Erica Esposito

Erica Esposito is a junior at Glenelg Country School in Ellicott City and plans events and activities to help hospitals enhance their neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). While volunteering at a local hospital over the past few summers, Erica was struck by the stressful environment of the NICU, where babies born prematurely or with other health problems are cared for. The families of these tiny patients often face months of hospitalization and years of special needs, said Erica, plus the “unfamiliar sights, sounds, and equipment as well as the busy atmosphere can be very overwhelming.”

Knowing that one’s environment can have a big impact on the healing process, Erica began developing a project called “Ahead of Our Time” to help make NICUs less stressful and foster good relationships between the units and the families of their patients. She has recruited schoolmates, local Girl Scout troops, and NICU staffers to help brighten the facilities with artwork and photo albums, and has raised money for a series of monthly events. Her biggest undertaking was a reunion at the University of Maryland Hospital for “graduates” of its NICU and their families, which drew more than 200 attendees. She plans to host reunions for NICUs at other hospitals, and to expand her project eventually to include hospitals across the country.

Elizabeth Carr

Elizabeth Carr is a senior at Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School and has made significant improvements to the facilities of a local homeless shelter, collected donations of supplies for the shelter, and set up a Web site to facilitate hotel donations to shelters throughout the Washington area. Elizabeth’s family had been helping the Salvation Army for many years, so when she began looking for a meaningful volunteer project, she contacted the Salvation Army’s Turning Point Center for Women and Children. “The people were so excited when I came in and said that I was going to help them,” she said. “I realized that my work would have an immediate impact on someone’s life.”

She recruited two fellow Girl Scouts to help her clean and organize the shelter’s storage room and design an inventory system. They also created a playroom and a library, cleared the yard and planted a garden. Then, realizing how many supplies the shelter needed, Elizabeth advertised in her neighborhood for donations, raised money to buy supplies, and threw a “shelter shower” to collect more items. She also secured a large quantity of linens and other items from Washington’s Willard Hotel, where she had worked as a summer intern. This led her to create a Web site to facilitate donations by other Washington-area hotels to local shelters. Finally, Elizabeth organized a network of 20 Girl Scout troops to help keep the Turning Point Center supplied on a year-round basis.

Jennifer Crouse

Jennifer Crouse is a senior at Lake Forest High School in Felton, has assembled and delivered more than 2,500 “Fun/Care Packs” over the past 10 years to cheer up hospitalized children and other children in frightening situations. “I developed the idea of the Fun/Care Packs as a result of the time I spent in the hospital as a sick child,” said Jennifer. “These were very trying and scary times for me, as they are for all people who must spend time in the hospital.”

With funds obtained through grants and donations, Jennifer purchases games, toys and other entertaining items to put into each pack. Every year, her fellow 4-H members help her assemble and decorate the packs, and deliver them to their destinations. At first, Jennifer gave the packs to young hospital patients and to children visiting hospitalized family members. Three years ago, she began making additional packs for children and adults at a local Air Force base. And last year, Jennifer sent 300 packs to victims of Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast. “I have learned that the simplest things or gestures can have such a greater impact and meaning than we can ever imagine to those who are on the receiving end,” she said.

Chris Turner

Chris Turner has donated quality hours of service to the Milledgeville community while attending Georgia College State University (GCSU). Much of his volunteer service has been done with the GIVE Center (GCSU Involved in Volunteer Efforts).

The GIVE Center is the community service center on campus. Turner is a regular fixture at the Center, and he is a prime example of an emerging leader on the campus. Though he has only been working with the Center for a year, Turner has taken a program from and idea to a reality.

Turner created the GCSU Santa Miracle Fund, which is a service program that works directly with the Children’s Hospital in Macon. The Fund provides the children an opportunity to go and get the Holiday gifts that their precious little heart’s desire. Turner, along with the help of his fellow volunteers, sponsors fundraisers, develops corporate sponsor partnerships and organizes special events to raise money to purchase gift cards from Toys R Us or Walmart for these children.

These children get to go to the stores if they are able and pick out their own gifts rather than have someone purchase the gifts and give them to them. This has been a wonderful program on the campus. Chris actually worked with this program in high school, in his home town of Augusta. He saw the same need in Milledgeville and worked to be able to bring it to the GCSU campus.

The staff at The GIVE Center is appreciative of Turner and his compassion for others. He has a genuine concern for others and works to make people happy. The GCSU community will benefit while he is a student and hope that he will be an example to others and recruit more young people to serve.

Turner is excited about giving to others and is particularly joyful when obtaining donations because knows this will enable more children to receive. He has a passion for nonprofit work, and Turner’s career goal is to be an Executive Director of nonprofit , and he has started to lay the foundation for that career already.

This year has been a great learning experience for Turner, and it has helped him to understand how nonprofits work and how to handle different situations. He has gotten some great hands on experience and has “passed with flying colors.”

He has excelled at being a servant leader and has shown such determination and drive. Turner sets goals and utilizes the appropriate tactics to meet them. He has great leadership and communication skills as well as his organizational skills to help him to take this program to the next level. The staff at The GIVE Center looks forward to seeing where he will take this program as well as how he will continue developing as a true leader on campus and in the community.

Caitlyn O’Connor

The International Order of the Rainbow for Girls is a group dedicated to helping others and helping young women become leaders in their communities. Volunteers work very closely with the Rainbow girls and get to know them very well.

Caitlyn O’Connor has been a part of the Rainbow for about seven years now. In that time, she has grown from a girl to a very sweet and accomplished young woman. She participates enthusiastically in all activities and often she is the first to volunteer if anyone needs help. Several years ago, she led the local Rainbow assembly. In all ways she fulfilled her obligations by learning rigorous memory work, raising funds for others, holding special services projects for the Las Vegas Rescue Mission, and also making sure the girls had fun while doing it. Ever since then, she has been helping other leaders to do the same, all the while increasing her service to the community. She regularly devotes over 250 hours of service a year to others.

By the aid of many of these accomplishments, Caitlyn has held state offices in Rainbow Order for the past three years. She does honor to her assembly with every office. She always does everything that is asked of her and always with a smile, truly a rare thing with today’s youth. Some of the organizations she has worked with include the Teen Crisis Center, the Make-a-Wish Foundation, and the Alzheimer’s Research Center. She has been and continues to be instrumental in making events to benefit these charities a success.

In addition to these offices, Caitlyn also has been singularly elected to a special position this year by one of the other area youth groups, the Order of DeMolay. Every year, these young men select a young lady to honor with the title of DeMolay Sweetheart. In addition to working in the assembly, Caitlyn has been responsible for supporting and communicating the events of DeMolay to and within the rest of the Masonic youth community. She is the first in their assembly to hold this title in over 15 years.

Caitlyn has even received special honor for her selfless service above and beyond the call of duty. It is the highest honor the organization can bestow upon its members, the Grand Cross of Color. Caitlyn is truly a very special young woman. She is a very caring, committed member of her community who has proved her invaluable leadership time and time again. Her Rainbow Order assembly is thriving today in large part because of her efforts and many other girls have begun to serve as a result of her dedication.

Ashley Hall

Ashley is a very dedicated and hardworking young lady. She is one of those individuals that you can give a task to and know it will be accomplished and done well. Ashley is very proud of her accomplishments and experiences at GCSU, and she represents the university and her sorority, Phi Mu, in a very positive manner. She has a very cordial personality, and handles any situation that is thrown her way.

Ashely has held many leadership positions within her sorority such as philanthropy chair and new membership director. By far Ashley Hall is head and shoulders above the rest. She is the cream of the crop when it comes to servant leadership. As you can see, Ashley has learned many transferable skills that she can use in many different experiences; such as commitment, dedication, work ethic, dependability, time management, fundraising skills, being a team player, organizational and communications skills. Ashley has worked with The GIVE center as a liaison to other groups that have done community service and volunteering. She has been a team captain for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. She has participated in the reindeer run, blood drives and bowl for kid’s sake. Ashley is not only very active with volunteering while she has been at GCSU but her short range plans are to go into the Peace Corp.

Ashley is on the executive board of the GCSU No Boundaries Club. This club helps to raise awareness and funds for people with disabilities as well as to educate the community and campus about people with disabilities. The reason this club was developed and created was because one in five Americans has a disability, making it one of the fastest growing populations and one that will touch each individual through their families, circle of friends, and work acquaintances in their lifetime. The members of the GCSU No Boundaries Club are passionate about the mission of Push America, “Building leaders of tomorrow by serving people with disabilities today:, and they have now adopted that as their mission. Not only will they be able to build lasting friendships and create awareness but also will help build confidence in the people they serve and the abilities that these people possess. The GCSU No Boundaries Club will help tear down the walls of stereotyping the special needs in our community. The No Boundaries Club is an umbrella organization for other organizations that are working with disabilities. They have planned an entire week of events, called No Boundaries in the Fall, around educating the campus and community about serving people with disabilities. This week consisted of speakers, fundraising, advocacy, movies and adaptive recreational sports. One of their biggest goals was to purchase a set of Kids on the Block puppets, which are puppets that have disabilities along with puppets that don’t have disabilities. They found a grand for $10,000 from the Governor’s council on Developmental Disabilities, applied for it and received the total amount. This spring they will get started with their presentations to the school system.

Ashley is also a member of the Kids On The Block puppet Troop. Ashley has a great way of working with students and individuals. She is a very well respected young lady among her peers along with the university staff. Not only does Ashley work well with others but she also holds other leadership positions outside her sorority. Ashely is on the Campus Activities Board, Honors Program, Honors English Sorority, and other various organizations. Ashley is a role model to many other students. She works to develop their skills as well as her own. She realizes the importance of delegation and allowing others to excel. She also understands about wanting others to pick up the ball and keep it going when she leaves.

Staff of the Medical Records Department of Halifax Medical Center

Making the wishes of foster children come true at Christmas is the challenge met each year by the Staff of Halifax Hospital’s Medical Records Department in Daytona Beach, FL.

The Medical Records Department has established an ongoing relationship with the children involved in Neighbor to Family’s foster care and protective services in the Volusia/Flagler Counties area. For the past four years, volunteers from the Medical Records Department staff have donated their time and money to supply practically everything on the Christmas wish list of these children, from clothes to bikes to Game Boys.

Each year a representative from Medical Records takes the initiative of contacting Neighbor to Family in October to ensure their continued commitment to this volunteerism. Christmas wish lists are obtained, gifts purchased and then delivered to these children who at their young ages have had a tough life. The presents and thoughtfulness behind the presents impact the children with the Neighbor to Family program greatly. The children get great joy our of getting their wish list fulfilled by “Santa Claus.”

Neighbor to Family nominated the Staff of Halifax Hospital’s Medical Records Department for the Outstanding Volunteer of the Year awards presented by the United Way’s Volunteer Center of Volusia-Flagler Counties and Bright House Networks, and they were chosen as the Winners in the Corporate Group Category.

Future Farmers of America Ord, Nebraska Chapter

Ord Nebraska’s Chapter of Future Farmers of America (FFA) is a group of students who are very active with many community and area projects. They come to the projects well prepared and very willing to do what it takes to make the project a success. Kayla Hinrichs, Central IV Extension Educator, said the Ord FFA students are very dependable and always are willing go beyond what is expected of them.

The group continuously looks for innovative ways to meet unique community needs. To date, they have been involved in numerous projects that range from safety to the environment.

Ord FFA has had a special fair for young children. They demonstrate bicycle safety and how to properly fit a helmet at the Farm Safety Day for kindergarten through 6th graders. The Chapter also picks up trash all four days at the Comstock Windmill Festival and the day following the Festival. This Festival draws more than 30,000 people, so this is a large under taking.

They also unload tires at the used tire collection. Over 40 tons of tires were collected at the last collection. The group assists at the local Household Hazardous Collection by emptying paint cans, unloading vehicles, directing traffic, assisting with surveys, etc.

Ord FFA annually volunteers to help at the Environmental Festival. The FFA students assist 400 elementary students go from one session to the other and assist session leaders present their programs. As a moneymaker for their FFA Chapter, the Ord group sells lunches at several large machinery auctions. Local implement dealers have them serve food at customer appreciation days to assist with their fundraising.

The Chapter has a farmstead cleanup each July. They pick up scrap metal at local farms and ranches. Eight ton of scrap metal was picked up during the last cleanup. In addition, the chapter developed and maintains five 4’ by 8’ flowerbeds at the east entrance into Ord. They have planted shrubs that spell Ord at this location. The flowers are grown in the FFA greenhouse.

Marti Leishman

Marti Leishman is an amazingly dedicated and outstanding third grade teacher. Leishman has so many wonderful qualities; it is difficult to put in words. However, she may be best described as a gifted and caring teacher who lives her life as a role model and works to inspire and mentor young people.

Along with being a third grade teacher, Leishman is a volunteer. She initiated a school-wide Walk and Talk program before school three days a week during the school year. The program was stared three years ago to provide all of the elementary students at Fort Calhoun Elementary School the opportunity to get exercise and work on social skills.

Leishman and a co-worker (Jean Herold) began the Walk and Talk program to address the growing problem of inactivity and physical exercise that affects so many youth today. The Walk and Talk program is all about focusing on fitness and fun. Leishman volunteers to come to work early three schooldays per week to devote to the students and her excitement for the program is contagious.

Leishman is the perfect example of what a positive impact volunteering can have on children. The children at Fort Calhoun Elementary School are thrilled to participate in the program and some of the Walk and Talk student participants have raised enough money to purchase odometers for next year. Though they have had fun, the children’s health has also benefited by this great time.

Marti Leishman is definitely a shining star in the world of dedicated volunteers. So many people appreciate all her hard work and dedication to her role as both a teacher and a volunteer. She is a hero in the eyes of many, making a huge difference in the everyday lives of our young children.

National Association of Charitable Photographers

The National Association of Charitable Photographers (NAOCP) was established in March 2006. Two photographers wanted to help other professionals provide their services to people in dire situations at a time when lasting photo memories would mean something. NAOCP was created and organized for this purpose. Recognizing a need to make these services available to people who may or may not think of having photographs taken in their situation and knowing of a desire from professional photographers to serve those needs, the NAOCP came to be.

“There is an old Beatles song that has a line that says, ‘The more you give, the more you get in return,’ and so it is with my relationship with the Hospice of Metro Denver.” ~Jennie Murphy, Co-Founder, NAOCP

Photographers in NAOCP help people in many situations—from Hospice Care clients, NICU patients, children who are “hard to place” in state/agency adoptions with current photographs, to Military Personnel who are being deployed to dangerous areas. This is the “short” list of whom we help. Photographers representing NAOCP offer a free photo session, the CD with images to print, A CD slideshow set to music and a free 8×10 framed image to the service or agency in need. At no time may the photographer ask for money for this—it’s a free service. Many people in delicate situations have been grateful and cherished the memories that were captured, when at the time that was the last thing on their minds.

“As an adoptive parent of two beautiful children, I remember going through our parenting class and having them say ‘make sure to put photos on the wall right away!’ I can’t tell you how right that was. The minute we put photos on the wall, the children felt more a part of our home.” ~Cheryl Ogle, Co-Founder NAOCP

NAOCP helps to get photographers into their communities and they help people who are just starting out in the field to get to a point where they can do this work as a Professional. To reward their members for their efforts, community service and desire to give, NAOCP has secured many discounts and gifts to help their members do their job better and to encourage their participation. This is a real grassroots organization, and they rely on their members to help build this charity. The funding has been out-of-pocket from the organizers and they take no salary for this work. They accept only material donations for the Photographers who are involved.

Photographers in NAOCP truly believe “you get what you give,” and they give do much of themselves in doing this work because each client takes a little piece of you with them—but they give a piece of themselves to you. All of the photographers in NAOCP are honored to do this work and do it without hesitation.