ORPHANETWORK

According to UNICEF and U.S. AID statistics, there are approximately 100 million orphans worldwide. ORPHANetwork is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that was established in 2000 with a mission to help orphaned children in third world countries fully realize their potential. They work with established, indigenous partners to build and strengthen the capacity of orphanages in third world countries. These homes provide shelter, food, medical care, clothing, education, vocational training and a loving community for hundreds of children. In addition, ORPHANetwork is committed to creating real and lasting change in the communities surrounding the orphanages they serve through community development and self-sufficiency programs.

As a result of their donors’ generous giving, ORPHANetwork financially supports Casa Bernabe orphanage in Vera Cruz, Nicaragua where they are building a holistic model of ministry that cares for orphaned children from infancy through early adulthood. They go beyond meeting the children’s basic physical needs to also give them the education, loving support and tools they need to successfully leave the orphanage, enter the workplace and change their local community and country. The organization also helps fund VERBO School onsite at Casa Bernabe, which currently educates more than 300 orphans and impoverished children from the local community. VERBO is the only high school for hundreds of miles outside the capital city of Managua. They also sponsor orphanage graduates who attend University of Managua.

Their community development and self-sufficiency projects include a bakery in Vera Cruz that employs older women in the community and provides bread for several of the nearby orphanages. In addition, their organic model-farming project at Casa Bernabe provides the orphans with agricultural skills and job training, as well as much-needed fruits and vegetables for the orphanage.

In addition, ORPHANetwork is involved in relief work in Nuevo Vida, the largest Hurricane Mitch disaster relief site in Nicaragua. They are currently working to re-open the children’s feeding center onsite and providing vocational training for women in the community with cooking, typing and sewing classes. With an unemployment rate of more than 60 percent, many Nicaraguan families simply cannot afford to raise their children and are forced to give them up to orphanages where they can receive care. By providing parents with steady jobs that provide stable income, ORPHANetwork is helping to break the cycle of “social orphaning” that threatens Nicaragua’s future.

Last year through their Christmas Wish Program, 12 participating churches in the state of Virginia helped ORPHANetwork raise $42,000. This enabled them to take more than 2,000 orphans and impoverished children in the Ukraine and Nicaragua to their local marketplace for the shopping trip of a lifetime. With the funds raised, they were able to purchase clothes, shoes, a backpack, school supplies and a toy of their choice. ORPHANetwork volunteers make approximately 10 annual trips to Nicaragua and Ukraine where they care for children, take them for medical appointments, distribute critically needed supplies and help build and renovate buildings on site.

VOLUNTEER TEAM INC.

The spirit of Allegany County, Maryland is alive and well. One of the greatest examples of the community working together is the year-round volunteer work done by the Volunteer Team of Rocky Gap State Park, Dan’s Mountain State Park and Greed Ridge State Forest. Throughout the year, a dedicated group of volunteers works on tasks ranging from maintenance to special events at each of the three facilities.

The Volunteer Team was founded in 1992 in response to budgetary cuts throughout the State Forest and Park Service. A handful of individuals began to volunteer their personal time and effort to maintain resources and preserve programs at the three parks. Since then, hundreds of volunteers have participated in the program, logging in excess of 200,000 hours of service.

Volunteers are involved in many aspects of operations and maintenance at the three sites. The maintenance work includes but is not limited to maintaining campground and day-use facilities; trail maintenance, gardening, building picnic tables, creating fish habitats, cleaning and construction projects. In 1998, the Team sponsored a playground construction project in the Rocky Gap campground. Another was installed in the spring of 2000 as well as a basketball court. Adult swings have also been added to Rocky Gap’s day use area and campground as well as Dan’s Mountain. In 2002, The Team built a game room at the Rocky Gap campground and completed the construction of a group camping facility.

The Volunteer Team also sponsors and provides assistance for numerous special events for the public including the annual Easter Egg Hunts at Rocky Gap and Dan’s Mountain, mountain bike races at Green Ridge, Independence Day activities and a Memorial Day Children’s Fun Fair at Rocky Gap. They also serve at the Youth Fishing Derbies, car shows, the Labor Day Corn Roast and the Annual Rocky Gap State Park Haunted Campground. Most recently, the Team has been involved in the Mountain Reflections Christmas light display at Rocky Gap, working in cooperation with the local chapter of the American Red Cross. They are also setting up a schedule of events for the local parks for the spring, summer and fall.

The Volunteer Team also plays an integral role in ongoing public education and recreation programs at the parks. They participate and lead campfire programs, canoe trips, hikes and the Junior Ranger, Camp Host and Volunteer Ranger Programs. On a weekly basis, the Team operates a snack bar as a service to campers at Rocky Gap’s Campground for 8 to 10 hour shifts at a time. This service is performed entirely with volunteer labor, and the profits are then returned to the park in the form of new computers and equipment that could otherwise not be afforded.

The Volunteer Team provides support to park and forest visitors on a continuing basis through the Camp Host and Volunteer Ranger programs. The Team is diligent in its continued efforts to provide events and services to the community of Allegany County, Maryland and the surrounding communities through service at the local state facilities.

EAT’N PARK HOSPITALITY GROUP

Eat ‘n Park was founded in 1949 as a carhop restaurant. Eat ‘n Park is a family restaurant and bakery chain with 79 restaurants and more than 8,000 employees (called team members) in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. Every year, 5% of Eat ‘n Park’s pretax dollars are donated to nonprofit initiatives in the communities they serve. The donations are focused in four areas through Corporate Giving: Health and Human Services, Education, Community & Civic Affairs and Culture & Art. Through the Community Relations Department, Eat ‘n Park supports more than 200 events, groups and organizations annually by providing a financial contribution, donation and/or providing employee volunteers who contribute to the success of the special events and activities.

Eat ‘n Park’s employee volunteer program, “Here to Help and Proud of It,” is open to all 8,000 employees, who always make a point to volunteer for all community service projects, including fundraisers. Every year a group of Eat ‘n Park employees participates in a “Roof Top Campaign” for the Caring for Kids fundraiser, which raises money for children’s hospitals. These volunteers sit on the rook of the restaurant for three days, calling upon customers, friends, family and anyone who notices to make a donation. This event draws a lot of media attention. This year a group of volunteers at the Swatara location raised a record breaking $8,113!

Eat ‘n Park voulnteerism began many years ago when team members were asked to walk in community parades, spend a Day of Caring for the United Way (since 1994), become mentors on Job Shadow Day and many more. Although these opportunities were available, it wasn’t until 1997 that the efforts were formalized into an Employee Volunteer Program. Since then, there has been an increase in volunteers (120 to 336) in all divisions.

United Way Day of Caring/ “Read Around Pittsburgh” Day of Caring is an annual volunteer event hosted by the United Way agencies in many communities Eat ‘n Park serves. This day features projects designed to make an impact such as physical labor, painting, and clean-up projects – raising the awareness of the critical needs facing the neighborhoods where Eat ‘n Park does business. In 2002/03, Eat ‘n Park asked all of its restaurants to become team leaders and call their local United Way to get details regarding their Day of Caring events. More than 82 employees volunteered in 11 market areas. “Read Around Pittsburgh” is a new initiative from the United Way of Allegheny county to tackle the dire need for improved early childhood reading skills for low-income families in the Pittsburgh area. This event gathered more than 250 volunteers countywide at 27 early childhood centers and homes. Eat ‘n Park provided 20 volunteers for this project at a local day care near the headquarters office.

Eat ‘n Park is the title sponsor of the Hope Network Classic, a 3-on-3 basketball tournament that benefits the Hope Network’s Healthsports program, offering sports, fitness and recreation activities for children and adults with physical disabilities. This is the 13th year Eat ‘n Park has served a title sponsor. It is one of the biggest sporting events in the Pittsburgh area and attracts more than 3,500 spectators and players.

MARTY KENT

Hospice of the Valley provides compassionate end-of-life care designed to meet the physical, psychosocial and spiritual needs of the patient and family. This enables them to experience life and death with grace and dignity. The volunteers at the agency are the heart and soul of their organization. Currently they have 140 volunteers, and Marty Kent is one of those outstanding individuals.

Mr. Kent primarily volunteers his service in the office. Each Friday morning he appears to answer phones for at least three to four hours. During 2002, he volunteered the most hours of any other volunteer in the agency, and he continues to give an extraordinary amount of his time each year. The first contact is vital when someone calls an agency, and Mr. Kent displays a cheery and informed attitude that conveys to the caller they are important, as are all of their questions. He is able to service the callers with information and compassion.

Mr. Kent has been serving with the Hospice for almost five years. While retirement for some means to withdraw and live at leisure, Mr. Kent has decided to use his days and hours to help others. Besides his office volunteering, Mr. Kent has worked with some of the patients. He does for them some of the chores they are no longer able to handle such as grocery shopping. Even his errands are done with care and concern, and he is an example to the other agency volunteers.

Mr. Kent not only impacts the Hospice and those utilizing their service, but he impacts the entire community. When answering a question helps families or running errands, everyone benefits. Because of Mr. Kent and other Hospice volunteers, the community friends, neighbors and citizens of Morgan and Lawrence Counties would not be provided the choice to remain at home during the last days of a life threatening illness. This is a gift given to the community at large.

In addition to these activities, Mr. Kent works with the Hospice Family Survey. He calls the families to check on their satisfaction with the hospice services. He creates an atmosphere where families feel the freedom to express positive as well as negative thoughts. Whenever there is negative feedback, Mr. Kent does not become defensive, but he remains an active listeners. He then lets the family know the issue will be addresses. This entire process is comforting to the families.

Annually, the Hospice has a memorial service as a part of their bereavement program. Family members who have experienced the death of a loved one are invited to the service as a celebration of the life of their loved one. Mr. Kent has taken an active role in planning and participating in these services, which are healing for all the families involved.

Mr. Kent does all this while being an incredible husband and caregiver at his home. His wife has multiple sclerosis, and he can only volunteer in the mornings as the afternoons and evenings are devoted to his wife. He is dedicated at home but still gives of himself to help others who are in need.

AMY, ALLIE & DAVE STEINMETZ

Amy, Allie and David Steinmetz have been committed volunteers for the past seven years. Though Amy and Allie are only 16 and David is 12, they have co-authored a book entitled “Our Dad Died” and have established the “No Butts About It” Litter Campaign.

When the children lost their dad eight years ago, they were devastated. The books on grief were written by adults and reflected an adult point of view. In their small community, there were no other children with this type of loss to form a support group. They communicated their feelings and experiences in journals and after the tragic events of September 11th when everyone in the nation wanted to do something to help. They realized that their best contribution was to share their thoughts with the kids who had also lost a parent. They put together their journals and donated it to various charities for distribution to the children. The letters of praise they received motivated them to help other children who were feeling isolated and in need of support but who had not access to counseling services or another means of a communication outlet. Their book was published and they are donating a portion of their proceeds to Hospice to help create stronger children’s grief services.

In 1996 the Steinmetz children were doing a beach clean up and noticed the large amount of littered cigarette butts. Because of that, they started the litter campaign. Since then, they have reached many individuals or groups in 48 states and several countries. The campaign is aimed at raising awareness of the problems caused by cigarette butt litter, such as destructive fires, sickness in toddler who accidentally ingest littered butts, harm to animals and marine life and the harmful pollution effects, which are the highest form of litter in roadside and beach clean ups.

The “No Butts About It” campaign has motivated other efforts and has been used in the impetus for proposed legislation in Connecticut for three years by Senator Joseph Crisco. This campaign has also raised awareness of this often-unconscious habit. The youth spend many hours every week reaching out to different facets of society, asking that their posters with the slogan, “The Earth is Not Your Ashtray, No Butts About It” be hung in order to alert smokers of the effects of littered butts. They have been an example among their peers that children can make a difference. As a result of their efforts, Keep America Beautiful has now launched an initiative on this environmental hazard. The Steinmetz children have vowed to continue on their quest until the world is butt-free.

Both of these projects have had and will continue to have far-reaching impact. They will result in a cleaner environment for our global community and in helping grieving young children to be able to smile again.

THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY

The Walt Disney Company has a long history of community involvement dating back to the days of Walt Disney. That tradition is not only still alive today, but continues to be an ever-increasing part of the company’s culture. The formal employee volunteer program, Disney VoluntEARS, provides opportunities for Disney employees to contribute their time, expertise and effort to make a positive impact in the community. Since the program’s inception at Disneyland in 1992, Disney VoluntEARS projects have taken place in more than 200 cities, 47 states and 24 countries on six continents. In 2003, Disney VoluntEARS around the world participated in 1,050 projects and programs and contributed in excess of 400,000 community service hours, filling 67,328 volunteer opportunities.

DisneyHand, worldwide outreach for The Walt Disney Company, established a companywide global “Dollars for Doers” program, EARS To You, in 2002. They continue to extend Disney’s commitment to volunteerism into their ongoing relationships with The Make-A-Wish Foundation®, USO, Special Olympics, Take Pride in America, Habitat for Humanity, the American Red Cross and numerous other non-profit organizations.

For more information about Disney VoluntEARS and DisneyHand’s outreach initiatives, please visit www.DisneyHand.com.

BRANDIE KOORS

Brandie Koors’s sister, Sheri, was born with spina bifada. Brandie sees first hands the needs of children who have disabilities and she works to help her sister and others.

In 2000, Brandie met Linda McClendon. Ms. McClendon has her own business that is called Full Circle Therapeutic Horse Back Riding. Brandie works there to help disabled children of all ages while on and while off the horse. Some of the children are affected with autism, spina bifida, mental retardation, cerebral palsy, downs syndrome, and blindness.

Brandi helps children from age one to teenagers. She also serves some adults. During the last four years she has seen much improvement in the children like walking, talking, sitting, opening their eyes, and much more. She has been volunteering with Full Circle since May of 2000 and continues to serve today.

Brandie comes in every Saturday from 9am until 5pm. She helps the children and teacher, Linda by grooming and assisting the children in learning grooming skills. She plays with the children and keeps them occupied while they are waiting for their session. She works with side walking , leading the horse, cleaning up after the horses and teaching the children about the horse in general. She also assists the children in feeding the horse a carrot after their session.

Brandie has also volunteered at the Nursing Home with her mother and sisters. She sang for the elders, visited with them and brought goodies to share with them. Brandie has amassed more than 650 hours of service during the past several years, and she continues to spend time with those who need her by giving of her time and energies to the staff and clients at Full Circle.

BACKPACKERS

More than 40% of children in Providence, Rhode Island live below the poverty level. These children do not have access to healthy food or stable living environments. Some of the children are even living in cars. This problem has far reaching consequences, since a student who is worried about where his next meal is coming from cannot concentrate in a classroom to learn the skills needed to break the cycle of poverty.

Last year, Sodexho cafeteria workers noticed high school students waiting outside the cafeteria on Friday afternoons. These students depended on the school breakfast and lunch programs for their weekday meals and faced a weekend with inadequate food for their families. They were hoping to convince the cafeteria workers to give them leftover food they could take home to feed themselves and their siblings for the weekends.

Providence Sodexho School Services saw this as a major problem and in March 2003, the Backpackers weekend food distribution program was born. Backpackers is now a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides weekend food supplies for students in high schools and middle schools. There are plans to expand the program to the elementary schools also, as soon as the program has enough support and funding. Other Rhode Island districts as well as some Massachusetts districts have begun to develop programs using the Backpackers as a model.

Sodexho employees voluntarily oversee the program and contribute the funds necessary to provide the food. Each backpack cost $5 per month to support. Guidance counselors, teachers or principals identify students in their schools who need assistance. Each student is assigned an identifying number and given a survey to determine their likes, dislikes, sibling and access to kitchen equipment like can openers, refrigerators, etc. Each week, June DiLorenzo, Production Manager for Sodexho School Services in Providence, goes to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank and shops from the items available for nonprofit organizations. There, she picks out food based on the students’ preferences and needs, remembering that not all of them have access to a stove or microwave and that she may need to include a can opener in the backpack that week. The food for each child is placed in a backpack identified with the child’s special number.

From there, the food, as well as information on area shelters, soup kitchens and other assistance available to the teens, is sent to the schools and given to the guidance counselors. Each Friday, the student goes to the guidance counselor and picks up their backpack filled with food, which gives them supplies to survive the weekend. The backpacks provide scholarly camouflage – the students can blend in and avoid the stigma of being poor and needing to carry home a visible box or bag of groceries.

At this time, individuals, most Sodexho employees, who choose to adopt a backpacker for $5 a month, fund the Backpackers program. Sodexho School Services is hoping to expand their program to reach the elementary schools as well as to reach more students who need the help.

JONNIE AND BROOKIE ALLEN

Jonnie and Brookie Allen decided to volunteer when their brother, David, wrote them from Iraq and asked them if they would start an Adopt-A-Marine program in their schools. He is a Marine and is in the 15th MEU. There are over 1,500 marines in the 15th MEU. David advised his sibling that they were hungry and in need of personal hygiene products. They needed kits with snack foods and hygiene products such as toothpaste, nail clippers, soap and more.

First, they brought the idea to their classroom for help. Then they went to the community for additional assistance. They went on radio and TV stations and asked the public to buy their music CD, Let Freedom Ring as they are in a singing group in Arizona. They also appeared at many rallies so they could sell as many CD’s as possible. In turn, 100% of all the sales of the CD’s were donated to this program. Next, they went shopping to all the 99-cent stores so that they could purchase as much personal hygiene products as possible. Finally, they put together the Adopt-A-Marine kits.

The kits were full of more than just hygiene products. They also sent the Marines portable cameras, snack foods and letters from the public, supporting our military. They also packed newspapers from home and lots of recreational items, especially rubix cubes. They donated in excess of 100 hours on this program, and it was worth every minute. At times, they remembered wanting to go out and play; however, they remembered all the people fighting for freedom and decided to continue to work.

On July 12th, the Allens were able to see David and the other Marines who retuned safely to Camp Pendelton. They received a warm reception from their brother and the other Marines they had adopted. The men came up and hugged the girls and said “you’re the two little girls that sent us the packages.” The young ladies raised in excess of $6,000 in money and product to send to Iraq.

This was not the first or only volunteer service for the Allens. Their family has always emphasized the importance of giving back to the community. Their first service project was when they were only three and five years old. The girls participated in The Big Help. They drove around in their Barbie jeep with a wagon attached and would collect canned goods for the homeless. They went to 1,000 homes in 30 days and collected an entire truckload of food. They participated in The Big Help for two years. The sisters have started and completed more than 10 major projects since The Big Help. They feel they have been blessed with so much that anything they can do to help others is important.

Currently, Jonnie and Brookie are working on raising money to purchase new shoes for the children of the Thomas J. Pappas school for the homeless. This is an ongoing project they started two years ago when they were able to present each of the 76 children with a new pair of shoes.

SULLIVAN CALDWELL

Sullivan Caldwell is on a personal crusade to service, nurture and prepare our young children for the tough challenges of today’s fast-paced world. He realizes that the traditional family is no longer the typical one. Families are often made up of single parents, stepparents and siblings or grandparents raising their children’s children. However, one caring person can have a tremendous impact on a child’s life.

Most of his work is centered on helping at-risk youth. Many of these children have no social skills and are often terrified and angry. Some of them have been hungry most of their young life and have rotten teeth due to malnourishment. He also works with mentally challenged children, hearing impaired youth and children born with AIDS.

Mr. Caldwell has been a part of Big Brothers Big Sister (BBBS) of Broward, Inc. for the past six years. This is a chapter of the preeminent national youth-service organization serving boys and girls between the ages of 6 and 18. During this time he has mentored two young boys, and his involvement has led to improved academic performance for them. He was also a Board Member, a part of the Fun Vision Committee, has coordinated the Adopt-a-Family program and he has orchestrated the school supply collection and donation of BBBS Broward, Inc.

He has also served with Kids in Distress (KIDS) in Ft. Lauderdale for the past one and a half years. KIDS is an emergency shelter that caters to children aged 8 months to 12 years old who have been removed from their parents care due to sever neglect, abuse and/or abandonment. In some cases, parental rights have been terminated. Mr. Caldwell’s initial contract required a commitment of 4 hours a month for one year. The next year he renewed his commitment to the agency and increased his volunteer hours to 4 per work. According to Independent Sector, if Mr. Caldwell were paid for the time he volunteered, his rate would be about $18 per hour. During 2003, he contributed 120 hours or $2,160 to KIDS.

In addition, Mr. Caldwell has volunteered with Covenant House Florida, Inc. This organization is the largest privately funded childcare agency in the United States that provides prevention, outreach and direct care including emergency and transitional shelter to runaway, homeless and at-risk youth under the age of 21. He has served with them for the past two years, and during that time Mr. Caldwell has introduced the Money Smart Program to the agency. This tool helps adults outside the financial mainstream improve their money skills. The curriculum helps individuals build financial knowledge and use banking services more effectively.

Mr. Caldwell is driven by an inner desire to bring attention to the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of children. He is unconditionally committed to the success, growth and well being of others. If there is work of any kind to be done, Mr. Caldwell is there to help.