DOUGLAS ROBINSON

In 1987, Douglas designed and began “Project HELP,” through the First United Methodist Church of Bedford. This unique outreach provides food, clothing, shelter and care counseling to those in need in our community. Project HELP established full food bank operations, clothing distribution and even a group that fixed cars for those in need. It also included an effective job program to try and get people out of the system and re-enter them into the community Douglas worked as Director until 1994. It’s still considered one of the most effective outreaches of its kind in the Fort Worth Metropolis.

During the early 1980’s, Douglas also began personal donation and volunteer work with Carter BloodCare. He developed a program focused toward educating youth about the importance of blood donation. In 2002, as the chairman of the Carter BloodCare Keller Donor Council, he designed and built the first children’s play area in a donor center, “The Kids Korner”, in Carter BloodCare…only the second ever done in Texas.

In 2003, Douglas became involved with the “Leukemia and Lymphoma Societies,” Light The Night Walk, held in the Fort Worth Stockyards. He was both the captain of the Carter Blood Care/Keller Donor Center Team…and also a committee member. In 2004, he continued to work the LLS/ Light The Night Walk and was the number one fundraiser for the walk. For the 2005 walk (to be held October 16th) in Sundance Square, Douglas is the Event Chairman. When he saw those involved – the survivors of cancer and the families and loved ones of those who lost their battles with these terrible diseases, he knew could make a difference and save lives, through helping to raise funds for the patient care and research.

Douglas Robinson received the Lockheed-Martin Community service award in 2002, 2003, and 2004. He actually received two community service awards for volunteer work in 2004 with Carter Blood Care and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society…each with over 250 hours of service that year. He also has been a multiple recipient of the Presidential Volunteer Service Award.

MELISSA & JORDAN MILICH

Through VolunTeens.com and Review-a-New, Melissa and Jordan Milich hope to change the face of community service in South Florida. The Milich twins have been diligently at work expanding, enhancing and maintaining a website devoted to high school students looking for volunteer activities and creating a program devoted to recycling college test preparation material. The site, www.VolunTeens.com, meets the needs of the youth, the volunteer organizations, and the community. High school students in Broward and Palm Beach counties have community service hours to fill; yet many teens have little idea how or where to volunteer. The site promises to be a “one-stop” for students in search of age-appropriate and interesting volunteer opportunities. VolunTeens.com lists organizations seeking teen volunteers in a variety of areas including children, the elderly, the environment, animal care, government, health care, community-wide events and many others. Information is updated regularly and each posting includes a description of the group’s mission and contact information for its volunteer coordinator. The website also features details about the community service requirements for public and private schools, a calendar of upcoming events, a quarterly VolunTeen profile and other features. By posting their volunteer opportunities on VolunTeens.com, the site helps organizations attract a new market of young, energetic volunteers, promote awareness of their existence, and provide a resource to locate large numbers of volunteers.

Originally created in 2001 by their twin teen neighbors as an outlet for opportunities in south Palm Beach, Melissa and Jordan have devoted their efforts to expanding the site with hopes that it will help teens from both their home and school areas find ways to connect with their communities. They want their peers to use VolunTeens.com to find the right opportunities to match their schedules, skills, and interests in an effort to maximize their impact on, and build strong ties with their community.

This innovative website is distinguishable from other volunteer sites because it is for teens, by teens and devoted exclusively to helping teens help others through community service. In maintaining the site, the 17-year old Boca Raton twins spend hours searching for volunteer activities and events that they know teenagers would enjoy. For today’s computer savvy teens, a simple “click” on the teen-based VolunTeens.com may hold the key to unlocking a new generation of “volunteens” eager to serve.

In addition to VolunTeens.com, Melissa and Jordan created Review-A-New, an ongoing program at their Fort Lauderdale school for the collection of used review books and study guides for the standardized SAT, SATII, ACT, and AP exams. The twins noticed that most of the review books, which cost between $15-$50 each, were routinely discarded by students once the exams were taken. Through their combined efforts, these valuable college preparation review materials were donated to a community study center visited by needy high school students. The Milich twins have also tutored elementary school students at a local library, collected used sports equipment for the needy, coached a youth basketball team, and participated in other service activities.

PHI MU SORORITY

Phi Mu’s main community service area that they work with is the Children’s Miracle Network and the Children’s Medical Hospital in Macon. They also have participated in the annual Baldwin County Relay for Life for the past five years. This year not only did they have teams walking and raising money they were also in charge of the On-Site Activities, which kept everyone busy while they were not walking. Relayers participated in scavenger hunts, mini relays, a Mr. Relay contest, making friendship bracelets for sick children, and sang karaoke, watched movies, and did all kinds of fun stuff. This group has been responsible for the on-site activities for the last two years now and hopefully they will be in charge of them again next year. They did an excellent job.

One of Phi Mu’s favorite community service endeavors is working with the Children’s Medical Hospital as well as with the Children’s Miracle Network. This year they have not only gone to the Children’s Medical Hospital and visited with the sick children but they also participated in the first Dance Marathon on campus. Dance Marathon is a national fundraiser where dancers (college students) raise money by securing donations and pledges in advance. One hundred percent of those funds will stay local to benefit hospitalized kids in your community. There were at least 15-20 Phi Mu’s that raised over $100 for Dance Marathon and participated in this 12-hour event. They raised over $1700 for the Children’s Medical Hospital in Macon. They had a member of their sorority on the planning committee and with all of her hard work and dedication to the Children’s Medical Hospital and to Dance Marathon she is going to be the new Student Director for next year.

This year Phi Mu will be recognized as Volunteers for the day during Volunteer Appreciation month in April. The GIVE Center felt that this was one way to recognize this organization for their outstanding volunteer efforts. They also have students that are going to be asked to be part of the Platinum Touch, which is an Honorary Service Organization that will be started on campus this spring. This spring Phi Mu along with Ashley Hall will earn the National Presidential Volunteer Service Award. Phi Mu truly has found the perfect balance between academics, extra-curricular activities, and community service projects.

CRYSTAL SOLANO

Never missed a day. Crystal worked well past the usual working hour of 4:30 on numerous occasions and always arrived promptly at 8:00AM. She worked whatever hours it took to complete an ambitious, time-consuming project in a limited time frame. Once we had to tell her to go home at 7:00 PM.

Crystal well exceeded our expectations of what could be accomplished by a summer volunteer with limited medical knowledge or experience in healthcare. Her level of performance was equal to that of a pathology resident two years post medical school, due to her skill and tenacity in examining hundreds of medical records for numerous pieces of information. In twelve years of supervising pathology residents, who attempt similar projects, none has accomplished as much as Crystal.

Everyone on our staff who worked with Crystal loved her. She has a sweet personality and demeanor. She is modest and unassuming, perhaps even shy, but is thoughtful and extraordinarily conscientious. Her volunteer project did not require contact with patients, only with staff of the Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Service. It is unusual in a very busy service such as ours for a short-term volunteer to capture the hearts of the people she worked with as Crystal did.

Crystal showed an amazing and precocious ability to pick up complex medical concepts even though she had only one year of college. There’s no doubt that she has a sharp intellect, but one that is pleasantly softened by her modesty. She also has a well-developed sense of ‘deferred gratification’; i.e. she knows how to put her nose to the grindstone day after day knowing that the hard work will pay off in the end. Reviewing hundreds of patient’s electronic medical records is a grueling task, but she was focused, tenacious, and determined to finish – which she did. With her combination of fine intellect, character, and willingness to work hard, she is already a leader by example for her peers. She can envision her becoming a successful academic physician. We have no doubt that she will be highly successful in any field she chooses.

Crystal didn’t work directly with patients during her time with us. Since she sowed an interest in the workings of the clinical laboratory when she first visited with us, we gave her a large-scale project. This project involved analyzing physician practices with regard to how and why they order Lyme disease tests, and how the test results are used in directing patient care. She reviewed approximately 300 patient records, collecting approximately 20 pieces of data on the care of each patient. This was a daunting task. Her results have shown which clinical findings best predict which patients have Lyme disease and her work has indicated when Lyme testing is most appropriate and useful. Crystal will be first author on a manuscript we will prepare, hopefully for peer-reviewed publication. That’s quite an accomplishment for a first-year college student volunteer. Her work aimed at a wider impact than the usual one-on-one volunteer work.

REBECCA ATHA

Rebecca has donated many volunteer hours to the GC&SU Sequins and Smiles program. Sequins and Smiles is dedicated to building the self esteem of underprivileged teenage girls by providing them with beautiful formal wear for special occasions in their lives. Sequins and Smiles was created in 2003 by Rebecca to help deserving young girls look and feel like princesses by providing them with beautiful new and almost-new formal dresses, shoes, accessories and jewelry. Sequins and Smiles collects new and almost-new formal dresses and accessories as well as provides them, free of charge to Central GA high school students who are unable to purchase their own prom attire.

The idea for Sequins and Smiles came to Rebecca as she was cleaning out her closet. She had numerous beautiful bridesmaids’ gowns that she had work once and did not foresee having the occasion to wear again. The dresses were too nice to just give away – Rebecca wanted to actually see the faces of the young girls who would put them to good use. She knew many of her friends were in the same situation, and contacted friends via email with the idea, proposing that they take up a collection of dresses, shoes and other accessories. Friends forwarded on the email and before she knew it, Rebecca was receiving donations from women all across the country. Many of the women responded by telling her how nice it felt, knowing their dresses were going to be put to good use. For Rebecca, the smile on the girls’ faces makes it all worth it!

From her work with the GC&SU Sequins and Smiles Program to her passion to want to help young ladies she has helped to coordinate our Sequins and Smiles Program. She worked so hard to meet with the correct people to help make this program happen. Rebecca’s dream came true and she held the grand opening of the Sequins and Smiles closet at GC&SU. Rebecca has 5-10 student volunteers that have helped her plan this program and event.

Rebecca attends monthly meetings and represents her program well. She also attends leadership workshops and meetings so that she can become the best student coordinator she can be and to make herself and better leader. Her program has received the Student Coordinated program of the month from The GIVE Center as well as the Student Coordinator of the month. This April during volunteer appreciation month she will be named as one of the volunteers of the day.

FRANCES & WILLIAM KUNZ

What do teachers do when they retire? They volunteer to teach others!

William and Frances tutor culturally diverse students every week in the Homework In Progress Program as well as co-leading an English conversation Group every Saturday. Their contributions have been an integral part of the success of the Conversational English classes for Adults. Their tireless dedication allows adults to learn English and thereby enables them to lead a more productive life.

Mr. and Mrs. Kunz help lead an English Conversation Group on Saturday mornings. This group varies from week to week but usually consists of eight to twelve adults from various ethnic backgrounds. Conversations consist of many different topics; the goal is to increase the confidence level of these new speakers of English and to help them understand the idioms they hear but may not understand. The need for their services is great in Lakewood as the population continues to grow with many different cultures and languages. The elementary schools are now 40 percent diverse.

For over ten years Frances Kunz has volunteered for the Lakewood Branch and Point Pleasant Branches of the Ocean County Library. She has delivered materials to homebound customers, read books to people in a long-term health facility, and since the year 2000, tutored students in the Homework in Progress Program at the Lakewood Branch. Her husband, William, joined her in 2000 and also tutors students every week for a few hours. The H.I.P. program (Homework in Progress), which takes place after school hours from Monday – Friday has shown their devotion. Without their consistent and very reliable participation as tutors, certainly many of the students would not be as successful as they have become.

The unselfish commitment by these two exceptional people demonstrates volunteerism at it’s best.

MAY LAN DONG

When considering her school’s community service requirement sophmore year, May Lan wanted to do something out of the ordinary. Having seen the extreme poverty in Africa on several trips, she realized that volunteering in a third world country would have a greater impact on human lives than working locally. A family friend working in Guinea told her about the need for schools there. The next Spring Break she was off to Guinea to do research the educational system. May Lan fell in love with the children there, as they were smart and hard working but lacked decent schools. Only one third of the girls and two thirds of the boys attend school. She comes from a background where education is very important and wanted to give the children of Guinea the same educational opportunities as she has had.

She decided to work for three schools: a girls orphanage, a vocational school and a high school. She met with students, talked with the schools’ directors and discussed their needs. Over the course of a year, she raised $ 50,000 and received many donations in kind to support the three schools. The first school is the NAFA Center, an orphanage for 90 girls. She raised $16,000 from friends and family to purchase 43 sewing machines and embrodery materials so that the girls could learn how to make clothes. The goal of the orphanage is trying to teach job and domestic skills to the girls.

The second school is the Center for the Formation of Professionals (CFP) Boke, a vocational school providing training in construction trades. When she visited, she noticed that only 1 in 10 of the students were female. The low female enrollment was due to a lack of housing for women. May Lan raised $ 27,000 to build a girls dormitory. This would allow more women to have access to higher paying jobs.

The third school is the Sangaredi High School. She toured the classrooms and was struck the fact that they did not have any textbooks. The teachers wrote the daily lessons on the chalkboard and the students meticulously copied all the notes verbatim. She received over 1000 donated books and used sports equipment from schools in Boston, LA and NY. She raised an additional $ 10,000 to purchase math and science textbooks.

Through this wonderful and successful experience, she learned to appreciate all that she has, especially the simple things. Helping schools has made her appreciate her education, so she says that she won’t complain the next time she has study for a Spanish test. Also seeing the extreme poverty in Guinea was depressing for her. Few homes have electricity and many people live on the streets. Although this situation makes her sad, it motivates her to help the people of Guinea. The experience has created a passion in her to help those in need, especially the children of Guinea.

JENNIFER KELLY

As a Voluntary Service volunteer, Jennifer is a dedicated volunteer who is always on time and completes any task requested.

Jennifer has been responsible for many different tasks as a Voluntary Service volunteer, including greeting new patients and distributing comfort items, serving coffee throughout the hospital waiting rooms, coordinating other volunteers to complete mass mailings, doing data entry, sorting donations, assisting staff with setting up the clothing room and sorting and distributing clothing at the annual Chicago Area Stand Down for homeless veterans, and labeling comfort items and running odd errands. She is always willing to take on new and unusual tasks, often deciding the best way to accomplish the assignment on her own. Because of her computer expertise, she has been requested by the VIST Coordinator to update the blinded veteran database. She eagerly accepted these new responsibilities.

Because of her maturity and willingness to accept new challenges and assignments, Jennifer accepted an additional responsibility, checking medication expiration dates. She had to adhere to many quality control procedures and work with a registered pharmacist. Both the patients and the pharmacy staff benefited because prescriptions are accurately processed and promptly and safely delivered.

Jennifer is well liked and appreciated by the patients she assists, as well as, the staff she has contact with. She is a very polite, eager-to-please and friendly young lady. Every supervisor wishes they had cheerful and enthusiastic employees like Jennifer. Patients ask for her when she has to go to school and cannot volunteer. Outpatients waiting for Clinic appointments ask for the “Coffee Girl” because of her positive personality and good humor; she effortlessly draws people to her.

Jennifer instructs new volunteers on the proper procedures for performance of certain assignments and leads by example. She feels a responsibility to help veterans and her conscientiousness is contagious to other volunteers and staff as well. During the summer student volunteer program she serves as a mentor to younger volunteers. She is a role model for her two younger sisters recruiting them to volunteer also. She directs “her volunteers” on the best ways to complete specific projects. She is active in school and community activities. When interviewed by media about external accomplishments, she always mentions her volunteer activities with the veteran patients at Hines.

Jennifer is an inspiration to patients as well as other volunteers and staff because of her hard work, enthusiasm and eagerness to learn. She is a pleasure to be with and patients miss her when she returns to school. Her interest in helping veterans was ignited by her grandfather who is a Korean War veteran. He is a volunteer here along with Jennifer’s two sisters. Jennifer maneuvers through the hospital like a shot of caffeine, invigorating patients and everyone she meets.

JOE FRANCO

Joe Franco is a junior in high school and for the past three years he has been one of 75 members of U.M.C’s Medical Explorer Post. He has held the office of President for the past two years and he has set an example for the participants by following the rules and standards of the Medical Explorer Post and by setting the tone for the post from the beginning.

Joe counsels post participants who may have problems, questions or concerns. He listens to what they say and helps them find the answers that are best for the post. Along with the advisor, Joe directs and helps plan the post’s program, meetings and activities. He appoints participants to serve in activity chairs.

Joe doesn’t hesitate to ask his advisor for advice and help. But Joe is in a leadership position and has played an integral part in the success of the Medical Explorer Post.

Joe’s involvement at University Medical Center doesn’t stop with conducting Medical Explorer meetings. He is active in the raising of funds for the scholarship committee. In addition, Joe has been volunteering at U.M.C for three years and in the past year he volunteered 775 hours for a total 2,500 hours of service in the past three years.

KATHY CARR & DOROTHY JANSEN

Kenosha Literacy Council has provided adult literacy services to Kenosha County since 1965. Nominees Kathy Carr and Dorothy Jansen have been volunteers for 6 and 10 years respectively. Their service as unpaid Coordinators of drop-in tutoring allows us to provide eight hours of this help for eager adult students.

Community Needs and Solution – Because of individual study plans, attendance at these drop-in sessions can be flexible. The student population usually is 30 percent basic (those who somehow did not acquire a good literacy at an early age) and 70 percent ESL (those learning English as their second language.) As in many areas of the country, the percentage of ESL students continues to increase each year. In working with students with less than a fifth grade reading ability, Kathy and Dorothy help build a foundation which allows students to get a first or better job, go on to a GED and even higher education and become a knowledgeable part of the community.

Connection Building – the inability to easily communicate isolates people and affects their families. By facilitating improved reading, writing and speaking skills, we help our students become more capable of being involved in family, school, and community activities. ESL students no longer have to take children along as translators for health or financial transactions. Those gaining improved skills become better problem solvers and communicators.

Ongoing Involvement – During the past three years, Kathy & Dorothy have donated 6,440 volunteer hours to adult literacy. In addition to coordination duties, Kathy serves as President of the Board. Dorothy evaluates new students and coordinates quarterly Tutor Training Sessions. The council also provides adult literacy services to Kenosha County with a paid staff of three part-time people and a budget under $100,000 per year. They can do this because of the assistance of trained volunteer tutors like Kathy and Dorothy who assist 5-10 times more than the average volunteer.

Impact – In addition to the confidence gained as students learn that they can learn, Kenosha Literacy Council serves as a bridge to many areas. Some students have very little formal schooling. Students, aided by tutors, work on individualized lesson plans (some as basic as learning the sounds of the ABC’s) and acquire a basic literacy foundation that allows them to secure a first or better job, obtain GED’s, attend technical schools and even universities. Kathy and Dorothy are an integral part of this.

Innovation – Most community-based adult literacy providers have One-on-One tutoring for their students. The program seems to be innovative and unusual in that it provides the possibility of eight hours of flexible tutor-assisted study each week of the year. This allows us to have the necessary services for students with referrals from government programs that have an education requirement. The council can provide these sessions on a limited budget because Kathy and Dorothy serve as unpaid coordinators, tutors and lesson-plan writers.