Coalition to continue their father’s legacy of protecting children. Yoost serves as the full-time CEO for no pay.

At the core of the program is leading-edge technology that identifies, monitors, and ranks the online criminal behavior of child predators on file sharing and chat networks. “We compile and curate millions of records that are indexed and immediately retrievable by police 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year,” said Yoost. “We are rigorous in our efforts to ensure that our data is accurate and irrefutable.”

Approximately 44 million viewers of child pornography are currently being tracked by CRC, which has provided technology to participating law enforcement agencies in all 50 states and 63 nations worldwide.

CRC partners with child exploitation investigators, police officers, digital forensic experts, prosecutors, child welfare agencies, and corporate and private philanthropy. Providing this technology free of charge, Yoost and CRC have trained more than 8,000 law enforcement officials worldwide so that perpetrators can be apprehended before they harm their next victims.

The prevalence of child abuse material on the internet in the world today has reached pandemic proportions. Even more alarming is that 85 percent of online offenders are already hands-on abusers of children. Sadly, the number of victims continues to escalate.

Approximately 300,000 children are abused every year in the United States, and in the course of their lives, 28 percent of adolescents, ages 14 to 17, will have been sexually victimized.

“That’s why the information we provide is so critical,” said Yoost. “Our technology gives law enforcement access to information about abuse in their area that they may not know even exists. We are able to paint a complete picture of predatory behavior and use historical data to reveal trends that would be impossible for any agency to track on its own. With almost 7,800 arrests directly attributed to our system, we know we are protecting innocent children and countless more who might have otherwise become victims.”

The Child Rescue Coalition is innovative in that it is the most advanced and comprehensive tool for thwarting the illicit activity of child predators: 1) CRC monitors and streamlines seven different networks into one cohesive tool for law enforcement; predators would have unfettered access to child abuse material on these areas of the internet if it were not for CRC; 2) the group is steadfast in its commitment to thoroughly train law enforcement officials around the world; 3) CRC has developed a revolutionary new forensic tool, which automates retrieval of deleted abuse files from offender devices.

Yoost has received numerous accolades for her work. She received the Broward County 2-1-1 Child Abuse Prevention Award, was named an Unsung Hero by the Broward County Sun Sentinel, and one of the M&A Advisors 40 Under 40 Emerging Leaders. Yoost is also a recipient of the Daily Point of Light Award. Yoost and the Child Rescue Coalition are members of the Virtual Global Taskforce.

Yoost said that if she receives additional funding through L’Oréal Paris Women of Worth, the Child Rescue Coalition will be able to train more law enforcement to protect more children. One trained officer saves three children a year from abuse. “In addition, resources are needed toward system upgrades. The bad guys don’t take a day off; we need to stay one step ahead of them,” said Yoost.

The reaction of law enforcement officials who use the Child Rescue Coalition system has been overwhelming. A detective from Georgia said, “[The system] allowed us to find a perpetrator that had flown under the radar for as long as 10 years and now has been tied to countless victims.” Another law enforcement official from the United Kingdom reports, “[The suspect] went on to admit that he had been sexually abusing his two nieces, ages 7 and 10, and had recorded the abuse. The nieces had never told anyone, and these offenses were discovered as a direct result of the system. A very dangerous man is off the streets.”

Show your support for Carly Yoost by voting for her, and learn more about the other extraordinary L’Oréal Women of Worth honorees.

Filling in the Gaps to Helps Homeless Youth Build Better Futures

Each year, L’Oréal Paris and Points of Light recognize, celebrate and support Women of Worth who make a beautiful difference in their communities. For exceptional commitment to service, 10 honorees each receive a $10,000 grant to support their most cherished cause. One honoree, selected during the open online vote, receives an additional $25,000 grant.

“If you have a kid on the street who knows for a fact that there is no one in the whole world who cares, that he or she could disappear and no one would know or care – that to me is the saddest thing,” said Kathy Tillotson. “In terms of any difficulties they present, that doesn’t bother me, because honestly, for those kids to have survived is just a testament to them, given the conditions they’ve had to endure.”

Tillotson never expected she’d be working 45 hours or more per week without pay – and loving it – when she and her husband retired and moved to sunny California. She simply wanted to continue her long habit of volunteering and was asked to help two homeless teens.

“I literally went around all of Orange County to try to find some help,” she says. “I spent a whole year looking at every nonprofit to see if there were any that could help 18- to 24-year-olds and there were not.”

Tillotson founded Build Futures, an organization that gets homeless kids off the streets quickly, not only finding them permanent housing, but helping them become self-sufficient – often within months – by finishing school, finding jobs, and breaking bad habits like substance abuse or reckless spending.

The young adults are referred to Tillotson by police, churches, and social agencies. Some find Build Futures on their own, after stumbling upon its website or Facebook page.

The youth arrive hungry, scared and desperate – Tillotson’s first priority is to get them somewhere safe within 24 hours. She coordinates with existing social services and agencies to get them clothing, food, IDs, bus passes, job-hunting assistance, help with schooling, medical care, and mental health treatment.

As part of the deal, youth have to remain sober and well behaved. They must meet regularly with Tillotson and follow up with the resources she recommends. She makes sure they have phones so she can keep in touch via email and text message.

With more than 3 million people, Orange County, California, is one of the most populous counties in the United States. It contains three cities with more than 300,000 residents each – Anaheim, Santa Ana, and Irvine – and Huntington Beach, which has more than 200,000.

But not all residents have homes, and a growing number of homeless individuals are ages 18 to 24. “About half of them are runaways, often running from some sort of abuse,” said Tillotson. Others are “throwaways,” or kids whose parents have kicked them out. Less than 10 percent of the young adults helped by Build Futures are graduates of the foster care system. “Those kids usually have support and housing options in place as they transition out of foster homes,” she said. “These kids get zero, zip, nothing.” Last year, nearly 3,000 seniors in Orange County public schools were homeless.

Most emergency shelters are geared toward families or veterans, said Tillotson. Yet it’s especially dangerous for naïve young people – particularly girls, who are vulnerable to human trafficking – to live on the streets.

Compounding the problem is Orange County’s high cost of living. Rental units are expensive and have low vacancy. Build Futures has seen a continuous increase in requests for its services. Last year, the number of clients jumped by 40 percent, and Tillotson expects a future increase of at least 25 percent this year.

Since its founding in 2009, Build Futures has helped more than 1,000 homeless youth. Last year, 240 kids received help, including 110 who were housed. Of those who cooperate with her interventions, Tillotson estimates 75 percent have gotten jobs and become financially self-sufficient.

Elizabeth Vasquez, 24, credits Tillotson for helping her turn her life around. “I was incarcerated for substance abuse,” said Vasquez, who lost custody of her young daughter to her parents. She quit drugs but lacked a high school diploma, a job, and social skills. “I didn’t even know how to do email,” Vasquez said. “I didn’t speak clearly, and I couldn’t even look somebody straight in the face.” Vasquez learned about Build Futures by calling the 211 helpline. At first, [Kathy] was really strict,” said Vasquez. “She told me to go to classes, to do mock interviews, and stuff like that.”

Vasquez is now close to finishing her diploma and has a steady job at Walgreens. She’s acquired practical skills, such as operating a forklift truck, but has set her sights on a nine-month college program to learn medical billing and coding. She’s been paying off her court fees and rent. “I’m always moving forward,” Vasquez said. “I have self-esteem now.”

Michelle Harding, 18, found Build Futures by scouring the internet. She’d been seeking the courage to leave a dysfunctional home. “Kathy emailed a response within 24 hours,” Harding said. “She said she could find housing within a week. She was very proactive. She told me to sign up for different programs, including food stamps and medical insurance. Every week, she religiously sends emails to all the kids about job openings.”

Harding now works two jobs and has been accepted to the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she plans to major in science. Without Tillotson’s help, Harding said she would have remained too stressed out to pursue college or anything beyond a minimum-wage job.

Tillotson believes she’s the only resource dedicated to homeless people ages 18 to 24 in all of Orange County, and she knows similar programs are exceedingly rare elsewhere.

Ron Garland, who runs four transitional sober living homes in Orange County, agrees. He’s rented rooms to dozens of kids referred by Build Futures. “These kids have nowhere to turn,” he says. “She pays the rent at first, but she works with these kids almost like 24-7. She’s really tough. She demands them to do what they need to do – usually it’s about three months of classes and all that. They have to text her every day with their schedules, and if they don’t follow them, she wants to know why. She has them come to her office each week to pick up the rent check so she can talk to them. But afterward, they love her. I’d say 70 percent of them are success stories. They have jobs, cars, pay their rent.”

Tillotson credits her previous career in business with the program’s successful, cost-efficient strategy.

“Look at my website,” she said. “You’ll see we have a … list of over 1,300 resources. We don’t duplicate anything that’s being done by somebody else. For example, for clothes, we have a relationship with the Assistance League; they’ll give us vouchers for $50 for each kid, and that buys a lot. We have an Excel spreadsheet for food and groceries. There are organizations that do resume building and interviewing. Our main thing is to fill gaps, not to duplicate anything.”

Tillotson was honored to receive California State Sen. Lou Correa’s Women Making a Difference Award in 2011, and in 2013 she was a National Philanthropy Day, Orange County honoree. She has also been recognized with a Daily Point of Light Award.

If Tillotson were to receive further funding from the L’Oréal Paris Women of Worth competition, she’d put all of it toward finding more housing options for homeless young adults. As homelessness grows and word spreads of her organization, there are times it’s difficult to find openings. “We’re committed to ‘rapid re-housing,’” she said. “We need permanent homes, not temporary shelters, so that they can get jobs.”

Tillotson knows the problem of young homeless adults isn’t limited to Orange County, so she’s developed a 21-step plan that could be used to start similar programs elsewhere. “The model I’ve developed can be replicated nationally,” she said. “We do have a very unique and innovative program.”

For all her toughness with young adults in need, Tillotson feels a great deal of compassion for them. Her own daughters, now 26 and 27, had privileged backgrounds and became highly successful. “My kids went to the best schools and everything,” she said. “But even they went through phases and made bad choices. You can’t expect kids who’ve had horrible lives amid dysfunction, who’ve never even seen someone make a good choice, to do otherwise. It’s easy for me to understand.”

Tillotson’s daughter, Kelly, a country singer who now lives in Nashville, said, “I’ve seen some of these kids. They have no one to be a parent to them and my mom stepped into that role. Every time I call her, she’s picking up a kid or looking for housing or applying for grants. She literally gets no money for this; she does it out of love.”

Show your support for Kathy Tillotson by voting for her, and learn more about the other extraordinary L’Oréal Women of Worth honorees. 

Some names have been changed to protect Build Future client’s identities.

After Losing Her Son to Sepsis, She Advocates for Symptom Awareness

Each year, L’Oréal Paris and Points of Light recognize, celebrate and support Women of Worth who make a beautiful difference in their communities. For exceptional commitment to service, 10 honorees each receive a $10,000 grant to support their most cherished cause. One honoree, selected during the open online vote, receives an additional $25,000 grant.

“If this had happened to me or to Rory’s dad, Rory would have been saying, ‘Mom, Dad, we have to do something,’” said Orlaith Staunton, who lost her son, Rory, to sepsis in 2012. “We can’t bring Rory back, but it has become a mission for us to have people in our community and all over the U.S. … be able to recognize the signs and symptoms of sepsis, so they can advocate for their own care with doctors and healthcare professionals.”

Rory, a bright, ambitious 12-year-old, scraped his arm at school, where a bandage was applied to what was a minor injury. When Rory developed a fever and complained of feeling ill along with pain in his leg, his parents took him to see his pediatrician.

The physician suspected it was a stomach virus that was going around that “was nothing to worry about.” The family followed the doctor’s suggestion to have Rory get rehydrated via intravenous fluids at the hospital. The ER staff also thought it looked like stomach flu and saw no need to admit Rory. But the next day, Rory’s fever continued and he felt extremely ill. That night, he was admitted to the intensive care unit, where he died two days later.

Rory’s wound had gotten infected. His flulike symptoms were actually signs of septic shock.

When the grieving Stauntons learned that communication had broken down among the pediatrician, hospital staff, and lab – where blood tests had flagged a problem – they vowed, “Never again.” The couple established the Rory Staunton Foundation for Sepsis Prevention and dedicated themselves to educating both medical professionals and the general public in hopes of preventing similar tragedies.

They also formed the National Council on Sepsis, a nationwide support group for families affected by sepsis that is bringing together a network of volunteers to raise awareness and to push for legislation that mandates hospital protocols for treating patients with signs of sepsis.

Sepsis kills more than 250,000 Americans every year; yet, Staunton’s organization discovered that 60 percent of Americans have never heard of it. That’s because it’s almost always listed as flu, pneumonia, or something else on death certificates and medical records. “Whenever you see ‘complications of,’ such as ‘complications of pneumonia,’ that’s usually sepsis,” said Staunton. In some areas, medical examiners list the cause of death as either cardiac death or brain death, without elaborating on what caused the heart or brain to stop functioning.

Sepsis can cause serious illness or death very quickly, so early diagnosis is crucial. Early symptoms may begin at home, at work, or at school as an infection takes hold. Staunton said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention used to think most sepsis infections were acquired in hospitals, “but then they discovered that nearly 65 percent of sepsis cases actually have it when they walk in the door of the hospital – so it’s community acquired.”

People over 65 are more susceptible to sepsis, notes Staunton: “There is a higher level of mortality if someone is transferred from say, a nursing home to a hospital, and a lot of the time, that’s because they are septic. This underscores the need for nursing home staff, in-home caregivers, and first responders also to know about and watch for early symptoms of sepsis.”

The seriousness of sepsis is compounded by lack of awareness. The Stauntons know hundreds of people in their New York community through their restaurants and bars in Manhattan and Queens, as well as by being active in their children’s school. “Yet not one person had heard of sepsis when Rory died,” recalled Staunton.

Martin Doerfler, a critical care physician who serves as a medical advisor to the Rory Staunton Foundation, said many doctors were taught a definition of sepsis that refers to much sicker patients. He agreed that sepsis is best diagnosed in the emergency department or doctor’s office, instead of in intensive care units, but described it as “a condition that is hard to recognize when it’s easy to treat and hard to treat when it’s easy to recognize.”

“We have, certainly for the last 30, 40, or 50 years, focused on the ‘easy to recognize, hard to treat’ phase,” said Doerfler. “We really need to move upstream and keep people from getting it.”

Staunton’s efforts to raise awareness of sepsis have already had a far-reaching impact. In January 2013, less than a year after Rory’s death, the state of New York adopted a mandated set of protocols, known as Rory’s Regulations, that require hospitals to screen patients suspected of sepsis and to expedite prompt treatment with antibiotics.

“You administer the fluids, you take a blood test, and you administer broad-spectrum antibiotics, and then you wait to see if there is infection there,” said Staunton.

The legislation also includes a Parents’ Bill of Rights that ensures parents’ right to know the results of blood tests and their child’s diagnosis, and that the hospital will communicate with the child’s primary care physician.

“They estimate Rory’s Regulations will save 5,000 to 8,000 New Yorkers every year,” Staunton added. “We are trying to push that into other states, so we established the National Council on Sepsis.”

Rory’s story has been shared in the media, including The New York Times, the Today Show, and Dr. Oz, alerting many thousands of readers and viewers to the dangers and symptoms of sepsis. Staunton has reached out extensively to the medical community through conferences, webinars, blogs, and forums, and is working closely with the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Chris Aiello of Pennsylvania said the Rory Staunton Foundation has given him “purpose and a voice” after he lost his daughter, Emily, to sepsis last year at age 14. Emily developed a blood infection following surgery. “Somehow they missed it,” said Aiello, who is now campaigning for legislation similar to Rory’s Regulations to be enacted in his state. “Orlaith and I both know we can’t bring our children back, but she has given me something to follow and to believe in. There are things we can do to save other lives.”

Staunton knows that a big part of the fight against sepsis is prevention and early detection. She also knows, as a mother – the Stauntons also have a daughter, Kathleen – that parents learn a lot from their children around the dinner table as they discuss, “What did you learn in school?”

A local teacher was so moved at Rory’s funeral that she developed a pilot curriculum for middle and high school classrooms in New York. Schools around the country are welcome to contact the Rory Staunton Foundation for information on the module. “Younger children can be taught in a fun way to wash their boo-boos” to avoid infection, said Staunton.

In addition to reaching out to schools and youth groups, such as Boy Scouts, Staunton maintains a Facebook page that has attracted more than 14,000 followers. “It’s become a place where people talk, and that’s what we want,” said Staunton. “When Rory died, we didn’t know what support we had, and we want people to know that there is support out there.”

The Rory Staunton Foundation was named a winner in the 2016 Global Sepsis Awards by the worldwide Global Sepsis Alliance. Irish America magazine named the Rory Staunton Foundation to its 2016 Irish America Health Care and Life Sciences 50 list. Orlaith Staunton was also awarded a Daily Point of Light Award, recognizing her commitment to this cause.

If Staunton were to win additional funding through the L’Oréal Paris Women of Worth program, she said she would use it to expand awareness of sepsis. “I would like to put together a program for kids ages 7 to 17,” said Staunton. “It would have a very empowering video. I would also have age-specific activities they could do, such as challenges and quizzes. Central to that would be that the older participants would raise community awareness and in doing so develop their own leadership skills. We would make first-aid kits and information packets available.”

Staunton, who is originally from Ireland, worked for years to help young people plan exciting experiences in international travel and student exchange programs. Her husband, also from Ireland, works for immigration reform in addition to running successful restaurants. Neither ever thought they’d find themselves advocating for prevention of a deadly medical issue. “It’s a lot of work,” said Staunton. “But when we started this, my daughter said, ‘Why did nobody do this for Rory?’ And so we know we’re doing the right thing.”

Show your support for Orlaith Staunton by voting for her, and learn more about the other extraordinary L’Oréal Women of Worth honorees.

After Caring for Her Husband, She Founded a Center to Help Caregivers Get the Support They Need

Each year, L’Oréal Paris and Points of Light recognize, celebrate and support Women of Worth who make a beautiful difference in their communities. For exceptional commitment to service, 10 honorees each receive a $10,000 grant to support their most cherished cause. One honoree, selected during the open online vote, receives an additional $25,000 grant.

“Caregivers are an underserved population. It’s a silent population. People don’t realize how stressful it is,” said Marian Hamilton. “The life you had before doesn’t exist while you’re going through it. There needs to be a paradigm shift in the way hospitals view the family caregiver and how caregivers view themselves in getting more help.

Hamilton found herself in the bewildering, exhausting role of full-time caretaker in 2002, when her husband, Ken, was diagnosed with mesothelioma, an asbestos-related cancer of the lungs. The pair spent two years in and out of four different hospitals in the New York City area.

“He was getting good care, but I felt myself, as the primary caregiver, was always at my wit’s end, feeling so stressed out and so sick, trying to take care of him and my two teenage daughters,” said Hamilton. “I really felt that what would have been helpful to me was some place in the hospital – a caregiver’s center – where there would be somebody for me to speak to.”

One memory in particular bothers her: “My husband had been in treatment for a while, and he was in remission. Then he went back to the hospital for a checkup. I remember being in the lobby of the hospital and I got a call from the doctor, telling me my husband’s cancer was back. I burst out crying and not one person came up to me, to help me, to support me, to say anything to me, to see if I was all right. That was a wake-up moment for me to say, ‘Wow, hospitals needed to have a better way to deal with families.’”

After her husband died, Hamilton floated her idea to local hospitals and eventually found a receptive home at Northern Westchester Hospital. The Ken Hamilton Caregivers Center was launched in 2006 and quickly resonated with the community.

“We’ve raised more than $2 million,” said Hamilton. A soothingly furnished suite was built within the hospital, where caregivers can relax or meet privately with social workers, doctors, pastors, and others. A small endowment was established to pay for a full-time social worker and a part-time administrator who helps Hamilton set up similar centers in other hospitals. Volunteers, often coming from the ranks of former caregivers themselves, provide the key element of human support.

At least 10 other hospitals have replicated the KHCC – the need exists nationwide. Jerri Rosenfeld, a social worker who gave up her own clinical practice to work for the KHCC, noted, “Hospital stays are so much shorter now, so family caretakers have to take on more and more. We’re asking people to go home and change dressings and drain feeding tubes, etc. They’re completely overwhelmed.”

Ellen Travis, a volunteer, notes that anyone can be thrust into a caregiver’s role – or become a patient who’s dependent on family caregivers. She’s been both. During her father’s last six years of life, Travis, then a busy mother of four teenagers, juggled her own family’s needs with his repeated hospitalizations.

“There’s really nothing more isolating than those long days and nights, just sitting in a chair, waiting to see the doctor, waiting for information, feeling frustrated and the weight of the responsibility on your shoulders,” she said. Later, when Travis herself needed treatment for breast cancer, the newly created KHCC helped her family. Volunteers even sat with Travis during her chemotherapy sessions.

The KHCC concept helps hospitals in a multitude of ways, said Rosenfeld. “We’ve become the voice of the caregiver in the hospital. I sit on the ethics committee. I’m on the palliative care team. I attend rounds. We’re constantly sought out by doctors to attend meetings with families, to be a witness to what they’re telling the family, to help with the vocabulary, to help them deliver difficult messages.”

Rosenfeld said the hospital has improved its patient satisfaction ratings and has received hundreds of letters from grateful patients and families. “But the impact I’m most proud of is that so many volunteers are former recipients of our services,” she added.

The KHCC might be the first program of its kind to set aside a specific physical space in a hospital for caregivers. Cozy furnishings, a fireplace, and a gently gurgling fountain provide a soothing atmosphere for reflection and consultations. A bank of computers allows caregivers to check email or research medical information. Healthy snacks and beverages are also provided.

Volunteers provide nonjudgmental emotional support, but also practical assistance in everything from completing advance care directives to mediating disputes among family members over a loved one’s care. “We’ll go to care planning meetings; we help with physical discharges; we do a lot of end-of-life counseling. We’re the liaison between the families, the patients, and the care staff,” said Rosenfeld. Hamilton’s group has alerted many a doctor to a patient’s or family’s unspoken concerns or questions. In addition, the KHCC holds regular debriefings among staff to discuss how cases have been handled and ways to improve the program.

Hamilton is a frequent speaker in the community, and the center holds caregiver support groups for anyone interested, whether or not they are affiliated with or receive care at Northern Westchester. She continues to look for new ways to help caregivers. Last year, she launched an additional program called Stay in Touch on a pilot basis.

“One of the things I always wanted to do when I started the program 10 years ago was to help volunteers stay in touch with families,” said Hamilton. “Once you leave the hospital, that’s when your isolation is the greatest and you feel so alone and so stressed out. Stay in touch could remain a lifeline for them.

Hamilton and the Ken Hamilton Caregivers Center’s programming have been recognized by many different organizations. In 2014, the Caregiver Action Network awarded its Caregiver of the Year to Marian Hamilton and its Excellence in Patient and Family Engagement to the KHCC. At Northern Westchester Hospital’s annual gala, Hamilton was named Community Honoree. Hamilton also received the Quality of Life award from Volunteer New York, a division of United Way, and a Daily Point of Light Award.

Hamilton envisions several good uses for the L’Oréal Paris Women of Worth funds. “We have a replication program whereby we help other hospitals start their own caregiver programs,” she said. “We have written materials and a step-by-step manual that we give them. I’d love to make instructional videos that would show how to train volunteers, because that is the most time-consuming and challenging part of a caregiver program.” For example, Hamilton said a video could portray how to react when a caregiver is extremely upset, as well as many other scenarios.

“I’d also love to be able to put some of the money toward our new Stay in Touch program,” Hamilton added. “Since we piloted it a year ago, our statistics show it’s been successful; however, we don’t really have the staff to run this program. I would like to be able to hire a part-time social worker to run it. … In addition, I’d love to be able to provide more integrative services for our families, for example, a chair massage once a week.”

Finally, Hamilton would like to be able to bring in paid speakers for the program’s yearly symposiums.

Hamilton is frequently praised for her far-reaching goals. Rosenfeld, who has known her for decades, said Hamilton has always given back to the community, serving on school and library boards and being active in parent-teacher organizations. “Now her mission is that every hospital should have a caregiver system,” said Rosenfeld. “She is a true visionary.

Show your support for Marian Hamilton by voting for her, and learn more about the other extraordinary L’Oréal Women of Worth honorees. 

With Free Getaways, She Helps Families Facing Breast Cancer Make Memories That Outlast Tragedy

Each year, L’Oréal Paris and Points of Light recognize, celebrate and support Women of Worth who make a beautiful difference in their communities. For exceptional commitment to service, 10 honorees each receive a $10,000 grant to support their most cherished cause. One honoree, selected during the open online vote, receives an additional $25,000 grant.

“The last time we had lunch with Leslie, she said to us as she departed, ‘Give me a big hug and a kiss. This may be the last time you see me.’ She drove away, waving, as we stood in sorrow. Soon afterwards, she entered into hospice care,” said Sandra Gunn.

Listening to Gunn share the poignant story of seeing her friend, Leslie Twohig, for the last time makes you realize that the loss is still painful. Twohig passed away on April 2, 2011, after a raging war with inflammatory triple-negative breast cancer that had metastasized to her bones. Gunn set out to honor the life and memory of her beloved friend and to dignify all women who have been told, “You have stage 4 breast cancer” by founding Leslie’s Week.

Vivacious, energetic and passionate, Gunn gave up a successful career as the owner of a high-end interior design firm in order to oversee Leslie’s Week. A stage 1 breast cancer survivor herself, Gunn met many stage 4 women when she was undergoing treatment and heard their heartfelt stories of hopelessness. “That’s why we work so hard to make memories that outlast cancer for these families,” she said.

Leslie’s Week provides donated vacation homes for one week to families with wives and mothers who are diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. “Leslie’s Week brings families together in a serene environment to join in a celebration of life,” said Gunn. “This is a time for a family whose mother is slipping away to create memories that outlast cancer.”

Stage 4 breast cancer is the final stage; there is no stage 5. While many breast cancer organizations focus on research to discover a cure, Gunn concentrates on compassionate care filled with “fun and happiness.”

“These families are financially devastated,” said Gunn. “All of their available resources are devoted to sustaining their loved one. It is a profound experience to work with families to secure a week in their lives when they can relax, connect, and make memories that last a lifetime.”

When she began in 2011, Gunn used her home in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee as the vacation destination for the women and their families. Through the years, more homes have been donated to Leslie’s Week. Five-star accommodations now include Napa Valley, Ocean City, the Poconos, New Mexico, and Ft. Lauderdale, with more in the Smoky Mountains. “We want to gift as many families as we can, so we are always searching for additional vacation accommodations,” said Gunn.

Gunn works tirelessly to ensure that women and their families have all-inclusive vacations. She and her volunteers coordinate family activities, meals out, spa services for the women, entertainment venues, gift baskets, and other amenities to make Leslie’s Week as special and unique as possible.

Eligible families are nominated via the website and through corporate and nonprofit sponsors.

Gunn has assembled a community of volunteers, nonprofits, and corporate partners who have embraced Leslie’s Week, such as Gilda’s Club of Nashville, Dollywood, Antique Limousines, and the B Ocean Resort. Nationally known cancer institutes that support Leslie’s Week include Massachusetts General Hospital Breast Cancer Center, John Hopkins Cancer Center, the DeCesaris Cancer Institute, and others.

To date, 23 families have received vacations through Leslie’s Week. The greatest impact can be felt from families who reap the benefits of the experience. Chris Burke experienced Leslie’s Week in the Smoky Mountains in the summer of 2015, along with his wife, Melissa, and their three sons.

 “Sandra is a relentlessly thoughtful person who works hard to coordinate a beautiful trip for a family that will soon have their world shattered,” said Chris. “Families, though they know what’s ahead of them, have no idea what reality really means. Sandra swoops in, briefly takes their minds off of the constant stress and worry, and provides a gift that never expires: memories.” Melissa passed away in January 2016.

“It is the mother who gives life, and it is her children who sustain it after she is gone,” said Gunn. That’s why, as an offshoot to the vacation experiences provided by Leslie’s Week, Gunn created an educational assistance fund to ensure the future of surviving children. By maintaining a database of these youngsters, Gunn monitors children who are graduating from high school and considers their need for financial assistance. “The number one concern a mother with stage 4 breast cancer has is for the future of her children,” said Gunn. “Through the educational assistance fund, we offer peace of mind at the end of life.”

Gunn has been recognized for her advocacy of women with stage 4 breast cancer. She was named one of 100 Everyday Amazing Individuals by Massachusetts General Hospital, received the Fire & Soul Award from DeCesaris Cancer Institute, and a Daily Point of Light Award.

As recipient of the L’Oréal Paris Women of Worth funds, Gunn would support more vacations for families and add to the educational assistance fund for surviving children.

Show your support for Sandra Gunn by voting for her, and learn more about the other extraordinary L’Oréal Women of Worth honorees.

Redbook Features Point of Light Honoree Michelle Hodgson

Michelle Hodgson created Children Helping Children to honor the memory of her third son, Cole. In lieu of gifts for what would have been his first birthday, the children who attended decorated bear packs and filled them with toys. The packs were later delivered to a local children’s hospital. That event signaled the start of CHC. Children Helping Children provides kids with a platform to share their ideas that ultimately serve as the inspiration for service projects benefiting nonprofits such as Kate’s Club and Camp Sunshine in the Atlanta-area.

To learn more about Michelle’s story, check out the November issue of Redbook – on stands October 18th.

Good Houskeeping Features Point of Light Honoree Barbara Victoria Allende

Barbara Victoria Allende is a VP at Citi, which funds ServiceWorks as part of the Pathways to Progress initiative. She volunteers at Jersey Cares and Youth Build Newark as a Success Coach. In her volunteer role, she helps first-generation college students ease their transition from high school to college. This work has become very personal for Allende, whose history mirrors the challenges of one of her scholars. As a teen mom, she struggled to care for her son and both of them ended up in foster care. Her life began to turn around, after school administrators took an interest in her by helping her apply for social service support and hounding her to finish high school. Now, as a mentor to a teen mom, she said, “I want so badly for her to create her own success story and hear about the amazing person she and [her] son become.”

To learn more about Barbara’s story, check out the November issue of Good Housekeeping– on stands October 18th.

Good Houskeeping Features Point of Light Honoree Kimberly Holder

Kimberly Holder is a volunteer for New York Cares. After the death of her mother, Kimberly began volunteering as a way to funnel the pain of her grief into something positive.  “Each time I felt sad or lonely, I’d sign up for a project… I’d often go to projects with a heavy (yet hopeful) heart and walk away from projects feeling lighter and happier.”  Holder has participated in numerous service projects including: distributing care packages to the homeless, painting murals, helping adults study for citizenship tests, and visiting the residents at Lott Assisted Living almost every month since 2010.

To learn more about Kimberly’s story, check out the November issue of Good Housekeeping– on stands October 18th.

Where Technology Meets Education, She Connects Underserved Youth with Inspiring Leadership

Each year, L’Oréal Paris and Points of Light recognize, celebrate and support Women of Worth who make a beautiful difference in their communities. For exceptional commitment to service, 10 honorees each receive a $10,000 grant to support their most cherished cause. One honoree, selected during the open online vote, receives an additional $25,000 grant.

Retired four-star general and former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell once said, “A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work.”

Monica Gray epitomizes Powell’s message of resolve and willpower.

Gray put into action her dream to improve the lives of underprivileged children by co-founding DreamWakers, a nonprofit volunteer organization that uses video chatting to virtually connect diverse, dynamic professional leaders with public school children.

“We saw an opportunity to use free and existing video technology in a new and innovative way,” says Monica Gray. “We’ve taken something that already exists and elevated it for public service, democratizing volunteerism in America. The idea is simple, but the impact we’ve seen on students is real, far-reaching, and significant.”

More than two-thirds of employers have little or no interaction with children in public schools. In turn, children from low-income communities have fewer opportunities than their peers to engage with professionals from various career occupations.

DreamWakers bridges this chasm of disparity. Working with fourth- to 12th-grade teachers in schools that have at least 50 percent of their students on free or reduced lunch programs, DreamWakers virtually connects successful role models from a broad array of public- and private-sector organizations directly into the classroom to engage with students in a 45-minute interactive conversation or “flashchat.” DreamWakers’ ultimate goal is to expose students to the range of career paths so that they can better prepare for their future.

“We’re bringing the ‘real world’ into classrooms and allowing students to explore their professional passions early. In essence, flashchats serve as a launching pad for career dreams,” says Gray.

Since its founding in 2014, DreamWakers has connected thousands of children across 30 states and the District of Columbia with exceptional professional role models. Some of the more notable participants are television journalist Soledad O’Brien and White House political director David Simas. Examples of the organizations represented by DreamWakers’ speakers include Apple, Facebook, and the U.S. Department of State.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, more than a million students drop out of high school each year. Only 9 percent of students from low income brackets graduate from college, compared to 77 percent of students from higher-income families. DreamWakers is working to change these statistics by providing students with direct exposure to successful lawyers, chefs, writers, athletes, diplomats, and more who can tell their young audience, “You can do it, because I did!”

A staggering 84 percent of the classrooms DreamWakers works with have never hosted a speaker outside of their city limits. Following a virtual visit from an international business executive who grew up in his community, one ninth-grade student from the Bronx said, “He knows the struggles I face every day with peer pressure, violence, and issues at home. I became inspired to not follow the crowd, because they can be the reason why I might let my dreams go by.”

A DreamWakers virtual visit with a classroom in Newark, New Jersey, led to the trip of a lifetime for a group of seventh-grade students from Dr. E. Alma Flagg School. White House political director David Simas had a flashchat with the students and was so impressed by the interaction that he invited them to the White House.

“DreamWakers allows my students to virtually interface with mentors who encourage them to follow their passion. Consequently, DreamWakers re-ignites an aura of possibilities amidst my young scholars, and their renewed commitment to strive toward accomplishing their dreams is priceless,” said Principal Ganiat Rufai, who attended the Washington trip with students.

“Students can’t be what they can’t see; they need to engage with positive role models with whom they can relate,” says Gray, reflecting on her innovative model. DreamWakers vets speakers to ensure that they are exceptional in their field, come from all walks of life, and have a message that will resonate with young people.

Students aren’t the only beneficiaries of DreamWakers. In the amount of time it takes to have a lunch break, a speaker can have a positive, meaningful public service experience without ever leaving his or her desk. “DreamWakers empowers busy professionals to give back to schools that need them the most,” says Gray.

Gray has received numerous recognitions for DreamWakers, including the Toyota Mother of Invention Award, which celebrates women who actively contribute to their community and the world; the Founding Cville Award, which highlights leaders whose groundbreaking work inspires the next generation in Charlottesville, Virginia, and beyond; and the Grand Prize Award in the Media Rise Pitch Competition, sponsored by Newsweek, which supports making the world a better place through media, art, storytelling, design, or technology. 

She has also been recognized with a Daily Point of Light Award.

Gray hopes to use the funds from L’Oreal Paris to create a new DreamWakers website with a self-service school-to-speaker matching system. This will allow teachers to directly select from the pool of vetted speakers, instead of DreamWakers making the match for them. “This would dramatically enhance our efficiency, allowing DreamWakers to serve far more students nationwide,” she says. 

Show your support for Monica Gray by voting for her, and learn more about the other extraordinary L’Oréal Women of Worth honorees.