Ellen Dean

Ellen Dean addresses the need to educate new generations of children in the age old use for books, opening their minds to another way of learning that does not include television or computers. She helps them sharpen their reading skills therefore indirectly helping them overall in the whole school experience, which will benefit them as they grow older and advance through each grade.

Ellen is the Arizona Program Coordinator for Book PALS, a charity for promoting literacy in schools formed by the Screen Actors Guild. She gives generously of her time by fundraising, training new volunteers and placing readers in disadvantaged school districts.

Countless children have been changed by hearing a book read in class in such a way that their attentions are held and they seek these books to read them for themselves. Something which may have never happened if Ellen had not diligently searched for former teachers, actors and others to go into these classes and reach these students with compassion and a love for the written word.

Skiffytown League of Heroes

Here is one “super” group of volunteers, Skiffytown League of Heroes, superheroes helping charities.

“Skiffytown League of Heroes (SLOH) began when a group of comic book enthusiasts, (sixty and counting), began talking to each other over the internet. We discovered we all loved the lessons from the superheroes we read about and wanted to bring those same values to the real world around us with characters of our own creation. We took our first steps by coordinating a children’s hospital visit in Phoenix, AZ. Eleven people, spanning the U.S., from Maryland to Arizona visited the children’s wing and stayed longer than scheduled because we found superheroes to be in demand, we could not say no to the kids. Our hearts were changed and we then decided to include these types of missions to our nationwide gatherings.

We took it upon ourselves to include some type of charity work at each convention we attended. The idea was fine until we noticed that members had begun to look in their own back yards for other things to do. On one such gathering of friends, where it became customary to bring our superhero uniforms, a group of seven decided prior to attending a movie premier to attempt to fix up an old cemetery the local community could not find the funds for. An afternoon event of superhero work eventually garnered the attention of the local newspaper. The idea only grew from there.

While attending a convention in Columbus, OH, SLOH spent a number of hours staffing a Local Fireman’s toys for tots drive. This included a local television interview by DCsGuardian. It was during this event that things became serious.

SLOH began in earnest to evaluate what our group could offer our community and our world. Dressing up in spandex and making kids smile seemed appropriate, but there were countless charities in the world and each one seemed worthwhile.

Our decision to support any and every charity that would accept our assistance seemed like a winner, we formed our group in earnest and made our services available to organizations in our local community and those communities we gathered in.

Our events where one member participates is open to all and through the internet we publicize and encourage those not close enough to attend to support financially or as hero support in any capacity that may be needed. We attend these events in costume to help liven up the event. We have supported Veterans Home visits and local blood drives to name just a few. Prime Penguin works with the Juvenile Diabetes foundation, which was responsible for him becoming Prime Penguin in the first place; it was a chance for him to publicize their needs and goals.

We have even begun to hold panels at conventions; DCsGuardian has since moderated panels on democracy and community service. Tipi has organized children’s fairs where Child I.D. kits have been handed out.

All of our events piggyback on existing charities, from Cystic Fibrosis walks to Hoops for the Homeless. We will never ask for anything in return other than to let us help.

It is hard to pin down why we each do this, but one of our members put it this way, “We dress in spandex, are we silly for doing it, well, as long as a child smiles because we showed up, or a charity gets one more dollar, who cares, we are here to help, in any way possible.”

We have been asked back by many individual groups, and we have always made the offer to those around us we see trying to do a good job. We pass the word as quickly as possible and help where we can. It makes us feel like we are living up to the ideals of Captain America, Superman and all the rest who put others before themselves.”

SCS Helpline Volunteers

From the nominator:

“The SCS HelpLine Volunteers are an extraordinary group of volunteers who show daily their commitment to community involvement and to Texas A&M University and their fellow Aggies. They are active members of an invaluable, life-saving program on campus and the selflessness shown by them speaks volumes about their character. In addition to their commitment to academics, they carve time out of their schedules to make themselves available to the entire student body by volunteering their time to answer the university’s HelpLine. As the person who coordinates and supervises this remarkable group, I strongly believe I have one of the most interesting and rewarding positions on staff.

The SCS HelpLine Volunteers answer the Student Counseling HelpLine from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. weekdays and 24 hours-per-day on weekends. The HelpLine, founded in 1995, is Texas A&M University’s after-hours mental health service and provides, by telephone, peer support, information, crisis assessment and intervention and referrals to students at Texas A&M University. It is supervised and run by the Student Counseling Service, a department in the Division of Student Affairs at Texas A&M University.

The community need that the HelpLine Volunteers address is providing a listening ear to the campus community. Their mission is to provide crisis assessment and intervention over the telephone to students, or those concerned about students, who are experiencing situations that cannot wait until normal business hours. The secondary mission is to provide support, information and referral of a non-crisis nature. Calls to the HelpLine represent a wide range of needs but cluster around relationship issues, anxiety, academic stress, depression and suicidal ideation.

The biggest impact of the HelpLine is evident in the decrease in student suicide on our campus. Since the inception of HelpLine, the rate was cut in half and this campus now has one of the lowest student suicide rates in the nation. The impact of the HelpLine is also evident in that it is one of the most widely known services for students on this campus. Every Texas A&M University college student’s identification card has the HelpLine number on it. Faculty, staff and administrators routinely remind students experiencing difficulty to call the HelpLine if assistance is needed when the Student Counseling Service is not open.

The HelpLine Volunteers demonstrate on a daily basis their commitment to serving their fellow students, excellence in service, and a willingness to go above and beyond when there is a need. The dedication of the HelpLine volunteers is exemplified in many ways, but I would like to point to one in particular. In times of tragedy when I have approached the HelpLine volunteer staff to ask them to expand HelpLine coverage beyond our normal hours, I’ve gotten the same response each time – an immediate call to service to provide additional hours to be responsive to their fellow students impacted by the tragedy. I’ve witnessed this firsthand time and time again including in 1999, when this campus was faced with a tragic loss of 13 students and injury to countless others as a result of the collapse of Bonfire. The HelpLine volunteers chose to expand the HelpLine coverage 24 hours every day for approximately two weeks in order to be available to students who needed support.”

Richard Miles

This Richard Miles’ story of service:

“I first came across HorsePower at my college in New Hampshire. Once I got started, I found that I liked volunteering my services. What motivated me to continue volunteering at this program for all 4 years of my college career was the changes I got to see in the people riding the horses. Through my 4 years of volunteering with HorsePower I was able to work with boys who have severe ADHD and were part of a state run school program. If I had not known the boys’ history, I would swear that they were normal boys because while they were participating in the lessons, they were really calm and focused on what they needed to do. I also worked with in my last year of service a small girl who is autistic. Through my work with her, I was able to see her become more involved in the world around her and not just her own world.

As a volunteer with HorsePower, I was in charge of many different areas. My duties ranged from grooming and tacking the horses to being involved with the lessons as either a side walker or a leader. As a side walker, it was my responsibility to make sure that the rider was comfortable and secure. As a leader it was my responsibility to lead the horses in the rings during the lessons. I was also the Coordinator for this particular program for 3 years. I continue to keep in touch with past service members as well as current service members.

I view my 4 years of service through HorsePower as a life changing experience because of what I saw during my service period as a volunteer. When I share my story of service with through HorsePower to people that are interested in hearing about my years of service they are always left speechless because of this story and the amazement of the changes that I witnessed first-hand. I believe that it was because of my 4 years of service through HorsePower that I decided to become involved in the national service program AmeriCorps where I currently serve as a Volunteer Coordinator for Social Capital Inc. in Woburn, MA.”

Florence Phillips

Florence G. Phillips, a former Peace Corps and VISTA volunteer, is the founder/director of the ESL (English as a Second Language) In-Home Program of Northern Nevada. Her innovated efforts in education over the last five years have positively impacted a great number of people living in five Northwest Nevada counties. Florence saw that many immigrants cannot speak English and desperately want to learn, but for a variety of reasons are unable to attend formal classes.

In February 2004, Florence started volunteering her time by tutoring students one-on-one in English in their homes at no cost. However, she soon realized that there was a much greater need than she could handle alone. She then started mobilizing unpaid community volunteer tutors, training them and matching them with other students. Tutors meet twice a week in the students’ homes since many do not have transportation.

Today, she coordinates activities of 85 tutors and 151 students. Florence works tirelessly recruiting, training, inspiring tutors and then matching them with students from her ever-growing waiting list. She receives 2-3 calls a day from people who want to learn English. She also works raising funds to cover the cost of instructional material which keeps the program at no-cost-to-student. The curriculum used is the highly regarded “Laubach Way to English/Reading” series of books in which she was trained as a Peace Corps Volunteer.

Her ongoing efforts have yielded tremendous returns in that these students become more productive members in their community. They are more engaged in their children’s educational life. The role model that the parents and grandparents are providing to better themselves educationally will inspire their children to also achieve educational goals, making this program intergenerational. Although most students are Latino, others come from Asia, Europe and elsewhere. Since the program’s inception, it has helped students pass the U.S. Citizenship exam, obtain GEDs, find jobs or get promoted, encouraged parents to help their children with homework and communicate with teachers and given students the ability to shop in English speaking stores and communicate with medical personnel.

The program has been so successful that word has spread among the immigrant community and there is now a waiting list of 105 people who want to learn English and need tutors. Through her selfless efforts and determination over the past five years, Florence is making a positive and lasting contribution to our community. Her goal is for the program to continue to address the unmet needs that exist in the five counties currently being served, and intends to expand into two additional rural counties so that non-English speaking adults there can learn English and become more productive in their communities.

Nadia Serhani

This is Nadia Serhani’s service story:

“Poverty can lead to unthinkable things. After returning from a military training camp where I met a lot of Iraqi refugees, I could not sit and watch as the world goes hungrier and poorer. But because of logistics, I was not able to help war victims as I would have loved to; rather I decided to help the needy in my own native country, Morocco. Sending a child to school, a child who has nothing and seeing their smile as they open their backpacks and touch that pencil and dream of better future is the best feeling one can live with and live to see…If you do not impact this world, even one person, to become better, then you lived an empty life…this is how I personally see it.

With fellow Moroccans, we decided to create the Morocco Foundation to become the first US-based non-profit to officially send charitable help to the needy in Morocco. Rural schools benefit the most, sending more girls to school by donating free school supplies, winter apparel and sponsoring food for the orphans. Also, we support disabled children from low and no income families, in partnership with US organization we were able to donate 200 custom-made wheelchairs to children suffering from cerebral palsy. Now we are so excited to raise funds to set up the first and only wheelchairs assembly facility in Morocco and North Africa but need money. We are all volunteers and would love to obtain funding for this project, since the need is overwhelming to the point, where thousands of people across the country are on waiting lists and the country’s main facility can only produce 4 a month at best.

Now, people with disabilities in Morocco, with special cases, when there are emergencies, remote schools, educational programs for girls and orphans all know the Morocco Foundation. People are willing to help but most of us cannot afford the financial costs of certain projects. We have volunteers pouring in from all over the world inspired by our 100% philanthropic model where no money exchanges hands and nobody gets a payout. We do what we do for the sake of saving lives, giving hopes, opening doors, putting smiles on faces, showing that nothing is impossible…We do what we do for the love of humanity and our compassion towards our fellow humans. We just are lucky to have landed in the US, what if we were the one in need of assistance for being born disable, poor, orphaned? As a survivor myself, I feel grateful and forever in debt for being alive. So this is truly just a little bit of giving back.”

Melissa Wall & Robin Moylan

“Dr. Harben was our vet for 3 years and we saw a strong need to further assist him in any way we could. He has a thriving practice with one vet tech. Both extremely kind and willing to educate anyone that walks into their office, we found out that he had throat cancer in early 2008. When he went through the first few rounds of radiation it almost killed him. We tried to help the vet tech in any way we could to keep the doors open for Dr. Harben. It took nearly 2 months before he was able to come back to his practice; however we were and still are happy to assist.

Some of our duties are painting, assisting the vet in the clinic, the exam prep room and with shots, giving an animal’s history to the doctor and assisting in surgeries. We also clean kennels, exam rooms, waiting areas, the horse stall and the parking lot. There is also a need to pick up trash, weed and help to maintain the exterior of the building. In addition, we restock surgical supplies, let the tech know what to order for medications, answer phones and prep rabies certificates.

Dr. Harben also needed assistance with regards to his wife. We helped to provide extra information on his wife’s Parkinson’s disease process and bring him homemade food during his clinic. We also carry oxygen tanks for Dr. Harben from his vehicle to the clinic and prep the records for all new patients.

Dr. Harben has been hospitalized twice since his diagnosis. Both of his lungs have collapsed and he has gone through chemotherapy. Dr. Harben is 74 years old and we are happy that he is still alive and we are able to help him with his practice.

Since we have updated his clinic while he was in recovery, he has seen more patients come into his practice by word of mouth or from other existing patients. Dr. Harben has been grateful for everything that we can do for him, his wife and his vet tech. We spread the word in our community about his cancer and we had several volunteers come in and help us update and repair his office. We were able to get a new roof on his building so he could get insurance for the first time in almost 15 years!

We are happy to be able to give back to him after all he has done for us and the entire community. He is the type of man that has NEVER asked for help, no matter how bad he needs it. He always thinks about his own family in the back of his mind, while he is away from home. He never thinks of himself.

Find a need in your community and let your heart follow. It is the best thing we have ever done, and we will continue to do it. Someone somewhere, will ALWAYS need help. What you get out of it, is that you can walk away with pride and know that you just bettered someone’s life.”

Mary Brummet

Be inspired to serve by Mary Brummet’s volunteer story:

“I volunteer at Council on Aging’s Adult day care weekly and encourage other Chain Reaction volunteers to do the same and I serve on the Board of Directors for Council on Aging. I am the President of Chain Reaction, the local teen volunteer center, and I serve on the Chain Reaction Advisory Council that meets once a week to better the program.

I do it because I love the feeling. I love walking into the day care for Alzheimer patients and being called by name to go talk with them. I love that they know who I am and look forward to my visits. I love making them happy, even if it is only for that hour and a half. I love knowing that I can better my city while I am young. I think that Chain Reaction is an awesome program that gets teens fired up about helping their community and I feel lucky to be a part of this organization. When I help someone else out it makes me feel complete. I cannot think of a better way to spend my time. Senior Citizens are not always the most cared for or thought of. I enjoy being that person that does think about them and wants to help in any way I possibly can. Time is the greatest gift a person can give.

I think that it makes a big difference for the people at Council on Aging. I think having a teen on the board of directors that is willing to volunteer in any way possible can make a job easier. I also think that it helps the families who send their loved ones to the adult day care. I feel that the other teens and I do so much for them, whether it is very visible or not. Chain Reaction works wonders for the community. It is involved in almost every aspect of Pensacola. I am very fortunate to be the President of a group that has over 900 teens.

I have learned above all how to love others that are less fortunate than you. That has always been something I have been taught, but to actually live it is completely different. To serve someone else is a wonderful feeling. To give my time to those who, otherwise, would spend their time counting down the hours to get picked up makes me feel so useful. I know now that I want to spend the rest of my life serving others in any way I can. It has made me a better person and a harder worker.

I volunteer five times a week. I volunteer Monday-Friday at the Chain Reaction office as the president. On Wednesdays I leave early to go volunteer with the senior citizens at the Adult Day Care. On Thursdays the teens that are on the Advisory Council come in as well.

I would tell them how happy it has made me for the past four years. I would tell them how it has changed my life and the way I think. It has helped me realize that we all come from different places and have different beliefs, but we should still stick together and love one another. I would tell them that they may not understand what I mean but if they give it a shot they could learn as much as I have. Service isn’t something that is hard to do; all it takes is giving a little bit of your time to do something selfless for someone else. It is easy and it the most rewarding act someone could do.”

Mary Ferguson

Please read an inspiring volunteer story about Mary Ferguson, RN.:

“Ms. Mary Doris Ferguson, RN, a resident of our lovely city of Chesapeake, lives in and cares for our community with such a big heart! Ms. Ferguson has been a Chesapeake resident and a nurse for 48 years and is a very involved member of our community. After the disasters of 9/11, President Bush challenged all Americans to volunteer in support of our country. The Medical Reserve Corps started as a “call to action” for Americans to volunteer—Ms. Ferguson responded.

Giving of her time and talents is not new to Ms. Ferguson—her volunteer roles are many and diverse. A versatile individual with many interests, she volunteers with the Chesapeake Master Gardeners, the Butterfly Society of Virginia, Chesapeake Regional Medical Center, Chesapeake Regional Medical Center Auxiliary and the Chesapeake Medical Reserve Corps. Her assignments range from providing public education about plants, butterflies and their food and habitats; administering flu shots and health risk appraisals; staffing the front desk at the hospital; registering volunteers; assisting the Chesapeake Health Department in assigning staff for a “Full Scale Exercise for a Bioterrorism Attack.” She recently responded to an urgent impromptu request and provided Executive Assistant support to the Chesapeake City Manager’s office.

Ms. Ferguson is truly proud of the CMRC unit and is an exemplary recruiter for new members. She continually speaks and reaches out to colleagues, friends and family members about the importance of the role of the Chesapeake Medical Reserve Corps as a recognized asset in our fair city. She is an extremely committed individual, action oriented and cares very much how she performs her duties. Ms. Ferguson continues to be a very productive member and strong leader in the unit, no matter how large or small the assignment and has attracted long standing members to continue to be engaged and strongly support the mission of the Chesapeake Medical Reserve Corps of Emergency Preparedness and Response and Public Health support! She was instrumental in the CMRC unit receiving the City’s Proclamation for “Chesapeake Medical Reserve Corps Day” on April 30, 2008. This was a “first” for Chesapeake and Virginia!”

Lovely Frantz

“We were not able to have anything the Christmas of 1999. My mother, a friend and I went to the mall and have seen the guard standing for the Toys For Tots organization in Michigan. I have a letter for Santa Clause because I was only 7 years old at that time. Instead of giving it to Santa Clause, I dropped it to the Toys for Toys collection jar for donation mistakenly. Couple of days later we were invited to attend the toy drive. I was given so many toys and a turkey for Christmas dinner. It became an inspiration to me that there are people that really care.

A year after, I asked my principal at my school if he could help me organize a toy drive for Toys For Tots. My mother helped me do the flyers for the parents and other students brought an unwrapped toy for the needy children in the neighborhood. The school had contacted the Marines from Selfridge Airbase, who sponsor a toy drive every year, for permission and the city mayor’s office was also notified. The teachers in my academy sent my letter for the Oakland Press newspaper.

The toy drive was very successful. We collected so many toys and we had the Marines pick it up to be donated to the needy in the area. I feel good and I have more confidence that if I put my head and heart into something good, the feeling is priceless, that I did something. In fact, I was given a Certificate of Appreciation by the Marines and so with the City Mayor in Pontiac, MI. We were residing there before then and I was born in Michigan. We just moved here in Indiana summer of 2008. Last Christmas, I led my class in collecting can goods and money so we can help people that are really in need. It was successful and I’m planning to volunteer more with my mother. That’s why we found this, for we are looking for a good cause that we can help with our service for we don’t have money to contribute. My Dad is disabled and my mother takes care of him while taking online classes. I am currently a freshman student. My mother is getting her Masters in Psychology. When she graduates, she is looking forward to helping those with mental illnesses.”