ARCHBISHOP RUMMEL OPERATION HEAD START

Archbishop Rummel Operation Head Start is a service learning organization of approximately 80 young men that follow the motto, “Loving people so much that we work to change the structures that violate their dignity,” and carry this out by developing several service projects for at-risk groups in the area.

For the past 11 years, this Head Start program has helped at-risks groups overcome various obstacles. The volunteers interact with this group throughout the year to provide attention to their specific situations. Some of the activities may include bringing books to Head Start children as Christmas presents, reading to the children and planning a Christmas party. The volunteers also help terminally ill children and their families and work with Alzheimer and stroke patients.

The group arranges sportsmanship clinics to help play a sport for enjoyment and not only for the competition. At the end of the year, they hold a Recognition Ceremony to celebrate all the accomplishments from the past year. Members plan all activities including selecting books to read to the children as well as follow up activities like presentations or visits from costumed characters.

The impact can be seen in the longevity of the program and the reflections of the members. The volunteers use innovative ways to reach out to a group who is so often left behind. Helping to give these children a successful head start will result in solving the specific social problems. The activities are not only fun, but they also stimulate their intellect and personal growth.

WALT ROOT

“Leave no stone unturned,” is Walt Root’s motto. Root is retired and spends every weekday trying to secure dental and other health related resources for low-income and poverty level children. Once he gets a program started in one community, he is off working to bring that program to other areas. Diapers, eyeglasses and teeth are his focus. When Root learns of a need related to assisting children with health issues, that becomes his next project. “There are just so many children that need this kind of assistance,” Root is prone to say, and “We simply need to get them the services.” Root is constantly moving forward with new ideas to help children.

Poor children have five times the dental diseases of children not living in low-income families. With this knowledge, Root began “Good Neighbor Children’s Medical & Dental Charity” to provide free dental services for underserved students in the Salt Lake City School District who do not have access to dental care. Root arranges dental screening s in schools where 60 – 70 percent of the students are living in poverty. Many of these students are refugees and illegal immigrants.

When Root first started his dental program, he would drive students, in a van he donated, to their dental appointments. Since then, Root has worked with the school district to get an in-school clinic set up, complete with donated equipment and manned by local dentists who donate their time. The clinic always has more children needing dental services than they can accommodate – dental disease is the most common chronic health problem among children in Utah. 3,000 children receive a dental screening each year through Root’s efforts. Since he started the program in 1996 over 20,000 children have received dental care they otherwise would not have access to. Root also helps get eyeglasses for children in need, and has recently started a program giving diapers to low-income families.

JULIA MYRICK

Studies reveal that children with involved parents are more likely to succeed academically and have increased social skills. They also indicate that parents do not always know how to help their children. With this as a platform Julia Myrick created a study skills program, Read, Organize, Study Skills (ROSS) a little more than two years ago. ROSS is a tool that enables parents to help their children with homework.

Myrick has presented ROSS to parents, teachers and students throughout the state of Virginia strictly as a volunteer. Whenever she receives monetary donations or gifts, she donates them to the national PTA of which she is a member. In addition to presenting ROSS to these entities, Myrick has made the program available through her website: www.juliamyrick.com. She also shares her personal story as a struggling student and tells of her success in graduating from college with an education degree.

Myrick has continued her work with parents as a partner for Virginia Governor Warner’s Partnership for Successful Schools (PASS) Program. PASS is an educational initiative in Virginia that focuses on three specific areas: healthcare for children, alignment of businesses with education and parental involvement in education. PASS Partner volunteers support the program through one of the core areas. Myrick worked with parents through motivational speaking and giving ROSS seminars. This led to her selection one year later to the Governor’s Fellows Program where she worked for two months in the Governor’s Office in Richmond, Virginia as a PASS spokesperson and volunteer. She helped to orchestrate a parent incentives program in Richmond and is presently assisting the Governor’s Office with parent rallies and a parent’s day in Virginia.

Myrick is an advocate for parents in education. In 2004, she lobbied in Richmond, the Committee on Commerce and Labor, in favor of Senate Bill 27, a parental leave time from work bill. That bill passed.

Myrick has made great strides in meeting critical needs in her community. Her work focuses on schools not meeting the No Child Left Behind law and realizes she is only one piece of the puzzle; however, it takes all the pieces to complete the puzzle. Myrick also volunteers with the Reading Enhances All Children (REACH) organization where she reads once a month to children in homeless shelters.

DAVID AND CAROL MARQUARDT

David and Carol Marquardt have volunteered at Wyalusing State Park since fall of 2002. They began by questioning why one of their favorite hiking trails (Flint Ledge) had been closed for over two years. The answer was that heavy rains had washed out and over the trail, budget cuts prevented having manpower to clean up and reopen the trail. Fall of 2002 and spring of 2003 were spent reconstructing Flint Ledge Trail, supporting the downhill side of the trail with 2×8’s and re-bar and digging out the up side to create a level trail surface.

In fall of 2003, the Marquardts began working on the Sugar Maple Nature Trail which suffered from erosion and years of neglect. They inserted water bars at a 45-degree angle across the trail every 25 to 40 feet as needed to divert water off the trail, leveled the hiking surface and finished the trail with a layer of gravel. When they arrived in April 2004, the Park Superintendent asked if they would mind working on areas more visible and utilized by the elderly and handicapped visitors.

The Park is high on the bluff and has three significant viewing areas over the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers that were built by the CCC many years ago. Years of budget cuts and lack of personnel left the blacktop walkways and rock stairways and to these viewing areas in sad shape and made it difficult for less agile visitors to the Park to get from the parking lots to these look out points. The rock stairway to Treasure Cave, one of the Park’s most visited areas, was almost dangerous. The Marquardts repaired walkways with either cold patch or field stone, removed the dangerous portion of the rock stairway to Treasure Cave, stabilized that base and re-cemented the stairs, and created railroad tie stairs on the return trail from Treasure Cave to Point Lookout.

Since the summers are too hot for this type of physical labor for the couple, they are looking forward to returning to Wyalusing after Labor Day for six to eight weeks (weather permitting) of trail work.

David is an active member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Burns Post #388 and Honor Guard participating at military funerals, helping as needed for Bingo and the monthly Steak Fry, preparing the VFW Burns Post # 388 quarterly newsletter, operating the food stand for the VFW for the Wausau Kayak and Canoe events and helping operate the food stand for the week of the Wisconsin Valley Fair. He is also on the Board of Directors for the Wausau Kayak and Canoe Association and Wausau Youth Baseball helping both organizations as needed.

Carol is member of the VFW Auxiliary but her participation is directly related to David, working at the food stand for the Kayak and Canoe events and for the Fair, helping at the Steak Fry when needed and helping with the newsletter. Carol also volunteers with Comfort Care and Hospice Services in Wausau.

KATHLEEN OVERHOLT

Kathleen Overholt has been an important part of getting the Elkhart County Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) up and running. She found out about the MRC back in 2003 at a Homeland Security Conference in Michigan. She then brought the idea back to Elkhart County and pursued the idea until it became a reality in March 2004. She helped to recruit an advisory board and promote the idea in the community to get support.

She has helped to coordinate the pilot school physical program for the Elkhart County MRC and assisted in one of the clinics doing immunizations provided by the Elkhart County Health Department. She doesn’t receive any extra pay for her volunteering. She also is working at coordinating volunteers to go to different health fairs to promote the Elkhart County MRC and the different programs that they will be offering.

She serves on the local EMA for the county as well as TRIAD/SALT committee as the liaison to Citizen Corps for the Medical Reserve Corps. She also serves on the AED committee that is working on getting AED units into more public places with in Elkhart County. She is also quite active in 4-H in the county as well as in her church functions as well.

For the EMA she serves as a liaison for the Elkhart County Health Department to help address issues that would come up in times of disaters as well as in developing the Health Department’s Emergency Response plan. She helps with getting supplies that would be needed for emergency responses as well.

She is certified CPR/First Aid instructor. She participated in health fairs that help prepare adults to respond to infants that are choking or need CPR. She does this at no charge. She has trained the staff at the health department for their certifications.

Overholt is also active in her church. She teaches junior church every other month. She also teaches a Sunday evening children’s program so that there is something that children can do during every service. She assists in the nursery occasionally. She has also served as the camp cook for a week at the district church camp in Hastings, MI. She serves as the project chairman for the Women’s Missionary Fellowship in her church.

She is the co-organizational leader for the Cheyenne’s 4-H club. She helps to plan activities and crafts for the children to do during meetings. She also assists the children with their projects. She volunteers to help unload geraniums to be picked up at the fairgrounds for the big annual fundraiser for the county program.

HAROLD WARREN

The economy of Aberdeen WA has been in a 34-year depression from the collapse of the logging industry in 1970. Aberdeen is a community in dire need of economic development and the caring help of volunteers.

Harold Warren is a 70- year-old semi-retired public accountant who has been volunteering for 40 years. He was born in Missouri, but grew up in Aberdeen. He has spent much of his adult life giving back to the community and it is estimated that he has completed over 20,000 hours of community service.

Mr. Warren volunteers extensively with Habitat for Humanity and participated in the experimental building of straw bale houses in Mexico. He was the catalyst for the creation of the Grays Harbor chapter of Habitat for Humanity, and now serves on the board. Harold administers, collects funds, and has recently celebrated the fourth Habitat house completed in Aberdeen.

Mr. Warren received part of his education from Grays Harbor College and is now an active board member and Treasurer, who presides over the collection of capital to fund scholarship.

Mr. Warren is treasurer of the Aberdeen public library and is heavily involved in fundraising for the renovation of the library. He is extremely active in his church where he is Treasurer, Sunday school teacher, usher, scripture reader and landscaper. He recently helped rebuild the church roof, and served on the Lutheran governing council for one term.

In 1966 Mr. Warren joined the Lions club and has been an active fundraiser for childhood sight conservation, and has continually been involved in the purchasing of eyeglasses for improvised youth. Through the Lions club he has also volunteered for Rebuilding Together, a home refurbishing organization for poverty stricken senior citizens. In the mid 60’s he was responsible for getting Evergreen Counseling a local mental health organization off the ground.

Mr. Warren currently collects old newspapers from the Aberdeen paper for recycling; he receives a small fee that is converted into scholarship money for the Aberdeen community. Mr. Warren’s most recent examples of volunteerism include being the Treasurer for the Driftwood Theater, a non-profit community theater group, and serving as Treasurer for The Friends of the Aberdeen Museum. Most notable, is his recent volunteer service in ADAPT (Alzheimer’s Disease Anti-inflammatory Prevention Trail), volunteers must be at least 70 years old and have had relative with the disease. They are given non-steroidal medications to see if they will delay Alzheimer’s onset by a year or more. ADAPT is one of the largest studies done by the National Institute on Aging.

PEGGY KEARNEY

Peggy Kearney is affectionately known as “the Can-do girl” because she is always ready and willing to help. Kearney has been donating her time to the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) since October of 1998. During the six years of service, she has given more than 7,300 hours of service.

Kearney volunteers almost everyday each week though she is over 80 years old. She is currently assigned to three RSVP sites. She works at Tuomey Healthcare Systems Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Their she works with patient care serving Endoscopy, Day Surgery waiting room, Imaging Center and maintaining patient services by delivering and picking up menus and transporting patients that are being discharged.

Kearney donates her time at the Sumter Senior Services on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. There she works as a receptionist in addition to delivering hot/frozen meals to shut in seniors trough the Meals on Wheels program. In addition, she performs a variety of clerical duties for RSVP. Kearney also serves at the Sumter Exhibition Center several afternoons a week. There she answers the phone and performs clerical duties.

In addition, Kearney serves on the RSVP Advisory Board. She has also volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, Silver Set Program and at the Shepard Senior Center. Due to her dedication, she was nominated and won the South Carolina Network Volunteer of the Year Award. She was recently awarded the Presidential Service Award for Lifetime Service for an excess of 4,000 hours.

BARRY ROWE

Barry Rowe has been involved in the ministry of young people since 1989. He has served on church staff as a minister to help encourage students. In addition to being a husband and father, Rowe has also been a positive role model for many students and young adults alike. Rowe is continually involved in local project to encourage, mentor, coach and counsel young people.

Currently Rowe serves at his local church in various ways. He holds fellowships where the children are able to go to amusement parks, fund zone, backyard Bible clubs and block parties. He also holds regular meetings weekly for the Children’s Choir, where he teaches children music and drama. Rowe has also produced several musical productions and the choir has performed at Children’s Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama, the Montgomery Zoo Festival of Lights, Hatley Healthcare and The Gardens. Though he is on staff as Minister of Music, Rowe spends numerous hours serving with no compensation.

In addition, Rowe serves as President of the Chilton County Rotary Club. This organization is widely known for its involvement in fighting the irradiation of Polio by 2005. Another project under his leadership the Rotary Club has taken on is providing dictionaries to every third grade student in Chilton County. Each student will receive his or her personal dictionary in addition to each third grade class. The students who are bilingual will receive a dictionary for both Spanish and English translations. This project is designed to aid third grade teachers in their goal to see all their students become good writers, active readers and creative thinkers. Rowe believes the dictionary is a companion for problem solving as a child develops his or her reading, writing and creative thinking skills.

Rowe also has a special recognition project to encourage the students. He elects a “Student Spotlight” each month during the school year. A particular student is selected and awarded a cash scholarship. Their picture will be put in the local newspaper receiving their scholarship based on their academic excellence, community involvement and positive impact on their community.

JENNIFER STANLEY

The West Lanham Hills Volunteer Fire Department is a governmental subdivision, which is managed and operated by volunteers from the community. The Department provides fire suppression and emergency medical services for a busy area – over 10,000 responses per year. Dedicated persons from the community volunteer many hours, sometimes many weeks and months per year, to take training and respond to emergency calls. Firefighter/EMT Jennifer Stanley is one of its most hard-working and invaluable members. As with all members of the Department, Stanley is a volunteer who puts her life on the line everyday without monetary compensation.

The West Lanham Hills VFD, like many other fire departments in Prince Georges County, Maryland depends on volunteers to provide vital emergency services to the community. Obviously, firefighting and emergency medical care are essential services. Within one year, Stanley took several hundred hours of training, became a fully qualified firefighter and EMT. She participates in the live-in program, which assures that personnel will respond to call for help around the clock. She has also assumed a leadership position as a Fire Sergeant, working with and training the new volunteers. Stanley plays a vital role in providing a real community need. Moreover, she leads others and trains them to correctly do the same. This serves all persons in the community who call for help, especially many of those who are indigent and less fortunate.

Stanley provides hands-on services directly to persons in need of assistance: victims of crime, the elderly, people involved in motor vehicle crashes, and persons suffering from dire medical conditions. She puts out fires in people’s homes, where all of the residents’ belongings and valuable are housed. The Department services people of diverse cultural backgrounds and ethnicities; Stanley is always there to respond to their calls.

Stanley became a volunteer in October 2001. Since then, she has taken over 400 hours of physically and mentally challenging training. She has also volunteered thousands of hours of her time, mostly due to her participation in our live-in program, where volunteers can live-in the station. The program assures that volunteers are present and ready to respond to emergencies twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. She continues to participate today just as strongly as she has since beginning.

As a result of Stanley’s dedicated volunteerism, the ambulance and fire trucks are always fully staffed with trained and knowledgeable, and experienced personnel. Of course, this is always a team effort, involving all members of the Department, but Jennifer Stanley is a consistent and dependable volunteer who leads and manages others.

RACHAEL LAMBIN

Rachael Lambin saw a need to educate her community about the seriousness of a condition that affects many children across the county. Lambin knows the seriousness of asthma and she created “Kids Helping Kids” with asthma (KHK).

Her younger brother who has been hospitalized many times due to respiratory problems inspired KHK. Lambin has spent in excess of 2,400 hours teaching children and adults about asthma. She also educates by writing and illustrating children’s books and creating educational events for children with asthma and their families. To date, she has raised more than $15,000 and continues to work with KHK at least 35 hours each week.

Last year, Lambin created a summer day camp for asthmatics between the ages of 4 and 16. They were able to bring their oxygen tanks and various medications and “just be like any other kid.” This innovative and informative program has grown to more than 23 youth in three states, and KHK has three camps scheduled for the coming summer.

Lambin also enjoys art and uses her talents to create artwork. These items are sold in galleries, and the proceeds from this as well as her books, go towards asthma education. Lambin and KHK also write, direct and edit asthma public service announcements (PSA’s) for local television stations.

During May of 2003 Lambin was able to go to Washington DC to promote HR-2023, which is a bill at the House of Representatives that would allow children to carry their life saving medication with them at all times. She met with Representative Juanita Millerder-McDonald of California and Nancy Sander the founder of AANMA. Lambin’s work was presented on the House floor, and she appeared on C-Span Network and is part of the Congressional record. Her work continues to impact others and the support for KHK is growing each year.