DAN MURPHY

On behalf of the children, volunteers and families of Kids Enjoy Exercise Now (KEEN), I am pleased and honored to be able to nominate Dan Murphy for the Daily Point of Light Award. His tireless commitment to serving children and young adults with disabilities in Montgomery County for more than a decade has been remarkable, and his efforts are a model for the way in which a single, motivated volunteer can change the way an entire community is served.

During the past 12 years, KEEN has had more than 8,000 volunteers participate in our nine local programs. In that time, we have had the good fortune to benefit from the volunteer and community service of many of the most committed and talented members of our community. In recent years, one volunteer stands out for his steadfast dedication to our program, for his unselfish efforts, and for his tireless work we enhance our program and the lives of the children we serve in Montgomery County: Dan Murphy.

KEEN provides free one-to-one sports coaching to children with severe and profound disabilities, without regard to a child’s financial resources or the severity of his or her disabilities. At our nine programs, our volunteers work on a one-to-one basis with children with such disabilities as Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome and Mental Retardation. More information on KEEN is available at www.keengreaterdc.org.

Dan first came to KEEN in 1999 as a volunteer recruited from the DC Cates organization located in Washington, DC. His interest in getting involved with KEEN was not dictated by having any family member affected by disability, instead he articulated a strongly felt desire to make a difference in the community. Dan made an immediate impression on our Board members and was asked to join our Board of Directors.

Dan brought to the KEEN board of directors a new vision and energy that mobilized the entire KEEN community. He nearly single-handedly conceived and implemented a new KEEN Board structure and focus that has had much to do with our recent success and the strong foundation we have for the future. With Dan’s help, we were able to establish new board committees that allowed us to function more effectively in different areas such as communication, marketing, and development. He volunteered to help with the most time sensitive and demanding structural functions of KEEN, and delivered results that consistently tough the lives of children with disabilities and their families. From the outset, he has been willing to do anything necessary to help KEEN achieve its strategic and tactical objectives.

BETTY WRIGHT

“Giving the gift of literacy” was a goal Betty Wright and her late husband Frank Wright had in mind when they established The Frank and Betty Wright Foundation. In 1979, a children’s literacy program called Wright to Read (WTR) was established. What began as a pilot program with just three volunteer tutors working with three students has grown into three programs, which serves over 150 students and involves over 150 volunteer tutors! Now celebrating 25 years of service to the children of the City of Alexandria Public Schools, Mrs. Wright’s dream continues to be a huge success.

A resident of Old Town since 1953, Mrs. Wright has made outstanding contributions to the community through her leadership and commitment to philanthropy efforts. In 1962 Betty Wright became the Executive Director of what was then the Alexandria YWCA and later became the Alexandria Community Y. While director of the YWCA, Mrs. Wright hired Elizabeth Ann Campagna as director of programs. In 1990, the community Y was renamed the Campagna Center, in honor of Mrs. Campagna, who was one of the first people invited to join the board of the foundation.

Today, the Wright to Read office is administered and located in The Campagna Center and has been fully funded by the Frank and Betty Wright foundation for the last 25 years. Mrs. Wright continues to be an active participant and volunteers her time in the entire Wright to Read programs, which has grown tremendously over the years. With the help of dedicated tutors, who become friends and mentors to their students, Wright to Read strives to teach children to read – one child at a time.

In addition to her continued commitment and love of children and literacy, Mrs. Wright provided the funds for a reading garden at the Charles E. Beatley Jr. Library in the year 2000. Enjoyed by thousands of Alexandrians, the reading garden is an inspiration and gift of love from Betty Wright. Mrs. Wright ahs generously donated American furniture and paintings to the Smithsonian’s State Department for their reception room and donated a portrait of Dr. Brown and funds for restoration to the Alexandria Art Museum. She is also a long time member and contributor of the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum.

It is hard to put on paper the many contributions of this wonderful woman. She is an inspiration to everyone who comes in contact with her – a community hero and true philanthropist. The Wright to Read program is grateful for her vision and commitment to giving the gift of literacy to the children of Alexandria.

RICHARD SEMMLER

“He’s headed toward half a million,” said John J. Ruffino, executive director of the NVCC Educational Foundation, which puts Semmler in the top Tier of its private donors.

“He’s a great example not only for this college but for anybody,” Ruffino said. A list of Semmler’s charitable contributions, which he prints by hand in neat columns, shows that he has also donated $200,000 to his alma mater, Plattsburgh State University of New York.

Other contributions over his lifetime unclude$140,000 to the Northern Virginia chapter of Habitat for Humanity; $30,000 to Ernest Angley Ministries, an evangelical Christian group, at $100 a month since 1979; $22,880 to Central Union Mission, a D.C. homeless shelter and soup kitchen, covering 10,400 meals; and 2,400 to the evangelical Christian group Crystal Cathedral Ministries. By the end of this year, by his calculations, the total will be slightly more than $770,000.

Those are the numbers expected from the scion of a wealthy family, not the son of a Rochester electrician and a secretary who couldn’t afford to send their son to college. Semmler, a top track athlete in high school, attended Plattsburgh State on scholarships. In gratitude, he made his first contribution — $25 – to the school after graduating in 1968.

“That’s the snowball that started rolling,” Semmler recalled with a rich chuckle. “As it did, it got bigger and bigger and bigger.” Three decades later, he resembles a youthful beardless Santa Clause – with his rolling laugh, bushy white hair, rosy face and slight paunch. Those who work with him say he is always smiling.

He has never married, and he lives alone in a tiny condo in a faded apartment building on Scott Circle NW in the district. It is strewn with papers from the math textbooks he writes and edits to help fund his charitable events. One day last week, he was in his office on the NVCC Annandale campus by 6 am to correct papers before heading over to the Habitat site in the Briarwood trace community in Vienna.

After three hours of sawing and hammering in the 90-degree heat, he stopped for a milkshake at Wendy’s and then headed to his office again for more paperwork. He would go from there to a condo meeting and expected to be home by midnight.

This semester, he is teaching his classes via e-mail, videos and mail through NVCC’s Extended Learning Institute to give him more time for his Habitat project. On the phone at his cluttered desk amid a jumble of spider plants, he lobbied NVCC administration officials to offer scholarships to the children of four households that will occupy the Habitat houses being built in Briarwood Trace. “Do I need to stop by and see you on that?” he said cheerfully but firmly.

Acquaintances steered him to Habitat, to which he has been a contributor since the mid-1990’s, and to Central Union Mission, where he has been active since 1999. his religious pursuits sent him to the Christian groups. But Semmler’s approach isn’t checkbook philanthropy. He stays involved with his money. “Most of my dollars go to very specific projects, so I know what I’m funding,” Semmler said. “I want to see my dollars at work.” Once a week and on holidays, he serves dinner at the Central Union Mission, and he offers math tutoring to clients seeking their high school equivalency diploma. His NVCC and Plattsburgh contributions go to scholarships and to specific programs at the schools. He serves on the board of the Habitat chapter in Northern Virginia and always assists in building the houses he helps fund.

“He puts his hands where his money goes,” said Steve Green, manager of volunteers for Habitat. “He’s one of a kind,” said Don Thompson, who will own the Vienna house. “He doesn’t just talk a good game. He’s out there in the trenches.” By standard calculations, the personal price for Semmler has been high. Leisure activities are few. Aside from textbook work, he is also a part-time maintenance man at the Annandale building where he owns a condo that he rents out. But even with extra work, he expects he’ll have to sell his D.C. condo shortly to meet some of his charitable commitments. Life isn’t always about multiplying what you get, he explained. Sometimes, its about subtraction.

MALLORY WOOTEN

Two requirements for volunteers and instructors working in the PALS Lab are concern for people and commitment to the importance of education. Mallory Wooten exhibited both of these characteristics in her work with these students.

PALS Lab Community Needs & Solutions – Statistics have shown that there is a sizable segment of the population in Northwest Alabama that do not have a high school diploma or GED. The contribution to society from an individual who does not possess a basic education will be greatly diminished from an economic and familiar perspective. By serving as a volunteer in the Adult Literacy/PALS Lab, Mallory Wooten helped people reach personal educational goals and strengthened the community by raising the educational level of potential employees and parents.

Connection Building – Many of the students attending the Adult Literacy/PALS Lab face challenges, which have prevented them from being served by traditional educational resources. Mallory showed a special talent for using the one-to-one method of teaching used in Adult Literacy. This method of instruction builds student confidence and allows them to feel comfortable as they try to reconnect to the educational process. The resources of the PALS Lab are easily adaptable to serve students on both ends of the academic spectrum from non-readers to more advanced learners.

Volunteers and teachers working on the PALS Lab must be able to work with community stakeholders. Mallory gained significant experience as she formulated and monitored the educational plans of students referred from agencies including juvenile probation, K-12 school systems, social service agencies and the court system.

Ongoing Involvement – The PALS Lab operates every month per year, meeting the needs of students throughout Northwest Alabama. After successfully completing the curriculum, students may opt to take the GED Test or enter other areas of study. The lab is also a part of the community college system.

Impact – By working in the PALS Lab, Mallory was able to yield a significant impact on individuals and community at large. Studies have shown a direct correlation between educational achievement and lifetime earnings. In addition, the PALS Lab has a positive impact on the population on Northwest Alabama by developing a more highly skilled population and workforce.

Innovation – The PALS Lab is unique in the way it gives instructors state of the art equipment to employ in a student friendly environment. Mallory’s familiarity with computers and her ability to work closely with people made her a good match for the lab.

Pat Zenner

In 1952, Pat Zenner made a personal commitment to help the March of Dimes fight polio, and through the years, she dedicated over 50 years of her life to improving the health of babies.

Zenner began volunteering during the height of the battle to stop polio in its tracks. In the years before finding the cure for polio, Zenner recruited hundreds of women to participate in Mother March, a door-to-door fundraising campaign to fight polio. When victory in polio was achieved, the March of Dimes began its new mission, to prevent birth defects.

Through the 1960’s & 1970’s, Zenner was a source of wisdom, leadership and perseverance. She adopted wholeheartedly the new mission of improving the health of babies. As Minnesota Chapter Chair and Campaign Director for ten years from 1965-1975, she helped to guide a revolution in fundraising at the March of Dimes, most notably with the introduction of WalkAmerica.

Over the years, Zenner has served in various capacities. Some of her roles include: served as National Volunteer Liaison to the General Federation of Women’s Clubs; participating as a charter member of the National Council of Chapter Volunteers; created and sustained collaborative educational programs like the PTA and Minnesota Libraries; served on the March of Dimes Greater Twin Cities Executive Committee and the Central Minnesota Division’s Board of Directors; and for 23 years, chaired the St. Cloud Celebrity Roast & Toast, a March of Dimes fundraiser.

In 2002 at the March of Dimes National Volunteer Leadership Conference, Zenner received the Distinguished National Service Award for her 50 years of dedication to the March of Dimes. The award was presented by Dr. Jennifer L. Howse, President of the March of Dimes and Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, granddaughter of the late President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 2002, Zenner was also awarded the Central Division Outstanding Committee Chairperson of the year.

In December 2004, Zenner received the Volunteer of the year award at the Minnesota State Volunteer Leadership Conference. She is also a past honoree of the Minnesota Chapter’s Outstanding Volunteer of the year. In October 2004, Zenner’s Celebrity Roast and Toast event raised a record $40,000. She was honored at a luncheon in recognition for her many years of leadership service.

Pat truly exemplifies an outstanding volunteer. She has taken the March of Dimes mission to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects and infant mortality to be her own mission for fifty-three years.

DONNA WILES & BEAR WILES, CGC, TDI

“ What is a friend?” A single soul in two bodies, “ says Aristotle. Donna Wiles met and became friends after attending Hospice volunteer training in 2003. While it is not an unusual occurrence for people to become friends through a shared experience. It is what happened after the training that makes Donna’s friendship so special.

Donna Wiles, another member of the same training class, and her Bernese mountain dog, Bear, also visit patients in nursing homes or at Broome Developmental Center. Bear and Donna have donated over 100 hours. It was while sharing these experiences that Maureen and Donna’s friendship blossomed.

Donna decided to investigate whether she could become a donor to Maureen. She proceeded through the initial testing protocol to confirm she was a match. Then she gave Maureen the good news. She was a match, and she would donate her kidney to Maureen. This act of human kindness is the ultimate testimony of a caring and giving soul. “Friendship without self interest is one of the rare and beautiful things in life.”

The preliminary testing is done, and they’re on their way to Pittsburgh for final testing. Please keep Donna in your prayers. You will be updated on this beautiful love story as it continues to unfold! “A friend is one who strengthens you with prayers, blesses you with love and encourages you with hope.”

LINDA RONDINELLI

In July 2003, Linda Rondinelli gave up her job as a Marketing Analyst to do full-time community service for a year as an AmeriCorps* VISTA (Volunteer in Service to America) with a barely livable allowance. She chose SAHELI, an 11-year-old-all-volunteer, support, and advocacy organization for underserved Asian victims of domestic violence in Austin, Texas for her community service.

Community needs and solution: SAHELI had exceeded its capacity as an all-volunteer organization and badly needed two full-time paid staff to attend to the immediate and long-term needs of the victims, make community presentations, participate in collaborative task forces with other nonprofits, and recruit, train, support, and coordinate volunteers. Linda was determined to find a way to meet this need. She researched and selected appropriate funding sources, wrote grant proposals, collected data, obtained support letters, and coordinated all activities related to securing grant funds. Because of her efforts, in the past year, SAHELI has been able to secure funding to hire its first two staff members: a Family Advocate and a Community Educator.

Connection building: Linda built relationship with nonprofit consultants, foundations, government agencies, information centers, and other nonprofit organizations. She connected with volunteers and made sure that data collection could be made easier. She redesigned the contents and format of the SAHELI website to make it easy to read for victims, volunteers, and donors. She helped with event planning, and information booths connecting with the community. She also volunteered as a legal advocate with SafePlace helping battered woman get protective orders to connect with the victims’ needs.

Ongoing involvement: Linda started volunteering with SAHELI before her VISTA contract officially started. She took a six-week course at the University of Texas to learn the skills needed for writing grants. She has worked with pleasure for long hours, evenings, and weekends during her VISTA year. She extended her VISTA term to help SAHELI implement the grant and recruit staff. After finishing her VISTA term, Linda continues to volunteer as the Secretary of SAHELI Board of Directors and a newsletter editor.

Impact: Because of Linda’s hard work and excellent research and writing skills, SAHELI has received a foundation grant for $15,000, a federal grant of $5,000, and an annual state grant of $80,000, renewable up to three years. SAHELI can now sustain and expand its services to help underserved victims of domestic violence and educated the community. Linda’s energy, passion, dedication, teasingly long and always updated “To Do” lists for the team, and her contagious laugh has energized her colleagues.

Innovation: Linda has shaped SAHELI’s strategic planning and presentations for Board success. She made valuable suggestions for funding success and back-up planning. Linda redesigned our forms to make data collection easier. SAHELI’s website was cluttered and hard to use and she redesigned many frames of the website. She learned Dreamweaver and other tools needed to maintain the website. She also developed internal working documents for the Boards smooth operation.

MINDY STREET

Mindy Street, Miss Auburn , has educated her community about Attention Deficit Disorder (A.D.D.) and implemented a mentoring program to help children at a local elementary school, especially those who suffer from A.D.D. She has developed a program entitled “ADD for Success” which focuses on areas that have proven most difficult for those who have been diagnosed with A.D.D. Using bright visuals and interactive games, she has captured the attention of children to help them with focus, comprehension organization and completion of tasks.

Mindy has partnered with CHADD, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping children and adults with A.D.D. She has chosen this partnership in hopes of impacting people across the U.S. with her “ADD Success” Program. Mindy has been instrumental with CHADD in developing a Teachers Manual to be distributed throughout the U.S. She served on a national committee of researchers and educators in this effort. Her involvement has included revisions of the manual materials, offering input to the content of the material, and interviewing local educators to solicit ideas and manual materials. The manual will educate classroom teachers on effective teaching methods for children with AD/HD.

In October 2004, Mindy participated in the CHADD International Convention held in Nashville, TN. She met renowned leaders and researchers in AD/HD. She acquired valuable knowledge to take back to the local schools and her community. Mindy’s dedication to CHADD and helping those with A.D.D. and AD/HD has been demonstrated by two fundraisers that she herself organized. Fundraiser goals included raising monies for research, increasing name recognition of CHADD and educating the public about CHADD. Results included over $1,300 raised through a silent auction; a substantial amount of publicity for the events; and educating many people during the events about CHADD and AD/HD. She is presently in the process of hosting a “No Show Dinner” with hopes of raising more funds for CHADD.

Mindy has utilized the experience and knowledge gained through her involvement with CHADD by starting a local after school mentoring program, targeting K to 5th grade. She assisted the children in learning important skills that many children, especially ones with AD/HD, never learn. These include goal setting skills, listening skills and organizational skills. She has seen direct results from time spent with these children including a drastic improvement in grades, improved handwriting skills and the development of organizational skills.

In addition to mentoring these children, Mindy has spoken to over 1,000 other elementary school children about “ADD for Success.” She has also informed many adults about the program and AD/HD through faculty meetings, organizations and civic groups. Mindy is truly dedicated and plans to continue to champion this cause. Her future goals include conducting additional fundraising for CHADD and promoting the Teachers Manual throughout educational systems in her state. Her most challenging goal is educating her college peers about AD/HD and recruiting them as mentors in the local school system. Through her recent election as Miss Auburn, Mindy will implement her mentoring program at her university.

BARBARA FRICKE

Barbara Fricke has been volunteering at the Huntsman Cancer Hospital for four and a half years. The fact that she has volunteered for that long says a lot about her dedication to service. The majority of hospital volunteers stay for one or two years, because working with cancer patients can be tough emotionally.

During her time at the hospital, she has spent most of her time in the infusion room where the patients receive their chemotherapy treatments. As a volunteer in the infusion room, Barbara is responsible for making the patients as comfortable as possible by bringing them warm blankets, drinks, snacks, and DVDs to watch during their stay. Barbara is also responsible for stocking the nurse carts with the necessary items that are used throughout the day. She is a valuable asset to the Huntsman Cancer Hospital and Institute.

In her time with Huntsman Cancer Hospital, the staff has noticed that she goes out of her way for the patients and their families. She is willing to help them physically and emotionally and has made strong friendships with the people she has encountered. She is always cheerful, pleasant and her co-workers as well as her fellow volunteers enjoy working with her. She is always willing to help.

Barbara is an ideal volunteer because her first concern is the happiness and well being of the patients. She thinks of others before herself and has often been a comfort for those in need.

THE LYDIA PROJECT, INC.

The Lydia Project provides encouragement and spiritual support to women facing a cancer diagnosis in Augusta. When the diagnosis of cancer is made, the person often feels disconnected and different from those who do not have cancer. Friends do not know what to do or say to help. Often the woman becomes isolated for this reason and the fact she does not feel well. With the diagnosis of cancer, often there is no long-term solution, only hope in the present.

Through the Lydia Project cancer patients receive a tote bag which are created stitch-by-stitch by community volunteers and given free-of-charge to any woman currently undergoing cancer treatment. These unique totes are designed to be a visible sign of spiritual support and are made possible through community contributions of fabric, trim, monogramming and the talent of volunteer seamstresses. The tote is filled with practical items and carries the message of hope to those facing this devastating illness.

The Lydia Project gives women in the community a vehicle to donate their skills and time to help other women who have cancer. The volunteers use their skills to cut and sew tote bags for cancer victims and also spend time in the office organizing volunteers or speaking engagements. The sewing and monogramming can be done at home on the volunteers’ own time. The tote becomes a symbol of the love and hope these women are sending to these recipients they do not even know. They become connected by the fact the woman sewing the tote signs a card after she has made it and it and the recipient receives this card with her tote.

Cancer will probably always be with us. The need for totes only seems to increase as the word is spread about this project. It has been a little over a year since it officially organized and yet hundreds of lives have been touched.

The notes and cards received from the recipients is evidence enough of the impact of these bags. They take the tote with them wherever they go, especially treatment. It is like taking along your best friend or security blanket. It also is an avenue to open doors for conversation with others.

The popularity of hand made bags has certainly grown in the last couple of years. The idea of women making the bags for a cause is just an expansion on their creativity. These women love to use their hands to create, and anyone can be involved. The need for emotional support is great for women and their families facing a cancer diagnosis. Often their own feelings of hope and love can change the outcome in many different ways.

No woman involved in The Lydia Project, Inc. has received a salary including the Executive Director despite the many hours worked.