DORIS HOSKINS

Doris Hoskins has been married twice and is the mother of 10 and the grandmother or great grandmother of an enormous brood that represent dozens of professions. She is a singer and an organist at her church. Over her 92 years of her life in Champaign-Urbana, she has always remained involved as a community volunteer and a leader among volunteers. She is currently still active on a daily basis with her numerous volunteer interests.

She is a leader in the Provena Covenant Hospital Auxiliary and a guiding force for Matthew House 18, a program for at risk children that has been enormously successful at getting children back on track and even into college. In her more than 20 years with the hospital, Mrs. Hoskins has visited with patients and their families, sorted mail, helped with the homebound program, worked in the gift shop, raised funds and served on boards to expand the hospital building. Mrs. Hoskins dedicates a great deal of time and energy to her church also. She has long been involved with the PTA and its programs as well as the Early American Museum at the Champaign County Forest Preserve in Mahomet and was the most critical member of that museum’s task force to research the history of African Americans in Champaign County. About 60 years ago she signed up as a room mother and made cupcakes and cookies for holiday programs as well as other school sponsored events. She later joined the citywide PTA Council, becoming an officer and a life member.

Mrs. Hoskins taught remedial reading and secretarial skills at the Urbana Adult Educations Center. She is a lector, Eucharistic minister, trustee and cook at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Mrs. Hoskins has also ushered for youth series events at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. She also is an active member of RSVP, the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program. Mrs. Hoskins took training and became a counselor in tax and health insurance matters. In addition, Mrs. Hoskins has served as a Senior Health Insurance Program (SHIP) volunteer and a tax advisor volunteer and is serving on numerous boards and commissions.

As a result of her involvement, Mrs. Hoskins became the editor of a quarterly publication known as Through the Years, which studies the history of the African –American residents of Champaign County. She has worked on more than 12 newsletters through the museum about important African-Americans in the county.

Due to her tireless service efforts in the community, Mrs. Hoskins has been honored with many local awards. She was presented the Studs Terkel Award by the City of Urbana and the Book of Golden Deeds Award by the Optimist Club locally. She has been honored by the YMCA as a Black Woman of Achievement and honored by RSVP with numerous special Service Awards. Mrs. Hoskins was also selected as a Woman of Distinction by the Green Meadows Girl Scout Council and has been honored by Provena Covenant Hospital for her outstanding efforts.

MEMORIAL HEALTHCARE SYSTEM

Memorial Healthcare System (MHS) is a public nonprofit healthcare system. MHS is one of the largest employers in South Broward County with over 7,500 employees system wide. MHS serves the needs of the residents of south Broward County regardless of their ability to pay and is committed to providing quality healthcare service to the community.

The company’s employee volunteer program reflects employee pride in serving the community and is aptly called H.E.R.O. – Healthcare Employees Reaching Out. The employee volunteer program has over 1,200 employees registered as volunteers which exceed the national standard of 10% of the workforce.

“Adopt” A Child Back to School, the signature annual project, benefits school age children entering/returning to school. MHS employee volunteers “adopt” a child and provide backpacks filled with new school supplies, clothing and shoes. Through a partnership with Family Central Inc., a nonprofit agency that provides childcare and family support to low-income families, MHS obtains the information of children that are needy in the community. Through this program, MHS is able to assist children from needy families, ensuring that they are equipped with the essential school supplies and clothing to start the school year on equal footing as their classmates.

Since the inception of the “Adopt” A Child Back To School project that began with the formation of the volunteer program, 846 children have been served. Further, a spin-off project is conducted called “Adopt” A Child For The Holidays, again focusing on providing a child in need with a holiday gift. As MHS enters the third year of offering this project, 389 children have been served.

The Habitat for Humanity Build Project allowed 86 volunteers to participate in building homes. MHS’ financial sponsorship of $50,000 to Habitat for Humanity guarantees a family in need a safe haven and a place they can call home. Additionally, MHS volunteers provided services in the area of roofing, shingling, exterior and interior painting.

As a healthcare provider, MHS employees participate in and host several health fairs to educate and provide free services such as back to school physicals and immunizations to at-risk children from families who are either uninsured or underinsured. MHS believes in early education and preventative services, and as such its volunteers are engaged in a project known as “Shots By Two.” This 18-month project allows volunteers to track and maintain contact with babies as they education and remind their mothers of upcoming appointments for their child’s immunization. Since MHS’ involvement with this project started 15 months ago, the first set of babies is ready to “graduate.” 190 babies are currently being service through this project.

DOREEN HOLMES

Doreen Holmes, Volunteer Coordinator of St. Patrick’s Soup Kitchen, is one of its most prominent supporters. Ms. Holmes works tirelessly, spending every Monday at the Soup Kitchen to ensure that a critical need in the lives of so many is met, at least one night a week.

Homelessness and poverty are very real problems in Providence, Rhode Island. This city of 160,000 residents has the highest percentage of families below the poverty line in the state (29.2%), the highest proportion of children living in poverty (34.5%), and in the second lowest median income level in the state ($22,147). St. Patrick’s mission is to provide hot food, clothing when possible and spiritual encouragement to those in need. Ms. Holmes ensures that this mission is carried out.

She also directs guests needing additional assistance to Mary House, the Soup Kitchen’s parent organization, for emergency food; and to agencies that can provide temporary shelter, job counseling and other services necessary to those on the road back to self-sufficiency.

Regardless of the guest’s circumstances, Ms. Holmes connects with every person that visits the Soup Kitchen. Sometimes it may be a smile or a kind word; other times she may give a hug or a touch on the shoulder. Ms. Holmes is following in the footsteps of her mentor and Soup Kitchen founder, Sister Fran Conway, and she subscribes to a simple philosophy – all human beings deserve to be treated with compassion and dignity.

Individuals from all across the state volunteer at St. Patrick’s. In fact, Ms. Holmes has established service-learning partnerships with several universities, colleges and local high schools. On any given Monday, 20-30 students along with several longtime volunteers help serve the guests. Ms. Holmes leads them through an orientation and makes sure that everyone is given a specific job.

Ms. Holmes involvement has spanned 13 of the 17 years that the Soup Kitchen has been operating. She hopes that one day there will no longer be people who are hungry, but until then, everyone that visits St. Patrick’s will get a healthy meal and a wholesome dose of respect from Ms. Holmes and the volunteers she guides.

Ms. Holmes has played a strategic part in the effectiveness of the Soup Kitchen. The partnerships she has established have allowed her to take advantage of an enormous body of potential volunteers and even convince local colleges to provide much needed resources to the organization. Her influence has left an indelible mark on St. Patrick’s and her concern for the guests’ well being is evident.

Ms. Holmes walks around with a green notebook in one hand and a pen in the other. While greeting all the clients, you may see her writing in the book. This book records the sizes of clothing someone needs the fact that another client may need to find a place to stay or that someone needs money for diapers, food etc. Holmes not only writes in the book, but she then follows up and goes “an extra mile” to help alleviate whatever concern she has noted about that particular client.

GENESIS JOBS

GenesisJobs was founded in 1985 as a program of Episcopal Social Ministries with the purpose of building a network of the business and community and faith communities to help people in disadvantaged neighborhoods of Baltimore manage their search for good entry-level jobs. Through this network, GenesisJobs organized a corps of 85 volunteers to coach applicants into and through their first year on a new job. In 2003, GenesisJobs became a division of Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake. With only five paid staff members, GenesisJobs relies on dedicated volunteers to deliver their program services.

GenesisJobs’ programs are based on the conviction that the job market will open to low-skill men and women that society has labeled unemployable if they receive compassionate and effective assistance. GenesisJobs offers free job search and employability coaching for individuals who seek entry-level positions. This program does not give anyone a job; however, it helps the person find and keep a job by providing effective employability readiness and job search training and long-term retention support.

Follow-up counseling maintains the support that was built during the job readiness and search coaching. This process results in a higher-than-average retention rate for low-skilled employees – 35% of GenesisJobs applicants compared to the 7% national average. Follow-up counseling creates better employees by encouraging individuals to work through the challenges they face in the workplace, rather than quitting and by helping them break problems down into manageable pieces. Counselors also continue to instill a good work ethic in new employees and generate a higher level of excitement about maintaining employment.

The innovation of this program comes from pioneering a process to rebuilding community be bringing the key stakeholders necessary for the task of helping the marginally employable secure jobs. Those stakeholders include Baltimore businesses, faith communities, educational institutions, community organizations, philanthropic organizations, civic groups, volunteers and job seekers.

The 2003 statistics provide a vivid picture of the importance of the volunteers’ efforts. During the year, the combined annual salaries of the applicants they helped find jobs were $2,972,600. The average hourly rate of pay for applicants that were hired was $8.56. Volunteers contributed in excess of 2,600 hours of service during the year also to make GenesisJobs a success.

The innovative programs and services that GenesisJobs offers are unduplicated in the Baltimore community. They distinguish themselves by relying on volunteers as the key staff providing the direct service of coaching men and women to look for, find and keep good jobs; understanding the needs of the employers; staying in touch with the newly hired applicants for one year to help them keep their jobs; helping their employer retain the new hire as a valuable employee; and they charge no fees.

DANA THOMPSON

Dana Thompson moved into the New Smyrna Beach community in 1999. One of the first orders of business for her was to report to her school to offer volunteer time. As a result of her service, the New Smyrna Beach Middle School mentoring program was started, and she has continued to be its lifeblood. Her mentor program pairs at risk students with qualified members of the community who meet with them regularly. The mentor provides a stable role model for the student and in some cases, is the only dependable, successful adult the student knows. Ms. Thompson has kept the program thriving in spite of major obstacles. She has also worked with the local elementary and high schools to start their own programs, which ensures vital continuity in the mentoring process.

In addition to the mentoring program, Ms. Thompson initiated and nurtured many other “drop-out” programs at her school. These programs, such as Wright Flight were highly innovative ways of capturing the interest and engendering enthusiasm with students who were less than successful with a traditional curriculum. The Wright Flight program is an aviation history program that uses the many accomplishments of aviation heroes to motivate children toward improved academic performance and rewards successful students with the thrill of flight. Ms.Thompson enlists local pilots to come and assist in teaching the children about aviation. They were even able to get a flight simulator donated from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University to benefit her program.

As of August 2002, Wright Flight has grown into a semester elective credit course in aviation at New Smyrna Beach Middle School. Ms. Thompson applied and was awarded grants from the Richard Grannis Memorial Fund and Aerospace Education Educators, which help to fund field trips to Kennedy Space Center, The Astronaut Hall of Fame and a War Bird Museum.

In many instances, a teacher may have problems with a student and send them to Ms. Thompson’s office because of her unique ways of intervention. There she would respond with an innovative idea like allowing them to work on the school newsletter, in the school store or at the post office. This gives the child a cool down period to get settled and prepared to re-enter the regular school day.

Ms. Thompson also has developed relationships with a number of business partners from the community who are now valuable supporters of the New Smyrna Beach Middle School. These relationships ensure personal and corporate involvement in a wide spectrum of the community. Her partnership with the Daytona Beach Museum of Arts and Sciences (MOAS) has established a School Museum operated by students. The museum features of variety of changing exhibits loaned by MOAS and local collectors.

In addition, Ms. Thompson supervises the butterfly gardens, the school post office, the photography club, the spring fashion show and the career connections. Ms. Thompson ensures the children learn real world business practices to the students who work there. The was selected as the Teacher of the Year at New Smyrna Beach Middle School in 1987 and the Silver Sands Middle School in 1997. She won the Crystal Apple Award in 1992 and again in 2000 and was the Wal-Mart Teacher of the Year in 2001.

BEST BUDDIES OF MCMAHON & NORWALK HIGH SCHOOLS

The Best Buddies Chapters at Brien McMahon and Norwalk High Schools are student-run mentoring initiatives that match high school students with developmentally and intellectually challenged students in the same school in order to relieve the social isolation felt by many students with special needs.

Best Buddies is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of people with mental retardation by providing opportunities for one-on-one friendships in order to decrease the social seclusion felt by students with special needs. Founded in 1989 Anthony K. Shriver, Best Buddies has grown from one chapter on one college campus to a thriving international organization that actively operates on more than 750 middle school, high school and college campuses in the United States, Canada, Egypt and Greece.

The City of Norwalk is unique in that it has two high schools. Both Brien McMahon and Norwalk High School have successfully launched very active Best Buddies chapters. While each school does its own fundraising and runs its own chapter, the two Best Buddies chapter will often join together for larger events such as a year-end picnic June and the annual trip to neighboring Westport for their Best Buddies Ball in March.

The Best Buddies chapters have held raffles with concert tickets as the coveted prize, have held a bake sale to support another Best Buddies State chapter officer who tragically experienced a fire in his home and have traveled to a neighboring community to assist with another Best Buddies fundraising activity. Buddies and peer buddies have, in addition to the above, attended school athletic events, toured a local artist’s studio, attended a holiday tree lighting event, gone bowling and hosted an ice cream social. They regularly spend lunchtime together and typically meet monthly to discuss progress and plan future events. Pizza and soda get-togethers are enjoyed by buddies and peer buddies alike, and the friendships that have developed are genuine and supportive.

Most recently, buddies and peer buddies of the Best Buddies chapters worked in collaboration with the Lower Fairfield Regional Center in Norwalk on a clean-up day at Lower Fairfield in preparation for the opening of the facility’s new Respite Center. An ongoing relationship is being forged with the mentally retarded residents of the Lower Fairfield Regional Center to the delight of the Center’s Director, Patricia West. The collaboration has not gone unnoticed by Peter O’Meara, Commissioner of the Department of Mental Retardation for the State of Connecticut.

Best Buddies Chapter members have created a new awareness and have put new emphasis on inclusion of those with special needs at both Brien McMahon and Norwalk High Schools. Their dedication to those with developmental and/or intellectual challenges in exemplary, and they; are creating a more welcoming environment at their schools in which all students can grow and progress. Their successes are simply the result of the love and commitment that they bring to their relationships with their special needs buddies. Best Buddies has become and will continue to be a welcome addition to Norwalk.

CENTER FOR SERVICE & LEARNING

Brigham Young University’s (BYU) Center for Service and Learning, formerly known as the Jacobsen Center for Service and Learning, was formed in 1998 as a means to promote lifelong service and learning among BYU students. The Center has grown since that time and now sponsors 31 community service programs, a peer tutoring program and a tutor outreach program, with more than 9,000 students volunteering their time and talents annually. In 2003, students donated in excess of 55,000 hours to organize service opportunities and give back to their community.

The service programs run with the help of 55 student volunteers fulfilling leadership roles. These students organize the programs, plan service activities, recruit students, train and mentor volunteers and effectively carry out meaningful service within the community. Examples of service rendered by volunteers include mentoring, tutoring, literacy education, community clean-up, visiting the elderly and assisting the physically and mentally disabled.

The Center has 10 mentoring programs, which partner BYU students with children and youth in the community. These students provide the children and youth with a positive role model and encourage them to reach their full potential. This year, a new program entitled Project Youth will bring 1,100 underprivileged fifth and sixth grade students to campus. The children will experience a day of college life in hopes of encouraging them to pursue higher education. Another program is Youth Detention, which facilitates volunteers to befriend and mentor youth at one of the state’s only youth correctional facilities.

Each year, the peer-tutoring program relies on hundreds of BYU student volunteers to assist their peers in their classes. The Center also facilitates a Tutor Outreach to Provo School District program, which typically has 900 students volunteer to tutor children and youth within the Provo School District (PSD). These volunteers assist local teachers in helping PSD students learn. BYU students also fulfill literacy needs in the community by teaching adults, youth and children to read at local literacy centers.

Adopt-a-Grandparent student volunteers go to care facilities on a weekly basis to brighten the days of the elderly through music and friendship. As part of the Adaptive Aquatics program, students can volunteer at the University’s pool to swim with local elementary and junior high school students who have special needs. This allows the children to receive needed physical therapy in a relaxed and fun atmosphere.

The BYU Center for Service and Learning is a resource that has had an extremely positive impact on both BYU students and the community. The Center assists BYU students in making meaningful contributions as they fulfill real needs within their local community.

LISA KARBON

Lisa Karbon heard someone say that when it is cold, no one should have to go without a coat. In April of 2003, this 13-year-old Glendale, California youth took this statement to heart and began her “One Warm Coat” campaign.

Lisa identified charities to which she would give the coats. She found the Hillsides in Pasadena, Elizabeth House in Pasadena, the Foothill Unity Center in Monrovia and the Walking Shield-American Indian Society in Tustin. Lisa then outlined a plan to collect as many clean and reusable coats she could to donate to these worthy organizations.

Lisa made presentations to Glendale Elementary and Middle School faculties. She also spoke to her church membership and the local Kiwanis Club. As a result, collection boxes were placed in local businesses, in her church office and in school offices. She was also able to collect the unclaimed “lost and found” coats from a number of these same schools.

Lisa also contacted friends and relatives and received donations from as far away as Texas. She contacted the organizer of the local Arts and Crafts Festival and was given a booth from which to collect coats and hand out flyers advertising her collections points for future donations. This was the first time a complimentary booth was given for charity purposes during the history of the Festival.

During 2003, Lisa made weekly trips to her collection points, sorted all donated coats and jackets and washed those she was able to. She then boxed them for storage in preparation for delivery in the fall and winter. She started her distribution in October and the heaviest coats went to Walking Shield American Indian Society to be shipped to North Dakota. Deliveries continued to the Foothill Unity Center for their holiday distribution party. Lisa and some of the members of her Girl Scout troop handed out One Warm Coat to each child who attended. Collections and donations have continued and Lisa last distributed in February of 2004.

Lisa spent in excess of 104 hours planning and carrying out One Warm Coat. Her efforts to date have resulted in the collection of more than 1,300 donated coats, jackets and sweaters. Many who would have otherwise been greatly affected by the winter weather were able to feel warmth due to their One Warm Coat.

SANDRA IRLE

Since June of 2000, the Blind Boone Park Renovation Group has worked to renovate Blind Boone Park in Warrensburg, Missouri. Full-time volunteer Sandra Irle, along with her husband, Mark, founded the group. Originally built during segregation for the black community, it is being renovated as a community park with a sensory walkway for the visually impaired. More than 1,500 volunteers from all walks of life have worked to make the once neglected spot no longer a place to keep people separated, but it is now a place that brings people together.

The park is in an area in the older section of town. This portion was once looked down upon. However, because the project is in the “Historic District” and is mentioned in the State Tourism guides new attention is being paid to this once desolate area. As a result of this project, other historic buildings are being saved and there is a revitalization occurring. There are new apartments replacing antiquated dwellings and a renewed pride of ownership in the community.

Mrs. Irle and her group are often referred to as the Blind Boone Park Family because of their closeness. Many new relationships have come out of the volunteer opportunities. This project has crossed all barriers by inviting volunteers to express themselves in a healthy manner. Those who come to work pick an activity that best suits them. They can plant flowers as well as aiding in building a gazebo. As a result of the renovated park, the Blind Boone Music & Arts Festival was born out of a continued desire to bring people together. That will soon celebrate its fourth annual festival with more than 100 volunteers working the event each year.

The impact of this project is wide reaching. The area of town in which the park is located has a renewed feeling of inclusion and pride with improvements and respect to historic sites. The support from the City Council, Parks Department, area civic organizations, schools and churches shows the new sense of community that Mrs. Irle has fostered. In addition, tourism has flourished with area, regional and national recognition for the park and town.

Mrs. Irle and her team of volunteers have worked for more than four years in activities associated with building the park and raising the money to keep it maintained. The Group has the annual music festival, ongoing volunteer projects and educational school trips, seasonal events in the park, annual children’s garden project, music mentoring project, walk for health path, church services and other events.

The Blind Boone Park Renovation Group has crossed all barriers by gentle but persistent invitation to be included in something that has caused only good feelings. Friendships and bonds have been formed and now replace animosity and fear. This has been an accidental education and renewal process that has occurred naturally as a result of restoring the park. What began as a “park project” has become so much more to the town and each of the volunteers as well as the community-at-large.

BELLSOUTH

BellSouth has a rich tradition of community service, highlighted by its significant charitable investment in its communities, including monetary contributions, sponsorships, and in-kind donations totaling more than $42 million annually. The BellSouth Pioneers, a volunteer organization of more than 100,000 active and retired employees are the primary community service arm of the corporation. Pioneers are organized into nine chapters (one in each state the company serves), 75 distinct groups of active employees and 91 groups of retired employees known as Life Members, spread throughout the entire southeast region.

Focusing on teacher support, recruitment and retention, the Quality in the Classroom program is designed to build on BellSouth’s commitment to education and provide a comprehensive, targeted effort to address these important educational issues in the Southeast. It includes a partnership with a nonprofit or educational institution in each state in the BellSouth region, reflects the diversity of BellSouth’s employees and the customers served, includes a strong volunteer component and leverage BellSouth’s expertise in technology.

BellSouth and the American Red Cross have joined forces on Together, We Prepare initiative in which BellSouth employees participate in training that will give them the resources and knowledge to educate audiences on homeland security issues, how to build disaster preparedness kits, how to develop a family disaster response plan and volunteer response to a disaster. Hundreds of BellSouth employees and retirees are also being trained in emergency preparedness and rapid response activities to assist Georgians in the event of a disaster.

BellSouth has also taken a leadership role in Business Strengthening America (BSA), President Bush’s community service initiative. Throughout the region, thousands of employees have participated in community projects that fall under the BSA umbrella. In Georgia, BellSouth teamed with Habitat for Humanity to create a “Community of Dreams,” in which hundreds of employees and retirees built new homes for low-income families.

Pioneers distribute A Book About ME personalized readers to elementary school children in an effort to encourage reading and instill self-confidence in young children. To date, more than 87,000 books have been distributed throughout BellSouth’s region.

In Florida, BellSouth addressed a serious need in the Palm Beach County School District. The school district had Net TV and Presentation Stations that sat idle in the classrooms because the current wiring was incompatible with the new equipment. BellSouth Pioneers took on the project and wire more than 60 classroom, placed over 150 jacks, giving Net TV connections to 1,685 students.