TRINA BOICE
Trina Boice’s efforts to serve others are not limited to only one program; She reaches out in as many ways as she can.
Last year Boice created a character-development program for Aviara Oaks Elementary School that she named “Quest for Character.” She has involved community vendors to support the program by donating prizes each month to children who reach their goals. Children are asked to write about how they have demonstrated the selected character trait or leadership skill that the school is focusing on during each month. Parents and school staff are also involved and participate in service projects, communication exercises and a special presentation each month. Since she speaks Spanish, she has translated all of her materials to be able to involve the Hispanic families at the school. She also started a reading program for the school that is being used again this year.
Boice is very involved in both Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts as a Den Leader, Committee Chairman, and Merit Badge Counselor. Two years ago, she received a “Godsend Award” which was created just for her by the district. She has helped scouts ear their Eagle Scout Award by offering guidance for several service projects involving community clean-ups in parks and beaches, reforestation efforts, painting over graffiti, and setting up a library for a Boys & Girls Club after school program.
Because she now lives close to Camp Pendleton in California, she has expressed her thanks to military serviceman and women in deed; she was instrumental in gathering Easter baskets and Mother’s Day gift bags to the families of soldiers serving overseas. Boice’s family volunteers annually at the Military Appreciation Day in town and organized children’s activities at a “Welcome Home” picnic for battalions returning from Iraq.
When she lived in Utah she coordinated volunteers to help at Oakridge Night School for handicapped adults. College students were recruited to help teach students and offer support and encouragement. She directed a “Sub For Santa” program for the low-income community for two years there.
Boice is also very active internationally, organizing volunteers and supplies for orphanages in India, as well as for a school in Mexico. She recruits help from scouts, churches, schools, and American Mothers, Inc., who selected her as the 2004 California Young Mother of the Year. She volunteered as a full-time service missionary in Spain for 18 months and is in the process of distributing 1000 water filters overseas that were donated by an international water filter company (Multi-Pure). Boice has received the President’s Call to Service Award for over 4,000 hours of volunteer service over her lifetime.
BAKER AND HOSTETLER, LLP
Baker’s BEST program is a program designed to focus on the firm’s many community commitments to benefit Orange Center Elementary School. Through the Baker’s BEST, they have developed a partnership initiative that includes volunteer services and financial support from Baker and Hostetler.
The program first began in October of 2001. Since then the firm has done a number of advantageous projects for the children of Orange Center. The firm has provided educational field trips to the Orlando Ballet, the Orlando Science Center and the Orange County History Center. The firm has also funded in teacher appreciation parties and 160 recorders for the music program. They have also worked with the COMPACT program to assist in providing mentoring for the children of Orange Center by Jones High School students.
The 2003 – 2004 academic year began at Orange Center Elementary School with a Kick-Off function at the school for parents, students and teachers to get to know each other. The firm provided school supplies, which were donated by Orlando Magic and Payas, Payas & Payas. Baker and Hostetler also provided dinner and fun activities.
Some of the things the Baker’s BEST program provided to the Orange Center during the past school year are: 90+ Pentium – II computers and funds to purchase the necessary software for the computers. This was done in hopes of helping in FCAT preparations.
In honor of the firm’s 25th Anniversary in Central Florida, a donation of $25,000 was made to the Orange Center. In addition, there were 30 volunteers from Baker and Hostetler who provided one-on-one mentoring to the students this past year. They also participated in morning readings and Junior Achievement.
During the last holiday season, the firm sponsored a school/holiday card contest. The winner’s pictures were scanned to the front of their client holiday cards and sent out as the firm’s holiday card. In addition, the winner was given art supplies. They also sponsored an adopt-a-family project during the last holiday season. Baker and Hostetler adopted two families in need and provided food and gifts to them for the holidays. Orlando Magic tickets were also given away to teachers as incentives.
Baker and Hostetler not only bring their resources, but they also recruit others to volunteer. They reach out to their clients and friends and ask them to join the firm in their efforts to positively impact the lives of Orange Center students. Because of their tireless efforts in the community, Baker and Hostetler has been honored by the Orlando Sentinel for Outstanding Contributor in Newspapers in Education three years in a row. They also have been recognized by Orange County Public Schools, received the Children Must Count Finalist Award by the Citizen’s Commission for Children and were honored as the Outstanding Partner in Education in 2004 by the Orange County Public Schools.
FLORIDA’S HOMETOWN USA PROGRAM, INC.
Florida’s Hometown USA Program is a non-profit educational youth organization that reaches beyond the borders of its own hometown of Fruitland Park, Florida to nurture and inspire burgeoning volunteer-spirit within youth across the state. Seventeen years ago, a local educator had a vision and developed a grassroots, community youth program that focused on linking youth with volunteer activities. Today that vision has grown into a broad statewide model that continues to make a difference in the lives of children and youth of Florida, primarily through a professionally supported volunteer program aimed at assisting children to achieve their highest potential as they grow.
The mission of Florida’s Hometown USA Program, Inc. is to make a positive difference in the lives of children and youth Florida, primarily through a professional supported volunteer program and to assist them in achieving their highest potential as they grow to become more confident and caring individuals who show a commitment to volunteer work, leadership and standards of excellence. The purpose of Florida’s Hometown USA Program is to educate the youth of Florida on the values of volunteer work and inspire them to make a difference in the lives of their neighbors through volunteer commitment. The focus of the program’s volunteer work is with children, youth and the elderly offering support to those who have been abused or neglected.
The effect of Florida’s Hometown USA is of great importance because of all the good things a young person can learn from volunteering. Many of the students that have been a part of this program will continue to volunteer for years to come because of what was instilled in them at an early age. This program has worked hard to improve the gap between the young and the old and to let the elderly know they are not forgotten. It has also been a very important part in abuse shelters through visits; sharing with others and making a child feel better. There is an “Adopt a Grandparent Program” in nursing homes throughout Florida that provides care and concern for the elderly who have been abused, sometimes through neglect or those who are forgotten. Each student is assigned an elderly person to visit monthly who has not family nearby or needs special attention.
The benefit of Florida’s Hometown USA Program is to instill in young people to give back to their community. The students in this program are elementary through high school. If children are involved in volunteering at an early age and are taught to show love and concern for others, it will stay with them forever. The visit s to the elderly help brighten the day of many lonely people. Some have no family or visitors and just a smile and a hug are all they want. The entertainment for the elderly is always enjoyed and they love to sing along. Some of the residents at the nursing homes are happy just to see and talk with a young person. Giving of the gifts to the children’s hospitals teach the students to share and have compassion for others less fortunate. In this program, the youth are encouraged to take time to visit and give of their time to make someone else’s day a little brighter.
Florida’s Hometown USA Program develops, evaluates and disseminates programs that foster young people’s ethical, social, and intellectual development. While nurturing the importance of volunteer work, there is a deepened commitment of values such as kindness, helpfulness, personal responsibility and respect for others – qualities that are essential to leading productive lives in society. Many of the students that have been a part of this program have continued to volunteer for years because of what was instilled in them at an early age. Florida’s Hometown USA Program has received recognition for the positive impact and outcomes it has achieved in local communities.
MAUREEN MACMACKIN
During the past four years, Maureen MacMackin has volunteered by providing guidance and support to teen mothers in Boulder, Colorado. She works to help them graduate from high school and pursue higher education. MacMackin is a volunteer with the YWCA of Boulder County’s Teen Parent Graduation Project, which is collaboration with the Fairview High School Teen Parent Program.
MacMackin’s involvement with the Graduation Project stems from her concern and desires to help young women facing multiple challenges. She recognizes the significant responsibilities that teen endure as parents when trying to complete high school. She admires their ability to perform their everyday tasks such as taking care of their children while getting ready to catch an early morning bus to school. She is also sensitive to the hurt they feel when frequently ostracized by their peers and even their own families.
She shares in roundtable discussion groups where mentors and teen mothers explore issues such as the challenges of parenting and future goals. She introduces them to career paths and helps them to understand the educational requirements for each. She has invited program participants to her place of employment to learn about various career options in the banking industry and how they can become prepared for these various opportunities.
MacMackin has also set up mock interviews for the participants. This helps to develop their interviewing skills and build their confidence. In addition, she continues to assist by helping to find them employment.
Because of MacMackin’s volunteer service, she is demonstrating to teen parents that there are people available to help them in achieving their goals. In many cases, teen mothers do not receive support from their parents or the fathers of their children; therefore, she is providing much needed encouragement. Her program also gives the young women and opportunity to support each other.
MacMackin has been working with the Graduation Project for the past four years. Since that time, the graduation rate among participants has increased from 10 percent to 47 percent for the participants in the Project. MacMackin’s work has been a factor in this dramatic increase.
GARY BECKS
Gary Becks is the Special Assistant to Congressman Duncan Hunter. He currently works in the California District office. Becks served in Viet Nam with the Third Marines as a Med-Evac corpsman. His decorations include seven Air Medals for performance in over 140 combat missions. He is a former Fire Department Battalion Commander.
Becks is the President and founder of Rescue Task Force, a non-profit organization that has provided food, medical supplies and support to victims of natural and man-made disaters since 1988. He has personally led over fifty missions to conflictive and natural disaters zones around the globe. In addition to his extensive work in Honduras and Nicaragua he has served in El Salvador at the request of that country’s President. His service additionally has taken him to South Africa and most recently into Iraq, Burundi, Africa, Cambodia and deep into the interior of Afghanistan where he had also worked during the Soviet occupation.
Becks also sits on the Board of Trustees of World Emergency Relief – US, and he is the President of World Emergency Relief C.A., a Honduras based ONG that has delivered over $18 million (US) in manufacturer donated pharmaceuticals and medical supplies to Honduras during 2004.
Becks has worked in Washington D.C. on Congressman Hunter’s personal staff and he has served as a Senior Research Analyst for the United States House of Representatives – Republican Research Committee.
Becks is listed in the prestigious Heritage Foundation Guide To Public Policy Experts. His articles have been published in numerous magazines. His book, “But I Can Still Carry Half A Load”, narrates his exploits during the cold war.
He twice traveled to Albania and Kosovo where he delivered 14 ocean freight containers of support and help to refugees. Using ‘trains’ of burros he was a first responder with aid for isolated victims of Hurricane Mitch in Honduras, and often leads volunteer medical teams into isolated villages on the Miskito Coast that have never had contact from outsiders. Through RESCUE TASK FORCE he has delivered over $800 thousand worth of medical supplies, food and household items donated by manufacturers to medical clinics, orphans and needy families in Baja, Mexico. He has personally delivered over $2.8 million in relief aid to victims of the El Salvador earthquake. Becks’ current projects include the construction and equipping of full service medical clinics and maternity clinic deep in the jungles of La Moskitia, Honduras, providing regional Indian villages their fist ever-medical care. He also operated four Literacy Learning Centers for women inside of Afghanistan.
Gary Becks lives in Imperial Beach, California. He has three daughters and one son, and he is the proud grandfather of four grandchildren.
JENNA REED
Jenna Reed, 18, a senior at Manitou Springs High School in Manitou Springs, rescued and rebuilt a failing literacy tutoring program after it was cancelled by school officials. “Over the last 12 years I have been challenged by dyslexia, so reading has been a main part of my life,” Jenna said.
After two years of volunteering at a local site of the Children’s Literacy Center, she learned that school officials were abandoning the project. “When I began to see everything that I worked on so hard going to waste, I had to save it,” she said.
Jenna sought funding and support from community groups, attended school board meetings and lobbied for permission to restart the program. “It was hard for them to understand that a 16-year-old could accomplish this.” Finally, Manitou Springs Elementary School agreed to a trial period of one semester. Jenna persuaded the school librarian to help, then recruited 20 adult and teen volunteers to work with 15 elementary students. After one semester, tests showed that the students had advanced an average of 1½ grade levels in reading.
The program has continued and Jenna hopes it will find a permanent place in the school. “Every child that cannot read needs the same type of help I received so many years ago,” she said.
PROJECT ID
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Project ID. Read the story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.
Note: Project ID is an outreach service of Highlands United Methodist Church in Birmingham, Alabama that was recognized with the Daily Point of Light Award in 2004. The program is not affiliated with Points of Light.
Project ID is an outreach service of Highlands United Methodist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. This twice-weekly ministry assists at least 30 men, women, and children a week in need of state identification. Qualified clients are guided through the process, assisted in filling out appropriate forms and are provided financial assistance for obtaining their birth certificate and state issued identification or driver’s license.
Many of Project ID’s clients are homeless men, women, and children who must prove their identity to stay in shelters. Many of Project ID’s clients are young people who must have positive ID to be a part of drug treatment programs. Many of Project ID’s clients are men and women who have just been released from prison and need assistance in finding the means to reestablish them in society. Many of Project ID’s clients wish to work and must have a state-issued identification card to do so. Project ID, in providing birth certificated enables to children to start school and low-income families to obtain affordable housing.
Through a relationship with the State Department of Public Safety, the Jefferson County License Office as well as the State and County Department of Health, the volunteers of Project ID are able to assist people who need their birth certificate, social security cards, and other forms of identification, so that they may receive a state ID card or driver’s license.
Project ID has in a very short period of time developed a reputation for giving people one of the basic tools they need to connect to the larger community, to seek gainful employment, to further their education and to become more productive members of our society.
A team of 15 dedicated volunteers work to raise funds for Project ID, assists clients in understanding the process of receiving an ID and fills out the necessary paper work. Project ID assists 1,600 people each year in obtaining ID’s with a budget of $45,000.00.
Clients of the Project ID program are referred by the Salvation Army, United Way Agencies, communities of faith, area shelters, local schools, and substance abuse programs.
Do you want to make a difference in your community? Find local volunteer opportunities.
KASIE BETH ECKMAN
Kasie Beth Eckman, 17, a member of the Girl Scout Council of Middle Mississippi in Jackson and a junior at McComb High School, designed an abduction-prevention program that has taught thousands of kids in her area how to react when approached by strangers.
In the summer of 2002, Kasie Beth was struck by the number of news reports she saw about child abductions – not only in big cities, but in small towns like hers as well. “I was sure that if we gave children the knowledge to protect themselves, they could avoid being abducted,” she said.
After a lot of brainstorming with friends, Kasie Beth began developing a series of lessons, including materials, a program song and a mascot. She sought permission from school administrators to recruit and train 29 high school students to be instructors, and raised more than $3,000 to cover costs. Kasie Beth’s course, called STICK (for “Smart Thinking in Courageous Kids”) was delivered to more than 2,000 elementary school students the first year, and was so successful that Kasie Beth is hoping to expand it throughout Mississippi.
AARON MEANS
Aaron Means is a full-time employee of IBM. As a corporate volunteer, he donated 20% of his time (over 400 hours) over the past year toward facilitating IBM’s wide-ranging support for education in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS).
IBM currently supports at least 15 key initiatives. In particular, Means has been instrumental in the launch and growth of the Computer Access to Neighborhood (CAN) program, which provides computers, technology tutoring and safe after school space for students in Charlotte’s most fragile and economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. Through the CAN program, students isolated by poverty gain connection to technology skills and to a wider world trough the Internet, two powerful abilities unavailable to them without CAN’s assistance.
Means has been an essential part of setting up IBM-donated computer equipment in the 43 community-hosted CAN sites. IBM has renewed its continued commitment to CAN because of its measurable impact: 3,300 hours of usage at CAN sites, up 32% over the year before; a nearly double pass rate on the mandatory NC Test of Computer Skills for CAN participants compared to non-CAN students; service to over 1,400 unique individuals through CAN since the program’s inception; and a CAN participant expected growth rate of 12%.
In addition to CAN, Means has led IBM’s participation in innovative applications of technology to education initiatives. For example, IBM provided a $2 million grant in 2004 to foster collaboration between teachers and IBM software engineers. The result was an application to increase teacher-parent-student communication. Another IBM-led initiative was the creation of a “Learning Village” that enables teachers to work together online to develop lessons, share practices, and provide professional development opportunities. The Learning Village grew through IBM grants to partner two universities with CMS to train pre-service and lateral entry teachers. An outgrowth of that technology led to the “Mentor Place”, which used IBM-created virtual space to link corporate volunteers and government leaders to CMS students in need of mentors.
Means works closely with CMS’s Office of Strategic Partnership to understand the areas of need within CMS schools. Using his 30-year background with IBM, Aaron then recommends opportunities for partnership based on CMS’s need and IBM’s strengths. Means is also able to use his network of contacts within IBM’s vast organization to help CMS connect with the right people for the task. Whether by advocating grants and funding, by working hands-on at CAN sites to set up workstations in fragile and disadvantaged neighborhoods, or by connecting IBM experts with visionary educators at CMS, Means enables initiative to happen that would be unlikely without his intervention.
MERCY LEARNING CENTER TUTORIAL PROGRAM
Mercy Learning Center, founded in 1987, is a non-sectarian, basic literacy and life skills training program for low-income women (primarily mothers) who read at a level between 0 and 8th grade. The Center operates two core programs during the year from September to June, a full time Intensive Study Program and a part time one-on-one tutoring program, at no cost to the student.
With the help of over 140 trained volunteer reading and/or math tutors, the Center reaches over 250 women from the greater Bridgeport, Connecticut area. Each dedicated volunteer meets with his/her student(s) twice weekly for two-hour sessions. The program curriculum consists of reading, writing, speaking, spelling, math and map skills taught in a one-on-one or small group setting. Instruction is conducted with the goal of preparing students to enter Mercy Learning Center’s GED program and/or develop employability skills that will allow them to enter a job market to which they have previously had only a marginal attachment.
The students enrolled in Mercy Learning Center’s tutoring program come from over 43 countries and speak over 23 different languages. Many of them have come to the United States to escape dangers in their country of origin or in search of a better life for their children.
Bridgeport, Connecticut, is a 16-square-mile urban city located in Fairfield County with a population of 139,529. Of the women who enter this program, many of them exist at or below the poverty level. Those who are employed hold jobs such as housekeepers, home health aides, or waitresses. Because of the success and confidence gained in this tutoring program, many students have earned U.S. citizenship status, become better advocates for their children’s need in school, received their GED and pursued higher education at the local community college and beyond, or taken on roles as neighborhood leaders.
From retired schoolteachers to homemakers to business professionals, the Center’s volunteer tutors are people of varied backgrounds and ages. Ed is a local executive who has a desire to give back to the community. Marlene, a young university professor, delights in teaching two classes of 15 students who are just learning to speak English. Jan, a retired school administrator, is a cancer survivor who vowed to help others when she regained her health. Edna, who has served the Center for over 17 years, faithfully arrives on Tuesday and Friday mornings, even though she is in her mid-eighties.
These are only a sampling of the many devoted volunteers who enthusiastically motivate the adult learners educated in the tutoring program. Their common interest is a conviction to support Mercy Learning Center’s mission to live its motto, “Educate a woman, educate a family.” It is their collective desire to give of their time and energy in an effort to break the cycle of poverty by promoting literacy in the community. Such a fine group of generous individuals are living examples of good citizenship and are a tribute to promoting diversity in our country.
