GOOD BEGINNINGS IN FRANKLIN COUNTY

Good Beginnings in Franklin County believes that healthy development of all individuals and families is essential for continued personal and community growth and prosperity. This team works toward county-wide collaborative representation striving to offer several supportive networks. Currently there are approximately 50 collaborating agencies and individuals guided by a county assessment and a five-year comprehensive plan.

One program, TeamMates, was initiated in the fall of 2000 by Good Beginnings. The program pairs teacher-identified at-risk 5th – 12th grade students with adults who mentor them at least one hour per week. The program emphasizes building character and self-concept, reinforces basic skills and attitudes, and helps mentees set goals. When the program began, 45%of at-risk youth were on the middle/high school academic down list. Presently less than 5% of those youth are. Graduation rate has increased to 99 – 100%. Today TeamMates is board-driven with volunteers from all walks of like. Through fundraisers the program offers graduating students, successful in the program, scholarships to post-secondary institutions.

A family enrichment or parenting workshop is sponsored by the group. The elementary principal saw a need to lend support to families with young children. The workshops include a variety of skill and subject matter and are designed to make good parents even better.

A large county-wide event sponsored annually by Good Beginnings is the Health Fair. With attendance consistently 350-425, the goal is to promote healthy lifestyle choices and nutrition programs, and to increase knowledge of available services. Laboratory services and flu shots are available at reduced prices each year. Although many are referred to primary health providers for a number of reasons, this year two individuals were screened and referred with potentially life-threatening conditions.

In 2005, the team expanded the health fair concept to high school students focusing on teens’ health concerns and needs. Blood was drawn for cholesterol and blood sugar level screening. Educational stations included SAFE Center, focusing on date rape and family violence; UNK Human Performance Lab, highlighting body fat and continued fitness; UNL Extension discussing dietary guidelines and healthy snacking; Health surveys; Tobacco-Free Nebraska, and Personal Health Screening. Middle school and elementary health fairs are being planned as well.

A pilot project to offer an organized after-school program was such a success that in the 2005-06 school year, grant money was received to hire a program coordinator, furnish a meeting place, and offer a structured program to 3rd -6th grade students. Volunteers offer programs and activities, as well as tutoring and mentoring. Activities include healthy snacking, homework time and tutoring, physical activity/fitness and educational projects.

Other programs the group sponsors include: providing area high schools with “Baby, Think it Over”, Baby-sitting Clinics, “I’m in Charge” for latch-key children, Wellness 2003 – a health initiative to keep people moving and healthy, and bringing a mental health clinician to Franklin on a weekly basis.

In the future this volunteer group will be looking at intervention programs for youth and other community programs. If there is a concern or need, this group of volunteers is there to conquer it.

RENEE STOWE

There are so many seniors who do so much for the Seeley Lake community. Renee Stowe is an example of a volunteer with compassion and empathy for numerous causes. She has not only people but has also helped countless pets.

Six years ago, Stowe opened not only her home but also her heart when Paws UP Safe Home began. In those six years Stowe has helped saved 400 plus dogs and 150 cats. The shelter is for lost, found and abused pets. Had Stowe’s home not been open, countless people would have suffered the terrible pain of losing a beloved pet and countless dogs and cats would have died terrible deaths.

The first four years Stowe took these dogs and cats in with no financial aid except for the donations that the community provided, which was most of the time barely enough to pay the animal’s medical expenses and for their food. Her care and devotion to comfort the lost and abused during those years also included money out of her own pocket.

Stowe helps in the education of people who adopt the pets which are relinquished. She also helps with the spay and neuter clinic, which is held in Seeley Lake. Her work is ensuring unwanted puppies and kittens are not born to enter a world where they are abused or thrown away.

One time each year, Stowe parks her old pickup on the main street in Seeley Lake and applies I.D. tags on dogs. She also records each dog and takes its picture should it turn up at the shelter. Not only are the pets helped but the many people who cannot afford pet care are assisted also.

Due to Stowe’s undying love and devotion, her community is known as a pet friendly, caring community. The abuse of pets, the ignorance of people as to the care of pets has declined 85%, as to what it was twenty years ago.

Stowe’s home is a humble log home with great fences. Inside the home are pillows, as each abused dog has a pillow stuffed with love and caring. Lost pets are recovered, thus helping so many people. Paws Up Safe Home received a letter of thanks from the county commissioners for all its work for people and pets.

Stowe has also been very instrumental in helping her daughter relocate, get reacclimated into the workplace and helping guide her grandson who is attending highschool.

MARIA SMITH

Maria Smith lives with a disease that leaves her unable to work and might cause your average person to become isolated from the community. However, volunteering is what uplifts her and gives her the energy to continue on each day. She believes serving also keeps her focused, and Smith gives thanks that she has enough physical strength to do so. It encourages her that there are opportunities to give of herself, her time, and her knowledge. Regardless of how she may feel as a result of her illness, Smith retains her dynamic, loving spirit and is devoted to contributing to the community of Providence that has supported her throughout her life.

At age twenty-three, Smith, a successful college graduate and retail manager, was diagnosed with lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease. Lupus has affected her hearing, liver, kidneys, lungs, and hips. She sometimes needs the aid of a cane to walk, tires easily, and has undergone several surgeries, but she does not let these things hold her back.

Over the years since her diagnosis, Smith has held volunteer positions with the Brown University Swearer Center for Public Service, Elmhurst Extended Care Center, Brown Fox Point Early Child Care Center, and the Volunteer Center of Rhode Island.

For five years as an office volunteer at the Volunteer Center of Rhode Island (VCRI), Smith has helped build connections with community agencies and volunteers across the state. Her dedication and sparkling personality have made a huge impact on the small office at the VCRI. Smith faithfully comes in each week and volunteers as a publicity support assistant. She contributes by tracking weekly and monthly newspaper columns which let the community know about volunteer needs with nonprofit agencies throughout the entire state of Rhode Island. Smith’s main function is to connect with the agencies to let them know about their additional publicity and maintains a record of all past columns and volunteers connected by them. A strong believer in the value of community involvement, Smith enjoys doing her part to inform others about the many ways that they too can become a part of something bigger in their community through volunteering.

Lynne Harper, Marketing and Communications Coordinator for the Volunteer Center of Rhode Island believes that Smith has been instrumental in their community outreach efforts. When Harper took over her position in early 2004, Smith’s efforts were much appreciated as she worked with the former Communications Coordinator for the previous 3 years. This was a case of the volunteer training the staff person. Smith is not only one of Harper’s volunteers, she has become her friend. She is a joy to work with and whatever limitations her disability causes, certainly have not gotten in the way of her being their most dependable office volunteer and a welcome member of their team at the Volunteer Center.

In addition to her work with VCRI, Smith is also an active volunteer with her church, Congdon Street Baptist Church in Providence. Determined to do all that she can to serve VCRI and her church, Smith has begun a 300 hour part time AmeriCorps position, which will allow her to take on more projects at both sites.

OSWALD P. BRONSON, SR.

Bethune-Cookman College

Dr. Oswald P. Bronson, Sr. provided exemplary leadership and service to Bethune-Cookman College, where he served as president from 1975-2004. Though he was working as president, Dr. Bronson did many things in his free time that would change the face of Bethune-Cookman College. He came to the College with bold ideas, initiatives, and strong vision. This visionary leader was able to bring Bethune-Cookman College to a level where it is respected nationally and internationally for its academic excellence. Students come from almost every part of the world to attend Bethune-Cookman College.

The benefits of Dr. Bronson’s efforts as president are seen in many areas. Early in his tenure Dr. Bronson took on the difficult fiscal challenges of putting the College on a sound financial footing by developing a strategy for fund raising and fiscal discipline. Dr. Bronson made a significant contribution to the College through an increased endowment.

Through his unwavering and tireless efforts, he was able to raise the College endowment from $1 million when he took office, to $28 million before his retirement. Under his leadership the operating budget grew from $1 million to over $45 million. During his presidency, Bethune-Cookman College became one of the leading institutions generating a huge economic impact of over $250 million annually in the Daytona Beach community and the state of Florida.

Edward Waters College

After retirement, Dr. Oswald P. Bronson, Sr. was appointed as the 27th President of Edward Waters College on June 23, 2005 after serving as Interim President since February 2005.

Dr. Bronson’s administration is guided by “The Double E Principle: Excellence and Ethics”. The Principle envisions graduates who think critically and humanely, whose grammar and expressions represent college-level education. Further still, the Principle calls for conduct and attire nurtured by those moral and spiritual values that characterize a mature, responsible, and well-rounded individual who practices honesty and reverence. The Principle also focuses on ‘right’ behavior and on conduct that is honest, accurate and dependable. In this context, Dr. Bronson believes that ethics critique the extent to which integrity flows through one’s character and performance.

His vibrant personality, genuine concern for the growth of the institution, and commitment to the founder’s vision, has enabled him to bring unprecedented private, corporate, and governmental support to the institution. Under his leadership, EWC has received the R&R Grant (Access Retention and Graduation Grant) at $3.1 million, the Student Support Services (TRIO Grant) at $1.4 million, the Jessie Ball duPont Fund Grant at $132,000, and the Dual Engineering Degree Program Grant from the Department of Defense (Army) at $1.8 million.

Labeled a “key power broker for the nation’s black colleges” by Black Issues in Higher Education, Dr. Bronson’s leadership and achievements have become a benchmark in higher education.

FAMILY SERVICES & LEARNING CENTER – SANDUSKY FORD/VISTEON

Under the leadership of Charlene Stierhoff, the Family Service and Learning Center of Sandusky, Ohio organizes monthly volunteer opportunities for the employees and families of the Sandusky Visteon Plant. The number of families participating varies monthly.

Some families volunteer on a regular bases while for some it is an opportunity to try volunteering for the first time. Activities range from making greeting cards for shut-ins, doing minor repairs and yard work for group homes, working on a Habitat home, Martin Luther King Day bingo game at a nursing home, clearing a trail for a local park, sponsoring a team for Relay for Life, participating in Walk America; Heart walk and Diabetes Walk and much more.

The Family Service and Leaning Center has been in existence for at least six years. The staff and employees have made a commitment to annually do a number of volunteer activities such as participate in Make A Difference Day, Relay for Life and the other walks. Some type of family volunteer opportunity is offered monthly.

Charlene Stierhoff, coordinator of the Center, regularly meets with members of the nonprofit community to find out what the needs of the community are. She then schedules the monthly volunteer events to coincide with those needs.

In addition, the Center is a member of the Business Volunteer Council sponsored by the Volunteer Center of Erie County. As a member, Charlene, attends monthly meetings to hear presentations given by different agencies talking about their need for volunteers.

DANA BLANTON COLLINS

Dana Collins left a promising career in which she was making a much large salary because she was not being fulfilled. Jones then entered into the field of Education and became a mentor and hero not only to the students at Bell High School, but also to the entire Gilchrist community.

A young woman in Florida had terminal brain cancer -Catlin Huggins. Catlin had passed the FCAT in spite of brain operations, the return of a tumor, and the news that she had only a few months to live. If the doctor’s diagnosis of Catlin’s life was to be correct, that meant that even after Catlin passed the FCAT, she probably would not live long enough to march with her class on graduation day. Although this child had very little energy and physical strength, she studied for the FCAT and passed. This story is amazing, but what stood out more was the dedication of Catlin’s guidance counselor, Dana Collins.

Collins was not only a mentor and friend to Catlin, but she served as a role model for all as to how we should love, treat and respect our fellow human being. She went well beyond her call of duty as a guidance counselor and allowed Catlin to rest on a mat in her office while she studied for the FCAT. She even went as far as to change Catlin’s diapers when her illness progressed to the point that Catlin lost control of her bodily functions. Jones also was involved in Catlin’s treatment.

When Catlin learned that she had passed the FCAT, Collins helped organize a special graduation ceremony so that Catlin would have the experience of wearing a much-earned cap and gown, and know the thrill of achieving her long-time dream of graduating from high school. Both the Governor and First Lady of Florida attended this special graduation service, and organizations such as Dollywood in East Tennessee became involved to help this young student and her family cope with the devastating news that Catlin had only a short time to live.

The story of Catlin is enough in itself to suggest that Collins is an exemplary volunteer because she has taken a new career as a guidance counselor and also become a community servant. Volunteering to help others is now her mission and calling. She is an example of charity, commitment and love that we all could only aspire to achieve.

Catlin was only one of many, many, many stories in which Collins had reached out and gone way beyond the call of duty. Time and time again she has been the mentor with a healing set of hands, a compassionate heart, listening ears, and willing personality to help the community cope with the aftermath of deadly drunk driving wrecks, students coping with abuse at home, poverty, and daily life stressors. Collins’ actions are an example how an average life can be transformed to greatness with a determined spirit and a willing attitude. Student after student after student has been given permission to succeed against great odds because Collins made it her calling to inspire those whom perhaps society might not have thought could succeed do so.

ANNE MACKIEWICZ

Anne Mackiewicz has always been concerned about the youth of Carbon County. She is a graduate of Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, IN and taught for many years at Notre Dame School in Price, Utah up until the time it closed its doors in 1999. At that time Mackiewicz elected to return to school and obtained a Masters Degree in Early Childhood Development. Mackiewicz has been the director of the Price office of ChildCare Resource and Referral since that time. Mackiewicz has been involved with Castle Country’s Promise since 2002, a volunteer organization delivering the Five Promises to local youth as follows: caring adults; safe places after school; marketable skills; opportunities to serve; and a healthy start and future.

In 2002 Mackiewicz served as Committee Chairman for the Healthy Start Group and established the goal of educating parents of free area services and how to get help for their families. Mackiewicz and her group designed a booklet showing all county resources and contact numbers. Funding secured by Mackiewicz and her group members resulted in the printing of 5000 of the booklets through the Utah State Prison. The booklets were distributed through the health dept. as public nurses made their visits to future parents through Head Start & other community agencies. They were also distributed through churches, sent home from school with students and through Castleview Hospital.

In 2002 Mackiewicz and her group also initiated a project to provide parents in Carbon County with information on how to teach young children to interact with other children and to teach young parents how to interact with their children. These are termed “play groups.” Mackiewicz also chaired this group with other members from the Family Support Center, Carbon County School District, Castle Valley Center, and Southeastern Utah Health Dept.

In the summer of 2004 Mackiewicz accompanied four youth from the Carbon County Youth commission, enabling them to attend the three-day event at the Utah Youth Summit in Salt Lake City. She was also a key figure in the formal development of the Carbon County Youth Commission. This organization was formally approved by the Carbon County Commission on April 7, 2004 and provides leadership opportunities for a maximum of 17 selected youth of Carbon County, Utah. This commission is designed to give local youth a chance to share their opinions, working with local government, on a variety of issues that affect youth in their county.

AMERICAN RED CROSS OF CENTRAL FLORIDA TEEN CORPS

The American Red Cross (ARC) Teen Corps is a group of students between the ages of 11 and 18 years old from all over Central Florida. They gather every Saturday morning to participate in community service projects, peer facilitated classes, and disaster training and response. Teen Corps members donate in excess of 15,000 each year as a group and average of over 200 hours per member. These youth are trained in CPR/AED and first Aid, as well as fully trained and certified as disaster responders. They work with local shelters, Green-Up projects, local food banks and more. They are peer facilitators and routinely teach Basic First Aid, Disaster and Fire Prevention education, and leadership development to youth within their community. During the 2004 Hurricane season, these youth donated in excess of 10,800 hours to hurricane preparedness, response and recovery. From Hurricane Charley through Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne, Teen Corps members staffed shelters and delivered needed meals, ice and water. They worked in communications centers, operations centers and every other phase of disaster operations. Wherever help was needed Red Cross Teen Corps members were there.

As a result of the efforts of Teen Corps members, thousands of young people receive free safety training that includes CPR/AED and First Aid, as well as disaster training and fire prevention education. Teen corps members have helped move playgrounds at local YMCA’s, plant new trees and beautify depressed neighborhoods and rejuvenate community parks and right of ways. They collect, sort and box food items with 2nd Harvest Food Bank for distribution to local families. Their activities before, during and after the hurricanes that devastated our community were selfless, compassionate and committed. These young people represented the best of what Florida and Central Florida communities have to offer.

Teen Corps members choose to volunteer. They choose and plan all of the community service projects they participate in as well as their training in disaster preparedness and response so that they are ready when they are needed. Teen Corps does not discriminate, and it does not matter if the need is that of an individual, a family, a neighborhood, or an entire community. Teen Corps members are there willing, committed and ready to take on any task, large or small. As far as they are concerned, they are Red Crossers first; they are today’s leaders, tomorrow’s leaders and our future. Teen Corps members spent every hour that they were out of school during the hurricanes working the response. They did so with great attitudes, great compassion, and with a sense of community that few people would think them capable of. Nothing was impossible to them. As the Teen Corps Creed says they “accept any task large of small, and can at it’s conclusion look at their image in the mirror and truthfully say I gave it 110%, I am Red Cross Teen Corps.

CHERYL HONEY

In 1992, Cheryl Honey gathered a group of neighbors together at a local elementary school and created a way for people to connect, share resources and care about one another. They gathered weekly and learned about topics and issues impacting their lives and community. The families helped each other out, organized social and recreational activities, volunteered at local agencies and spearheaded community improvement initiatives. Over time they felt like an extended family and referred to this phenomenon as a “village effect.”

In 1993, the group formed the Family Support Network, a nonprofit organization, and began recruiting Good Neighbor volunteers and training Family Advocates who provided one on one peer support to those needing assistance. The capacity of the FSN grew as more volunteers pooled their resources on web-based technology, developed by Max Stalnaker, a VolunteerMatch volunteer. This technology gave people immediate access to resources to help themselves and others.

Ms. Honey has volunteered for over a decade and has moved from a Welfare Mother to Pioneer of Community Weaving, a volunteer mobilization strategy that engages citizens to take responsibility for what they care about and spark village effects in communities. The Seattle Times featured Ms. Honey’s effort on two front page stories. The first ran on March 2, 1996, entitled, “A substitution for welfare? Volunteer help a better way?” and the second, “Bothell volunteer grew her group into 800 pairs of helping hands,” ran on February 8, 1997. Two years later, the Lifetime channel featured the Family Support Network on the New Attitudes program that brought national attention to this extraordinary community building effort.

From its inception, the Family Support Network has been supported through private donations. Ms. Honey trains Community Weavers how to start-up Family Support Networks in churches, schools, organizations and businesses. Community Weaving is featured in the Change Handbook, 2nd Edition. Ms. Honey continues to volunteer in her community and has devoted her life to helping others create their own Family Support Networks.

If you would like additional information about the organization, please contact Cheryl Honey, C.P.P. Ambassador for Peace at 206.240.2241, [email protected], www.familynetwork.org or www.communityweaving.org.

MAXINE RICE

Every Thursday morning at Missoula Food Bank, staff and volunteers alike look forward to the moment Maxine Rice walks in the door. Her appearance means they are all assured a giant hug. What a fantastic way to start the day!

The love Rice exudes through her hugs is the same love that she shares with the Missoula community on a daily basis. Rice not only volunteers for Missoula Food Bank, but has volunteered for a tremendous range of other agencies and projects as well. These agencies and projects include but are not limited to the City Police Department, the YMCA, Smokejumper’s Visitor’s Center, Life’s End Institute, MAS Elderservices, Montana Campus Compact, Montana Natural History Center, the Carousel, March of Dimes, the Word Program, Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks, the United Way, the Historical Museum at Ft. Missoula, and the Salvation Army.

Rice also helps at countless one time community events. Because of her lifestyle of service, most people in Missoula either know her personally, have been touched by her service or know of Rice. She has been volunteering in the Missoula community for the past 15 years and has contributed an excess of 2,277 volunteer hours. She is truly a bundle of energy, enthusiastic about what she does and has a genuine desire to make a difference in the lives of others.

Rice is an integral part of the collection projects at the Food Bank and takes part in organizing and leading their various projects. She is extremely organized, efficient, and diligent. She has been recently dubbed “Maxine the Machine,” which a testimony to her amazing ability to keep all of the Food Bank’s projects running smoothly. In fact, many of the projects are scheduled around Rice’s schedule to assure she is available to lead the team.

Rice is amazingly strong and energetic. Just the other day,she stubbornly hefted a large, heavy box of bananas as if it were a box of marshmallows. She regularly stocks the shelves at the food bank, assuring that they are organized and neatly prepared for the clients. The care and consideration she puts into every task sends the message to the clients that they are important.

Rice’s work in the community is lasting, important, and meaningful. For example, Rice has participated in such projects as a radon abatement project, during which she delivered radon kits to community members who wanted to test their homes. With her help, more than 900 kits were delivered. At the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, she is also highly regarded as an integral part of their team.

The clients and staff at the Food Bank are encouraged by Rice’s laughter and dedication along with her tireless efforts. She truly exemplifies what it means to care about others, and serves as a role model to the staff and volunteers at Missoula Food Bank.