BOTTINEAU SENIOR GIRL SCOUT TROOP 322

Bottineau Girl Scout Troop 322 consists of 10 eleventh graders: Alicia Brandt, Jodi Hart, Jessalyn Higgins, Jennifer Kegley, Tara Marsden, Sara McIntee, Johna Pritchard, Katelyn Pritchard, Carolyn Steinke and Kalindi Was. Troop leaders are Gale Wondrasek and Noel Wax. Over 11 years, the troop has earned the reputation in Bottineau for performing community service. After the girls assisted with the 2003 Special Olympics State Winter Games, Special Olympics North Dakota (SOND) President Kathleen Meagher invited the troop to serve on the 2004 Winter Games planning committee.

After all ten members of the troop were certified in CPR and First Aid in December of 2003, they received additional training from SOND staff and were certified in Games Management. Each girl, under the guidance of local games director, Brad Knudson, was in charge of a specific venue. The Special Olympics State Winter Games were held on January 23rd and 24th, 2004. Local and state directors commended them for their hard work, which involved chairing and recruiting members for the 12 committees that are responsible for all areas of the competition. SOND President Kathleen Meagher and Director of Sports Eric Wasness stated that the number of volunteers increased by 67% over the 2003 event.

The troop has participated in various other community service projects. Since 1994 the members of Troop 322 have participated in the Bottineau Memorial Day Parade. For three years, the troop has placed flags on veterans’ grave at the two local cemeteries at 6:00am. During 1994, the troop members also began a community aluminum can recycling project.

During 1997 until 2002, the troop provided concessions at the annual merchants’ Crazy Days at the request of the local Chamber of Commerce. The troop has also sponsored junior high dances for the past three school years. The proceeds from these parties go to the Bottineau Ambulance Fund, the Food Pantry and the Domestic Violence Coalition. With dance proceeds of $218, the troop started “Closet for Kids” at the Bottineau Central School in September 2001.

In conjunction with the Bottineau Jaycees and Boy Scout Troop 528 and the Bottineau High Peer Youth Workers, the troop planned and organized a Halloween Carnival for the youth of the community. The proceeds from that fundraiser went towards the purchase of a defibrulator for the Lake Metigoshe First Responders. Since May of 2001, the troop members have assisted at an event at Bottineau Middle School Play Days and Bottineau County Play Days. In addition, each girl has been in charge of one competition at Bottineau Central School Play Day. The troop participated in the Bottineau County Relay For Life in 2001. They also participated in 2002 and were awarded the “Best Campsite Award” and raised more than $1,300 for the fight against cancer.

Troop 322 will continue their efforts to help find a cure for cancer and participate in the 2004 Relay For Life. They will also continue to serve their community and help those that can benefit by their community service.

GEORGIA NATURAL GAS TRUEBLUE CREW

The Georgia Natural Gas (GNG) TrueBlue Crew Volunteer Program is comprised of GNG employees of diverse ages and backgrounds sharing a common vision – establishing and maintaining a dedicated, positive, active volunteer force within the Atlanta community.

Since 2002, the TrueBlue Crew has been responsible for serving the community in critical areas – feeding the homeless, helping and counseling children from at-risk backgrounds, and assisting senior citizens and single parents. Volunteers helped to build a home for a single mom, worked to restore neighborhood parks as a conservation effort, and provided holiday gifts for 13 families in need.

When the company moved in 2003 from a suburban office complex north of Atlanta to a recently revived inner-city Atlanta neighborhood, management and employees at all levels strived to be good community citizens. Almost immediately, the TrueBlue Crew partnered with the Centennial Place Family YMCA, located in the neighborhood formerly known as Techwood Homes. America’s first public housing project, Techwood was founded during the Roosevelt administration. The neighborhood is changing, but the people who live there have tremendous needs that require community and corporate support.

Since partnering with the Centennial Y, Georgia Natural Gas has: * Sponsored 500 children through the Y’s Partner with Youth Campaign, funding scholarships for after school and enrichment programs; * Provided TrueBlue Crew volunteers regularly to participate in classroom educational activities with children; * Assisted at senior citizen’s events; * Encouraged employee volunteers to serve on Centennial neighborhood advisory boards and assisted with the Y’s fundraising efforts; and * Supplied IT employees to partner with the Y to develop an after school computer program.

Even before Georgia Natural Gas moved to Midtown Atlanta, employees went the extra mile by volunteering in neighborhoods targeting vital needs of education, conservation and overall community well being. The company’s volunteer focus has been on programs and organizations that improve the lives of children and senior citizens.

As the leading marketer in Georgia’s deregulated natural gas market, GNG serves more than 540,000 customers. Yet, the number of employees is surprisingly small – averaging about 60 employees. Although Atlanta’s community needs may seem overwhelming for such a small crew of employees, the TrueBlue Crew has managed to surpass participation statistics of companies 10 times their size or more.

TIFFANY BARNHART

Tiffany Barnhart has been a dedicated Girl Scout for the past four years. She loves serving others and especially enjoys helping young people and animals. Tiffany has been doing volunteer work for many organizations and people since the age of two. Then she went around with her parents, but now she is able to serve on her own.

The local police department uses stuffed animals as a part of their “Trauma Bears” program. These are used to comfort a children who has been involved in a car accident. Tiffany collected over 325 stuffed animals and asked her girl scout troop, teachers and students at her mother’s school to take part in collecting the animals, also.

Tiffany knows first hand that the trauma bears are needed because she and her mother were involved in a car accident on the way to a scouting meeting. She was injured, scared and had to go to the hospital for x-rays. Tiffany was fortunate she received the last trauma bear that was in the trunk of the officer’s car. Though she twisted the bones in her neck, the trauma bear helped comfort her and have courage. She collected the bears because she remembered how it helped her. They were distributed to the Hurst and Haltom City Police Departments.

In addition to collecting trauma bears, Tiffany volunteers at nursing homes, orphanages and children’s hospitals. She goes to sing for and with the residents and spend time visiting with them. She is also a member of a children’s group called God’s Country Kids that is a nonprofit organization using their talents to help entertain and cheer up people in need. Tiffany also collects clothes to give to Goodwill, food for local food banks and cat and dog supplies for her local Humane Society.

Her family donates a Thanksgiving meal to a family in need during the holidays, and her scouting troop also helped to collect 500 pounds of clothing to donate. Tiffany also participates in the Bird’s Christmas Tree for Fort Worth. This project entails volunteers making biodegradable birdfeeders and hanging them on trees for the birds to have food during the winters. She also raised three colonies of Painted Lady Butterflies and one colony of Ladybugs that she released into the wild to help local plant life grow. Tiffany has also volunteered with the YMCA during the Easter holidays, the annual Christmas Program for the Lexington House Nursing Home and the St. Jude’s Trike-A-Thon.

SAMUEL HOOD

A school is successful due to the heart and dedication of its staff, community and volunteers. Crestwood Elementary is a school where at risk students are nurtured in a family atmosphere that is not always within their homes. Teachers and volunteers become the ones who nurture a love of learning and mend broken hearts or disillusioned dreams. Samuel Hood is one of the individuals who volunteer their time to help the teachers and students at Crestwood Elementary.

For 30 years, Mr. Hood worked as a business executive until he was forced into retirement in 1990 due to two open-heart surgeries. He decided to concentrate on the community’s needs and devoted much of his time to the Red Cross and the VA hospitals. In 1999, his wife told him about the need for literacy volunteers at Crestwood because the company she works for is a business partner for the school. Mr. Hood began volunteering and continues to this day.

Initially, Mr. Hood working with only a few students. He now helps 28 students in grades two through five. He arrives at the school each day of the week prepared to face both educational and emotional hurdles facing the students. The children enjoy the fact that he comes when he says he’s coming – everyday. The consistency shows them they matter to him and they are important. He shows his interest and encourages the students who have to deal with disappointment and broken promises. Each of the children he works with received birthday cards and notes of encouragement throughout the year. He also adds festivity to the tutoring sessions with holiday treats and creates lessons that will hold the interest of struggling readers.

Many of students demonstrate success as a result of Mr. Hood’s tutoring. All of his third grade students in 2003 passed the state’s Florida Academic Comprehensive Test (FCAT) in reading. A special needs student from second grade now shows confidence in her third grade classes this year due to the rise of her reading level from 0.6 to 2.0. Another boy Mr. Hood is working with for the second year from a single parent home has gone from a history of disruptive behavior and low achievement to a story of success. The time he shares with his role model has helped change his social experience to one of accomplishment and praise.

The stories of Mr. Hood’s success are known among teachers and students in the school. Parents arrive at school searching for the man who is making such a difference in their child’s life. In a small school where the school family celebrates successes, this special volunteer continues to nurture pride, security and knowledge that anything is possible to all the children he meets and works with. Mr. Hood believes it is part of his duty to prepare the children to complete their education at a level that will allow them to achieve their dreams.

CARRIE SPURLING

Carrie Jones Spurling is a very active volunteer in Morgan County Alabama. She works with the FACES program, the Volunteer Center of Morgan County, the American Heart Association and other nonprofit organizations in the area.

She participates in the FACES program, which takes care of Foster children, and is a board member for the program. The FACES board helps raise money that will result in aid to the foster children. In addition to the FACES program, Mrs. Spurling works with the Volunteer Center where she serves in many capacities that range from selling ducks for the Ducky Derby at the River fest to answering phones. She has also appeared in front of the Morgan county Commission and asked for funding. In addition, she has served as a volunteer for many political candidates and has even been on the side of the road in her wheelchair with signs supporting what she believes.

Mrs. Spurling has worked on newsletters for the Democratic Club that has also had fundraising teams for Heart Association and Cancer Relays of Morgan County. This year, she has joined up with another group, the Decatur Charity League, to serve PACT. Mrs. Spurling has also done newborn rounds, which serves all the mothers of Morgan County. She has also completed the training to serve the 7th graders of Morgan County with a program called Family Pride. This helps young teenagers understand family and know about various crisis in family and how to get help the correct way.

Mrs. Spurling has also recruited volunteers for American Heart Association Morgan County Heart Walk and the Morgan County Cancer Society Relay for Life. She has spent hours of her own time getting people to participate in these very important events in addition to raising money for the activities. Mrs. Spurling organized, called team members and made sure all the details were handled.

Though Mrs. Spurling is wheelchair bound and has been so since childhood, she has a big heart for people who are less fortunate than herself. However, her wheelchair does not hinder her efforts or her spirit of service. In addition to working full-time at the Morgan County Board of Registrars Office at the Morgan County courthouse, Mrs. Spurling makes it a priority to serve and give back to make Morgan County a great place to live.

BETSY VATAVUK

Since her childhood, Betsy Chandler Vatavuk has been dedicated to helping the youth and disadvantaged in her community through the 4-H Club and other humanitarian programs. Mrs. Vatavuk, 58, has volunteered thousands of hours over the last 50 years to serving others.

At the young age of 10, Mrs. Vatavuk began tutoring at her school and she has not stopped since then. Most recently, she tutored at one of the lowest performing schools in North Carolina, helping many at-risk students improve their grades and self-confidence. She has also aided the youth in her community by serving on various committees that include but are not limited to the Durham Youth Management Board.

Mrs. Vatavuk teaches children at 4-H camps and classes. Today, she is the 4-H Community Resource Development Volunteer and President of the 4-H Advisory Board. Mrs. Vatavuk has also served as a volunteer 4-H Leader and on the Board of Directors of the State 4-H Development Fund, where again she helped deserving youth. She has been a very diligent and successful 4-H Club fundraiser at the local and state levels for the past 40 years. Mrs. Vatavuk has raised thousands of dollars for the needy youth to enable them to attend 4-H camps, conferences and classes. She has helped provide money for nine scholarships for needy outstanding youth through a 4-H scholarship fund she and her family established in memory of her parents.

Mrs. Vatavuk single-handedly organized and prepared for “Make a Difference Day” activities at Durham’s Opportunity Place, a home for abused and homeless mothers and their children. For this event, she helped provide clothing, books and toys for all the residents. She also helped obtain contributions for necessities for the residents from local businesses. Also, she is the precinct volunteer for “Kids Voting – Durham,” a program that teaches youth about democracy and the voting process.

For many years, Mrs. Vatavuk has assisted with relief efforts, many of them international. She has collected and organized many “Operation Christmas Child” donations for children around the world who live in poverty. She has also provided hundreds of toys to needy children at Christmas from her own funds. Moreover, Mrs. Vatavuk has organized many drives to provide warm clothing to the homeless.

Despite having been diagnosed with cancer eight years ago, Mrs. Vatavuk has dedicated her life to helping the youth and the needy in her community. She believes and lives the fact that one person can truly make a difference. Through her selfless service, she sets an example for others.

VINCENZA CARRIERI-RUSSO

As the founder of the nonprofit literacy association, Success Won’t Wait, Inc., Vincenza Carrieri-Russo strives to reduce Delaware’s illiteracy rates by gathering donations of new and used books and redistributing them in the community. Though Vincenza is a teen-ager, she has accomplished more than many adults.

Her community service efforts to improve literacy began in 2002 when she taught a family friend’s daughter to dance. Her friend’s young son would wait in the lobby and Vincenza thought a basket of books would give him something to do while waiting. The basket was so successful, that she placed several other baskets in nearby karate studios, hair salons and a doctor’s office. The program grew due to requests for additional baskets.

Since the inception of Success Won’t Wait, Vincenza has organized dozens of statewide book drives, calling on residents to donate used books for redistribution in the community. To date, Vincenza has collected more than 8,000 books. She has also expanded the organization’s mission and has developed four major project areas of children’s book baskets, expanding existing permanent, residential libraries, assisting local libraries “Friends” groups and creating “Independent” libraries.

Upon request, children’s book baskets are placed in any lobby or office where a child might wait free of charge. Some examples of placement locations include doctor’s offices and auto repair shops. Vincenza has already placed more than 50 baskets in various locations that have held approximately 2,000 books. Success Won’t Wait has also expanded existing libraries that are greatly in need. Some of the locations are the Ferris School for Boys, Baylor Women’s Correctional Institute and Gander Hill Prison. Vincenza has distributed approximately 1,000 books to these facilities.

Vincenza has also assisted the local “Friends” of the libraries with donations for library improvement projects not covered by state or federal monies. Recently, the Friends of the Hockessin Library lost 25,000 books to Hurricane Isabella and Vincenza was able to donated more than 1,000 books to help them out. Finally, Vincenza has created independent libraries throughout the state. She recently installed a 1,000-book library at The Bayard House in Wilmington, Delaware.

Vincenza’s future plans include more book drives. She has a goal of 10,000 books for donation by June of 2004 and 20,000 by the end of the year. She is also busy with an expansion into the surrounding states of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York. Eventually, she hopes to have a presence in all 50 states.

JOSÉ WOODHEAD

José Woodhead and her dogs, a yellow lab named Ginger and a black cocker mix named Midnight, are Pet Partners volunteers with Intermountain Therapy Animals (ITA). The service required of these volunteers can be difficult and emotionally taxing because all the patients ITA visits are hurting in some way; whether physical (through accident, injury or stroke) mental (Alzheimer’s patients, children with disabilities), or emotional (children suffering from sexual abuse and abandonment). Some volunteers can only stand exposure to this kind of pain for a year or two. But it has not daunted Ms. Woodhead; she was one of only three people in the organization who has maintained constant, uninterrupted volunteer service for more than nine years. She also works full-time at the University of Utah directing a research laboratory, so in addition to the challenges of raising her family while working full-time, she puts enormous effort into juggling all her commitments and responsibilities to leave enough time for the volunteer work she treasures.

One of Ms. Woodhead’s grandchildren is multiply impaired following a premature birth. She felt that his survival was in large part due to the endless hours of love and care he had received from volunteers, so her interest in children at the Utah School for the Deaf and Blind was born of a desire to repay that volunteer time. She has also noticed how pivotal to ITA’s establishing a program at the school, becoming the Program Coordinator there. She has now served there for more than nine years. She has also worked with abused children at the Primary Children’s Medical Center Residential Treatment Facility since 1996, and with rehabilitation patients at the University of Utah Hospital since 1999. Each of these assignments she does weekly.

Ms. Woodhead works with the Utah School for the Deaf and Blind (USDB) school staff to develop strategies that will help each individual child reach his goals. One important need for multiply challenged children is to increase sensory awareness by providing tactile, visual, emotional or physical stimulation. The animals are also great motivators for getting the children to work on strengthening and relaxing their muscles and developing coordination. For children who are visually impaired the animals help develop nurturing skills, they teach cooperation and build confidence and self-esteem.

Ms. Woodhead’s work with a little boy named Chase started at the USDB. He was afraid to communicate and would scream at the dogs. After a month with the dogs, Chase stopped screaming and at age four he now anticipates the dog’s visits. They have helped him lose his fear of communication and he is learning how to communicate because of his interaction with Ms. Woodhead’s dogs.

Ms. Woodhead is also a mentor for dozens of other new Pet Partner teams, teaching them through demonstration, example and guidance. At her own expense, she has traveled to Delta Society conferences in New York City and Phoenix and paid for course training to become a certified Animal Evaluator and a certified Workshop Instructor so that she can help screen and train new volunteers. She also has made significant presentations for the organization, such as “Paws Helping Little People” at the 1995 and 1996 Utah Early Intervention and Preschool Education Conferences and “An AAT Program for Multiply Challenged Children” at the 1996 conference of the International Delta Society.

FEDERATED DEPARTMENT STORES INC.

“Partners in Time,” the employee volunteer program of Federated Department Stores, Inc., is active in Federated’s 450 stores and has been in existence for 14 years.

Partners’ nationwide initiative, Bag Hunger, begun in 1998, collects food and provides service for hunger relief beneficiaries. Last year, Federated donated 1.5 million pounds of food throughout the country. Each division also gives time – delivering, sorting, packing, cooking or serving. Macy’s West was honored by America’s Second Harvet as sponsor of the year for its leadership against hunger.

Federated is involved in a Mentoring USA partnership with Bloomingdale’s, spearheaded by Chairman Michael Gould, with 67 mentors this year vs. 42 last year. From 100 “pen friends” in the northwest to “Power Lunch” reading with New York students, volunteers are exceedingly committed to making a difference for children. Federated met and expanded its America’s Promise commitment – the Earning for Learning “dollars for doers” initiative – in which volunteers are encouraged to give service through grants for schools. Last year alone, 466 participants gave 7,000 hours and earned $126,000 for local schools.

Partners is open to family and friends, not just employees. It is estimated that 1/3 of Federated’s total employee base of 113,000 is active in Partners’ time-giving projects. However, many more participate in collection efforts – such as the Bag Hunger food drive. Several divisions have programs such as Bloomingdale’s, where trainees create projects and volunteer as a class for efforts such as Ronald McDonald House variety show skits or city park clean-ups.

Nearly all divisions support Making Strides Against Breast Cancer or the Komen Race for the Cure with major sponsoring and hundreds of volunteers as project organizers, walkers or water station staffers. Further support is given through bag stuffers and in-store pick up of race registrations. In Florida, support was so great – managers flew in from outlying regions to participate – that Komen is now the sole recipient for that division’s holiday “Thanks for Sharing” customer fundraising/marketing drive.

TERRY MCELHONE

Terry McElhone is a caring, dedicated volunteer who continually goes above and beyond to help others in Louisa County. When Ms. McElhone relocated to Louisa in 1988, she recognized a serious problem in the county. Studies showed that 25% of the adults were functionally illiterate and many were living below the poverty level. In an attempt to positively impact these problems, Ms. McElhone started a local program of Literacy Volunteers in Louisa. Her program had three students during the first developmental year.

Initially using her own resources, Ms. McElhone found ways to begin recruiting other volunteers and to spread the word that there were good options for adults who wanted to learn to read. She provides a safe, confidential, free service to those who want to improve their basic reading or math skills, learn to use a computer or obtain their GED. While teaching her students, Ms. McElhone also provides them with critical information regarding other services that are available to them. Until they can read and understand the information presented, they are often not aware of available assistance from local agencies such as social services, medical outreach and others.

Over the years, her program has grown, with some minimal funding from the county and donations from local individuals and companies that Ms. McElhone has approached for assistance. She is a one-woman dynamo who handles nearly all aspects of managing this program. She is responsible for recruitment, training, fundraising, bookkeeping and other administrative responsibilities.

Because of her efforts and perseverance, the organization has grown substantially. Ms. McElhone now manages the program with 40 students and 28 volunteers. Her volunteer spirit and teaching has directly affected the lives of hundreds of students and indirectly reaches hundreds of others through student and volunteer interaction with family members and people in the community.

Her continuous dedication to improving the program also resulted in obtaining national accreditation for the local organization in 2003. This entails additional responsibilities that include online reporting, which Ms. McElhone effectively manages. She also is actively involved with the Friends of the Library and currently serves as their president.