WISHFUL THINKING

Wishful Thinking was formally organized in 2002 as a nonprofit organization. All funding is though private donations and grants. “All volunteers all the time” correlates to close to 97 percent of all money that comes in is earmarked for direct use to our clients.

Wishful Thinking’s current projects:

Sole Support collects and distributes new shoes and sneakers to kids in foster care throughout Los Angeles County. Since its inception Sole Support has distributed thousands of pairs of shoes. Additionally, over 100 new prom dresses were distributed to dependency kids last year and just under 100 this year. Kids come with their caretakers and get to choose a gown of their liking from the collection we are able to amass each Spring. We are looking forward to repeating this effort again in 2006. Over 24,000 trendy t-shirts have been distributed to kids over the last two years.

The Starfish Project grants wishes to kids in foster care, simply because they ask. There is no need for sickness or imminent death to get something, These are kids who have had very little opportunity in their short lives. Some of the experiences the project has been able to offer are: limousine transportation for a kid’s birthday while hospitalized at Metropolitan State Hospital, tickets for Disneyland, tickets to meet and greet stars at NBA games and WWF Wrestling, participating in a high school band’s trip to the Rose Bowl, a foster youth’s reunification with an adult sibling in India, computers for high school achievers and visits to TV and movie sets to meet the stars and see a behind the scenes look at filmmaking.

The Education Advocacy Project has a core group of volunteers helping low income and foster youth who have been denied access to an appropriate education. Training workshops are held to help broaden knowledge and empower child welfare professionals and parents. This project receives referrals from local mental health providers, and agencies such as, Court Appointed Special Advocaates, Public Counsel, schools, Department of Children and Family Services, Deparment of Mental Health and others aware of Wishful Thinking’s effectiveness.

The GAL Work – Legal Advocacy represents the interests of children in a variety of matters not related to Dependency Court where the appointment of a lawyer is not necessary. Some services offered include representing kids education issues and settling trust account issues ranging from five hundred dollars to over six figure amounts.

The Founder, Michael Ludin, is a member of the Los Angeles Superior Court’s 317E Tort Reform Committee and the 317E Panel For Educational Matters is pictured above.

SAL UCCELLO

Sal Uccello joined the Disabled American Veterans in 1955 and became a lifetime member in 1961. As a DAV member he volunteered in Connecticut for many years prior to retiring in 1987. Upon his retirement he started volunteering full time for the DAV – many times spending his days off, weekends and money. His wife and two sons now speak fondly about the many times they waited for their father to finish helping a veteran.

In 1987, he was appointed Hospital Service Coordinator/DAV Service Officer at the VAMC Newington Connecticut facility. Word quickly got out in the veterans community about the new DAV service officer. They knew he would never take a break, have lunch or leave at the end of the day if a veteran was waiting. If a veteran had a problem, he would not hesitate to make every effort to correct it or contact the Medical Center Staff.

During the winter of 1987 he started the first “ Disabled Veterans Skiing Program” in Connecticut. For the first time 19 disabled veterans from Connecticut went skiing in Vermont. This was not easy. He had to convince VA Medical staff to support the program and he had to raise funds from the community. For the next seven years, under his supervision the veterans skiing program in Connecticut grew. Many of the veterans now state how this program changed their lives for the better.

During the time he served the DAV at the VA Newington he received many awards, honors and recognition. The Medical Center Director gave him a plaque in 1998 for his dedication to the veteran patients. At the 1989 fall meeting of the Department of Connecticut, DAV he was recognized as DAV Member of the year. Again in 1989, the VAMC Newington presented him with an honor of outstanding volunteer.

His biggest honor came after he resigned and moved to West Palm Beach. The Governor of Connecticut invited him back to the state to go skiing with him. And the Governor presented him with a proclamation for his service to the veterans with special recognition for the “Connecticut Handicapped Ski Program” that he started and had chaired for seven years.

In 1994 he was appointed the first DAV Hospital Service Coordinator to the new VAMC West Palm Beach, Florida. Over the next months he set the standard for new VAVS representatives by attending DAV Chapter meetings in the seven counties serviced by the soon-to-be opened Medical Center. Before he arrived in 1994, the veterans’ transportation for the VA Rivera Outpatient Clinic consisted of one 15-year-old station wagon and a few veterans driving their own cars carrying veterans. By attending chapter meetings and speaking with veterans he found out transportation was a big problem. With only 10 months before the opening of the Medical Center, he started the DAV Transportation Program.

In just a few months working with DAV Chapters, Veterans Organizations, volunteers, VA staff and officials in the seven counties, he had several DAV vans donated. He recruited, signed up and trained volunteer drivers, established routes, pick up times and set up safe places in each county to park the vans. When the Medical Center opened some veterans without transportation took Tri-Rail. The train station is several miles away from the facility and many veterans could not afford the cost of a taxi. From early morning, to the last train leaving, every week day, each train that arrives or leaves the station has a DAV van waiting with a DAV driver on the platform. His goal was “ No veteran or patient will be without transportation.”

CONGREGATION BETH TORAH

Many religious organizations require their congregation’s youth to volunteer for several hours. However, the youth of Congregation Beth Torah have a totally different idea. They volunteer in their community on a regular basis not because they have to, but because they want to volunteer.

Congregation Beth Torah’s school curriculum is based on three core values: God, Worship, and Acts of Loving Kindness. Through these values, youth feel a balance in their life. Beginning in pre-kindergarten and continuing through college, youth are given countless opportunities to serve their community.

The youth of Congregation Beth Torah serve their community in many ways.

A few of these include: Organizing fundraisers to provide financial assistance to people and organizations, Being counselors at children’s camp, Collecting and donating things such as games, art supplies, socks and more than two tons of food, Hosting holiday parties, Performing plays, Lobbying for social justice causes, Making and delivering cookies for working firefighters, every year on Christmas Day.

It’s true that Congregation Beth Torah benefits from the service that these youth provide, as do many organization in the community.

A handful of these organizations include: Pets for Life, Jewish Family & Children’s Services, Hadassah Hospital, Tsunami Relief, Camp Rainbow, a camp for children with serious illnesses, Grand Avenue Church, Rose Brooks Domestic Violence Shelter, Village Shalom, Yachad Kosher Food Pantry, Harvesters, Start, a homeless shelter for families.

For the 350 youth in Congregation Beth Torah, volunteering does not seem like a big deal. It is just a part of life. However, between fundraisers, collect and donated projects, performances, and lobbying, the youth of Congregation Beth Torah have done and continue to do amazing things in their community. Beyond any group I have ever met, they are most deserving of this award.

RUTH ANN BLAIR

Ruth Ann Blair has been with the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) since July 2000. Her positive outlook, amazing energy and giving spirit takes her from one end of the county to the other, volunteering at several agencies and helping with many programs throughout the community. In her four and one half years with RSVP, she has donated over 1,792 hours of volunteering service tutoring elementary children, assisting staff and senior clients at an Area on Aging agency and supporting the local arts by ushering during community theater and symphony events. Ruth Ann has greeted patients and visitors at one of our major hospitals, sold coffee and rolls at our county airport to raise funds for special programs, planted petunias along our main thoroughfare and assisted many other nonprofit agencies with bulk mailings, fund raisers, senior fairs, health fairs and other community events. When Ruth Ann is not out in the community volunteering, she is at home knitting items for our Helping Hands program, which area agencies distribute to people in need.

Ruth Ann’s enthusiasm and ambition has inspired others to get involved in volunteering through RSVP and she can often be found volunteering in the community with these friends. Ruth Ann continues to be a proponent for volunteerism by serving on the Retired and Senior Volunteer Advisory Committee. Her invaluable insight gives direction to RSVP, helping create new programs to address the needs of the seniors in our community, such as our Senior Safety Trio. Her creative imagination also lends a fun and innovative slant to new ways of recognizing our volunteers at luncheons and our annual recognition events.

Ruth Ann has a talent of bringing light into any room she enters and a smile to every person she meets. Her illuminating outlook heartens the same response from others, which served as a vital element during a community mock disaster she recently worked. The one skill of Ruth Ann’s that has personally touched many people is her knitting ability. Her specialty is layettes for premature infants however, as with her community volunteering, the items she creates addresses a variety of needs. She regularly contributes slippers and sweaters for children; lap robes for the sick and elderly; afghans for shelters, displaced homemakers and families in transition; baby blankets, bonnets and booties for newborns; and angel blankets for mourning parents to wrap around their little ones who have passed away. Ruth Ann also supports annual Helping Hands drives by knitting hats, scarves and mittens for our Hat and Mitten Drive; slippers for Muskegon County Head Start children to wear in the classroom in the event they forget their shoes; and creates outfits to dress up Teddy Bears which are distributed during the Christmas season. Ruth Ann also made lap robes in a recent Helping Hands initiative for wounded soldiers returning from Iraq. The collection of lap robes was sent to the American Red Cross in Washington, D.C. who delivered them to Walter Reed Army Medical Center for distribution.

EUGENE BRUDNO

Eugene Brudno’s JFSA volunteer career began almost four decades ago while parenting a daughter with mental illness and grand parenting a grandson with disabilities. Because the mental health field had not offered Eugene the necessary support, he realized that he needed to find and connect with other families who were parenting children with mental illness to offer emotional support, as well as to seek out and provide the best quality of programs and services available for their children.

Eugene is the co-founder of the Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Metro Cleveland (AMI), a local branch of the national organization dedicated to providing referral, educational, support and political advocacy to people and families experiencing mental illness. His desire to reach out to this special population makes him accessible to parents twenty-four hours a day, who struggle with the fears and uncertainties of having a child diagnosed with mental illness. He is a requested speaker at AMI-Metro programs, and in the community. For the past seventeen years at JFSA, Eugene has led a weekly support group for parents of adult children with mental illness. He is also co-founder of LINKS Clubhouse, a consumer drop-in center; the Wieder-Silver Manor, a subsidized apartment building; and PLAN of Northeast Ohio, an organization designed to continue to meet the needs of adult children with mental illness when their parents or caretakers pass away.

Eugene’s passion, vision and commitment to remove the stigma associated with people with mental illness permit him to be outspoken about his quest for helping people with mental illness, overcoming such challenges as connecting with families in the community that had children with mental illness and purchasing a house with his own money where children would have a caretaker to provide for their special needs.

Social policy arising from a lack of parity in mental health benefits led Eugene to network with the state chapter of NAMI in Wisconsin to lobby in Washington, D.C. for better health services and laws for people with mental illness. Through his unceasing efforts, the number of lobbyists grew from the initial twelve to 1,500 individuals that work hard to provide the best care for their children with mental illness. To address the ongoing nature of dealing with relatives who have adult children with mental illness, Eugene is the support group facilitator at JFSA, where he directs his energy towards giving positive reinforcement and confidence, understanding and compassion to everyone. Eugene and his wife, Irene, established a JFSA staff scholarship program for graduate study.

Eugene continues to defy age and health issues as he rises each morning accepting that his life will always revolve around seeking the latest information about mental illness and implementing state-of-the-art programs and services for families experiencing the daily struggles of mental illness. That challenge is what keeps Eugene sharp, focused, outspoken, passionate, respected and loved by all who know him. At eighty-six years young, Eugene truly exemplifies the true spirit of volunteerism in every facet of its definition. Without fail, he offers genuine support and guidance to families who ask him for assistance. Always with humility and with an ever-present humanitarian commitment, Eugene consistently goes way beyond his service description of helping people overcome obstacles, building bridges between people of all backgrounds and mental/physical status, and encouraging community organizations to embrace mental illness with compassion and understanding.

ALISON CRAIG

Most of us look forward to our Sunday afternoons to recuperate from the week while taking our Sunday naps, but not the “Reading Lady”! Alison Craig finds herself at the Observation and Assessment (O&A) Unit of Utah’s Juvenile Justice Services in Springville, Utah with her “kids,” encouraging them to read and write.

About five years ago, Alison, along with her daughter, volunteered to do a book drive that would start a library at the O&A Unit. Alison and her daughter had a very successful book drive, collecting over 900 books. When Alison brought in the books, she was so excited by the teens’ reactions to the books that she wanted to continue volunteering. For the past three years, Alison has been a weekly volunteer at O&A. The staff at the O&A center states, “Alison is one of the few volunteers that comes regularly each week with a smile, and when she can’t make it, she actually gets a substitute.”

Alison shows up every Sunday to spend several hours with the youth she calls her friends. She spends 10-12 hours on a monthly basis in the center, and she spends time each week finding books to use for the Sunday activity and for the kids to read during the week. Her weekly visits include a fun activity that involves reading and writing, and she writes a personal note to each of the youth every week and encourages them to write back to her. One Sunday will be Dr. Seuss Day, with each of the teens choosing a Dr. Seuss book for the group to read aloud together. Another day the kids will learn about Braille, the writing system for the blind. After reading aloud a picture-book biography of Louis Braille, the youth will try writing in Braille. Still another day will be poetry day where the kids choose a poem to read aloud, and each teen will be encouraged to write a poem.

Alison’s background is in reading and writing. She has always been a voracious reader, and she has taught writing for 20 years at Brigham Young University (BYU); for the last six years, she has taught legal writing at BYU’s J. Reuben Clark Law School. In her spare time, she loves to spend time with her family, she enjoys traveling, and she has recently earned her first-degree black belt in taekwondo, Korean karate.

In November of 2003, Alison began Heifer International’s Read to Feed program with the youth in O&A. Heifer works to alleviate world hunger by providing animals and training for families in need to end the cycle of food shortage and build self-reliance. The Read to Feed program encourages children to raise money through sponsored reading to purchase the animals. Alison’s extended family and other community members donated $1,000 to sponsor the teens in the Read to Feed program.

When Alison introduced the Read to Feed to the teens, they were excited to learn that they could do something that could save the lives of people in other parts of the world. The youth chose to pool their efforts and set a goal of purchasing four milk-producing animals to help families in need. Alison set up the program so that each of the youth could participate to the same degree. All teens can earn $10 during the week by reading for 100 minutes, about 20 minutes a day for 5 days. Those who read more are praised but don’t earn more money.

Alison and her family have sponsored the kids in the Read to Feed project again this year with exciting results. Even the teens who are reluctant readers join in because they want to help families in need. When a new girl came into O&A some weeks after the Read to Feed program had started, the girl reported that she hadn’t read during the week, apparently not having understood the program. One of the boys chided her, “You won’t even read to help a poor family in the world be able to get an animal?” After Alison explained the program to her again, she began reading every week.

Recently Alison applied for grant money to continue the Read to Feed project. She would like to be able to have the kids do the Read to Feed program all year round. Not only does it motivate the teens to read, it helps their self-esteem so much—they learn that they can do something good in the world.

Several times a year, Alison and the youth clean out the library, sorting the books, labeling any new books (as part of a simple cataloging system), fixing books, and getting rid of ruined books. She continues to donate books to the center and encourages others to donate as well. She tries to find out each teen’s hobbies and interests to direct them to books they will enjoy.

One of Alison’s nephews has created a website where the teens’ poetry, drawings, and short stories are published: www.hoodles.com/writestuff. The kids are motivated to write by the opportunity to publish online and are also motivated by the idea that what they have to say is valued and of interest to others.

Alison loves her Sunday afternoons and enjoys getting the kids reading and writing. She cherishes a note from a boy who was leaving the center after his 60-day stay. He told her that before he came to O&A, he hadn’t read two books in his “whole life.” He left O&A having read seven books and comments, “now I don’t hate reading I really like it and its interesting thanks a lot.” What better thanks could she receive? Her thanks is knowing that by teaching a child to read, she is helping change the world.

BETTY JO HARVEY

Routinely serving others 700+ hours a month and often on 24 hour call, Betty Jo Harvey seldom waits to be contacted. She appears on the doorstep of the American Red Cross office ready to work. She is there in the middle of the night, when a family feels so alone after losing their home to a fire. She is there to teach babysitting classes, to educate teenagers about HIV, to assist in the search for a missing child, to offer comfort to hurricane victims. With her “thunder buckets” she teaches children storm safety averaging 3,000 presentations a year to first grade students throughout 16 counties. She teaches disaster classes and when a senior citizen collapsed at “Taste of the Town” in Wichita Falls, she was there to administer First Aid. You’ll find her at the Hotter-N-Hell Hundred, the Red Cross/Kiwanis Golf Tournament, organizing supplies at the American Red Cross Office or at emergency management meetings.

As a grieving nation watched in horror as the Space Ship Columbia disintegrated over the skies of North Texas, she was there. She worked bedside the search and rescue teams, bandaging the wounds of the National Guardsmen, offering comfort as they picked up the pieces of the space shuttle. It was quickly apparent that her skills as a mental health nurse would be invaluable. Day after day she accompanied the morticians and the Honor Guard to sites of the remains of an astronaut. At each site, she was a participant in the memorial services and she accompanied the solemn processional as the remains were returned to NASA officials.

She has offered nursing expertise to many disasters as far away as the Virgin Islands. She has the distinctive title, NURSE SPECIALIST and has a crucial supervisory role in times of national disaster. She always encourages others to volunteer. She is very adaptable and can readily step into the shoes of staff members, serving as back up Disaster Director. Betty Jo is always there making sure that all bases are covered. To the staff of the American Red Cross, she is a friend, a mentor and a “mother.”

She has touched someone in each of the 16 counties served by the American Red Cross and her spirit of volunteerism has taken her far from home and family. She always has a smile for everyone she meets and a genuine gift of gab, which could easily put the most frightened family at ease.

She never seeks recognition for her deeds but is content to work quietly in the background knowing that she has truly made a difference. The motto of the American Red Cross is “THERE WHEN YOU NEED US” and Betty Jo Harvey is always there for us.

MARGARET BANKS

Margaret Banks, age 74, has been a resident of Pottstown Borough in Montgomery County, PA for the last 50 years and believes wholeheartedly that you need to get involved in your community as a volunteer to make it a better place for everyone to live. Margaret joined the Foster Grandparent Program (FGP) in November of 1997 when the program received an expansion grant to serve the Pottstown community. She was immediately instrumental in recruiting 15 other low-income seniors to join the Foster Grandparent Program.

Here is a list of her community volunteering: She has served on the Borough of Pottstown Town Watch for 15 years and has served as a co-captain for the last three.

She is in her ninth year of volunteering in a Head Start Class for the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program as a “Lucky Reader” which is part of a family literacy project.

She is in her seventh year of volunteering with the FGP serving 5 hours daily in a second Head Start class.

She has volunteered for the last 3 years as an after-school tutor for the Pottstown School District.

She has continued to assist in recruiting other low income seniors in Pottstown to join the Foster Grandparent Program.

For four years she has been a part of the Family Services’ Families & Schools Together (FAST) Program, a family strengthening program.

She works at the polls every election as a machine operator.

She is an Assistant Scout Leader for a Daisy Troop (younger Girl Scouts).

For the last six years she has served on the Advisory Board of Ricketts Community Center, which provides age appropriate activities that encourage the physical, educational and social development of all citizens of Pottstown.

She is a board member of the Genesis Housing Corporation, an organization that provides affordable home ownership throughout Montgomery County by offering counseling around budgeting, understanding credit and the home buying process. Genesis also does renovation of homes for new homebuyers.

She was a member of the committee for the Continuing Celebration of Pottstown’s 250 year Anniversary event with the grand finale on July 4th.

She is currently helping to have a petition signed to lower Pottstown’s school taxes.

She serves as a distributor of flyers/pamphlets door to door to publicize public meetings around various community issues and needs.

In 1998, Margaret received the Joyce Reddick Award given by the Pottstown YMCA as part of their Black Heritage Celebration to “individuals who have reached beyond the call of duty in their home, church and/or community.” In 2004, Margaret was also honored as a Pottstown Community Leader by the Walnut Street Community Seventh-Day Adventist Church. In 2004 she received the 2004 Spirit of Service Award given by the Corporation for National and Community Service to volunteers who exemplify the difference a volunteer can make in their communities.

LAURA E. GRAY

Laura was first exposed to volunteerism through Brownies, filling Easter Eggs for a local nursing home. She has continued to contribute to our community for a variety of organizations. Laura is very involved in Girl Scouts and for every activity, there is a service project. Laura has volunteered at our county humane shelter, made toy bags for children in hospitals, made and donated stuffed animals and quilts to nursing homes and women’s shelters.

Our school corporation is making a memorial butterfly garden for students and staff that have passed away. Laura made and donated a butterfly quilt to be auctioned off to raise money for the project. She has eagerly participated in selling concessions and other moneymaking projects for her school. The wide range of her consistent volunteerism continues as she has worked benefit bake sales, piano recitals, and the Rotary Follies. Whenever there is a good cause and Laura is able to help out, she does without even thinking about it.

Through the People to People Student Ambassador Program, Laura did service projects in California including digging and clearing out fire trenches in Yosemite National Park. She also learned about Operation Iraqi Children, a program that sent school kits to children in Iraq. Laura collected supplies and sent 6 kits, which several weeks later she saw on the CNN Network being delivered by U.S. Soldiers. What a joy it was for her to see such a positive outcome!

Laura’s commitment extends to church involvement. This past summer Laura put on puppet shows for VBS for five nights based on Bible stories. At the end of the week, she put on one long show combining all five stories. Laura wrote all her scripts and did all the performing herself. It was a huge amount of work, but the children loved them and her pastor was very grateful for Laura’s time and effort.

To conclude, I must say that although Laura has not devoted all of her time to one cause, she has helped so many more people and animals by making herself available to anyone who has a need that she feels she can meet. Laura has accomplished so much in her 13 years that it gives me hope that she along with others like her will try their best to ensure a better and brighter future for our community, country and world.

BLAIR RILEY

Blair became interested in volunteerism and leadership as a senior in high school when she was selected to represent her local National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA). She was then selected to represent Georgia on the National Youth Leadership Council (NYLC) and became the first alternate to the NYLC spokesperson. While in this position, Blair traveled extensively throughout Georgia and other states to promote this program and represent young people across the country. She has volunteered with the NRECA’s Youth Tour for six years as a participant and as a volunteer staff member. Today, Blair still works to develop youth leaders by promoting the importance of volunteer service.

Throughout her college career, Blair has been involved in many volunteer and leadership organizations. As a 4-year member of the University Honors Program, she was required to complete 50 hours of community service for her first two years in the program. Blair far exceeded the required 50 hours. She worked with the Ronald McDonald House Charities by implementing a variety of service projects for the charity. She also volunteered at the Sallie Zetterower Elementary School, where she helped develop a more effective character education program. She designed a school bulletin board that highlighted character education theme and created and organized a “Character Education Library” that contained books for checkout. For this project, she was awarded the Georgia Southern University Honors Program Community Service Award.

When Blair’s grandmother came to live with her and her family, Blair’s realized that her county did not provide 911 services to its residents. She developed a program to help remedy this problem, (B.E.S.A.F.E.) Best Efforts in Spreading Awareness Facts and Education. This program was largely successful and in 2004, legislation was passed to mandate access to 911 systems in every Georgia County. While implementing this program, Blair became a volunteer for the American Red Cross and the U.S. Citizen Corp. and worked with local emergency response agencies to increase preparedness and with all age groups to stress the importance of disaster preparedness/response.

As a registered volunteer with Georgia Southern University’s Office of Volunteer Service and a registered volunteer with U.S. Freedom Corps., Blair has been recognized numerous times for her contributions in volunteer services. She has received the GSU Leadership/Service Award, the UHP Outstanding Community Servant Award, the prestigious Macon Telegraph Golden Eagle Award in the area of citizenship and Who’s Who’s Among American Colleges and Universities.

Blair’s most recent volunteer and fundraising efforts have benefited the Alzheimer’s’ Association. She is currently working with a local Georgia state representative to design a license plate for the state of Georgia that will raise funds for Alzheimer’s disease research and programs. Teaming with local chapters of the Alzheimer’s’ Association, Blair hopes to increase participation in fundraisers one in particular Memory Walk, raise awareness about the Maintain Your Brain campaign and promote the goals and ideas of the Alzheimer’s Association.