AMALIA BETANZOS

Amalia Betanzos is President of Wildcat Service Corporation, a non-profit multi-million dollar employment program. Founded in 1972, Wildcat’s goal is to bring the chronically unemployed – ex-offenders, public assistance recipients, former alcohol and substance abusers, high school drop-outs, youth involved with the criminal justice system and persons with limited English language proficiency into the regular labor force, thus breaking their cycle of welfare dependency, addiction and crime.

Ms. Betanzos is the founder of the John V. Linday Wildcat Academy, a charter high school program funded by the New York City Board of Education. The Academy, founded in 1992, is presently one of the most successful high school programs in the country. Today, its students’ levels of achievement, measured by the classic standards of attendance, graduation rate, college enrollment and SAT and RCT scores, well exceed the performance of New York City’s other high schools.

A native of New York, Ms. Betanzos was born, raised and educated in the South Bronx. She is a graduate of New York University, and has extensive experience in the public and private nonprofit sectors. Mayor Rudolph Giuliani appointed her Chair of the New York City Commission on the Status of Women in May of 1995, and she served until June of 2002. She has been a member of the Temporary New York State Commission on Constitutional Revision and the New York City Commission on the Redevelopment of Naval Station New York.

Ms. Betanzos has also served as a member of the Citizens Commission on AIDS, as a member of the NYC Board of Education and is a trustee of Catholic Charities. In addition, she has been elected Chairperson of the National Puerto Rican Coalition on several occasions. She has been appointed by the past five NYC Mayors to a number of important positions, including the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Police Management and Personnel Policy and as Chairperson of the Rent Guidelines Board. Ms. Betanzos also served on the Sovereign Commission on Integrity in Government, a joint appointment by Governor Cuomo and and Mayor Koch.

Prior to Wildcat, she served in a variety of positions in the Lindsay, Beame and Koch Administrations. As Commissioner of the Youth Services Agency, she was charged with the destinies of the more than one and one-half million New York youth under 21. She gained a reputation for being an outstanding administrator with an untiring capacity to meet new challenges. Ms. Betanzos was Executive Secretary to Mayor John Lindsay, in charge of programs for the underprivileged and physically and mentally handicapped. Before that time, she was Commissioner of Relocation and Management Services in the Housing and Development Administration. In this post, she was directly in charge of coordinating relocation services to families in conjunction with the City’s Urban Renewal programs and emergency housing. She also served as a member of the NYC Housing Authority for five years. Before joining the City Administration, she was Executive Director of the Puerto Rican Community Development Project and President of the National Association for Puerto Rican Civil Rights.

LYNDSEY MILLS

Lyndsey Mills, “Miss Henry County 2003,” has long been involved with persons of special needs throughout her community. She has worked with Special Olympics, Circle of Friends, the Sunshine League, and public schools through Partners Clubs. In 2003, she also represented Henry County and participated in “Miss Georgia,” the official “Miss America” franchise.

Previously many young adults with special needs wished to participate in a pageant to demonstrate their social skills and be a part of the community. Lyndsey’s sister, Kristi, has been her inspiration for eighteen years, having been born with Downs Syndrome. Lyndsey demonstrated her love for her sister by holding a special needs pageant that led to increased public awareness of special needs persons while giving the participants self-esteem, confidence, and recognition.

The special needs pageant, held in July 2003, was attended by more than 200 people and the attendees were both humbled and surprised by what they saw that evening. It was a very moving and emotional experience for all. This pageant will be held yearly in Henry County and to my knowledge there is not another event like this anywhere in Georgia. Lyndsey Mills’ goal is to promote it statewide.

DONALD SPRINGER

Donald Springer was inspired to volunteer at the age of ten. He and his mother were the first on the scene when a small plane crashed in Wappingers Falls, New York in 1968. His mother began administering first aid to the victims while he stood watching in his Cub Scout uniform. He decided after that experience that he wanted to always be prepared to help in case of an emergency.

Mr. Springer took the Standard First Aid Instructor course through the American Red Cross at the age of 12. He became the youngest instructor ever to be certified to teach. He then joined the Civil Air Patrol and attended “Ranger” training camp two years later at the age of 14 to begin a career in Land/Air Search and Rescue.

In 1975, Mr. Springer enlisted early in the New York Guard and became a New York EMT. One year later he joined the Sloper-Willen Volunteer Ambulance Service and the Dutchess County Ambulance Service. He then became certified as a dispatcher, driver and eventually an attendant.

Mr. Springer moved west to Utah in 1978 and continued his work. He began teaching classes for the Red Cross there and was able to help the Salt Lake Public Works with sand-bagging the Jordan River in 1982. During the floods of 1983, he served as Shelter Manger for the Farmington Shelter and Murray Armory Shelter. Mr. Springer served on the Disaster Action Teams until 1987, and he continued to teach First Aid and CPR classes. He also developed a communications plan for the Salt Lake Chapter of the Red Cross and received the “Volunteer of the Year” award for 1987 from the Salt Lake Chapter of the American Red Cross.

Mr. Springer took a break from his volunteer service to attend college; however, in 1995, he took a Citizen Emergency Response Team (CERT) course and became involved with the newly formed citizen advisory board called the Association of Valley Emergency Response Teams (AVERT). He joined AVERT in 1998 as a Director of Team Support and was elected as Chair of AVERT in 2001.

Since that time, Mr. Springer has reorganized AVERT. He has planned and implemented CERT drills and emergency preparedness fairs, developed the National Pharmaceutical Stockpile Non-medical Volunteer program for the Utah Department of Health and worked countless hours promoting the CERT program throughout the world. Since 1996, he has also maintained AVERT’s web site and has helped in the formation of new CERT groups and helped arrange advanced training in their areas.

DANIEL KENT

The Indianapolis Children’s Museum together with The Indianapolis Star developed a weekly community outreach program for youths to write articles that are especially relevant to youth. Ranging from teenage pregnancy to drug abuse to youth heroes, their columns focus on both difficult and uplifting topics. Peer pressure has always been a factor for teenagers, and Y-Press is an independent news bureau and is a long-term valuable source of information and opinions for both youths and parents alike. In fact, it is used as a tool to broach a difficult issue by parents to youths and youths with their parents, helping foster stronger communications. Also, it sometimes is provides youths information on issues that hey may not feel yet comfortable discussing with others.

Some youth have more difficulty adjusting to the pressures inherent in growing into adulthood, and become disenfranchised from their parents, teachers, or even peers. Y-Press is a vehicle for youths to address issues with others about how they are feeling, or as a request for help. In the same way, Y-Press articles are used by parents as a non-confrontational starting point to initiate a discussion about a sensitive or controversial topic. Sometimes, articles are written about youth heroes, as one Daniel both suggested as a story idea and recently edited, dealing with a disable Indiana youth that served as an inspiration and hero for all youths by organizing and building a playground especially designed for disabled youths.

Y-Press began serving the Indianapolis community in 1990, and Daniel’s participating began in August of 2001. In 2002, Daniel was subsequently elected to the Youth Advisory Counsel of the Indianapolis Children’s Museum. Daniel plans to work at Y-Press through high school, and his term on the Youth Advisory Counsel concludes when he graduates from high school.

Y-Press weekly columns have impacted thousands of youths and their families within the Indiana area. The column has facilitated awareness and family discussions of difficult youth oriented subjects, and it has highlighted youth heroes that are inspirational. Daniel was named Reporter of the Month on three occasions, and he has recently completed training as an Editor, having edited several stories in the last few months. Based upon Daniel’s performance and the community impact he helped facilitate, he was named the 2003 Outstanding Middle School Volunteer by the Prudential Spirit of the Community Committee, and received a cash award and a trip for him and his family to Washington DC. He has also received the Outstanding Citizens Award by the City of Carmel, and was recognized by the Indiana State Legislature.

Sometimes the most innovative solution to offering insights or resolving difficult youth issues can be innovated by the youths themselves. Dan has proposed, reported on, and edited numerous stories that have helped foster communications and problem resolution for Indiana’s youth.

SABINE COUNTY VFW POST 10351

Sabine County VFW Post 10351 & Ladies Auxiliary members and local entities provided meals for more than 1,000 volunteers and supported NASA’s search and recovery efforts in the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster.

On February 1, 2003 the Sheriff of Sabine County called Post 10351 and requested the VFW be used as a Staging Center for the Shuttle Recovery Mission of Volunteers. The VFW of Sabine County met the challenge and opened their facilities without any reservations for what needed to be done and for the duration of the mission. Members of the Post along with hundreds of volunteers dedicated many hours and thousands of dollars worth of donations to make the Staging Center a success.

The Post fed an estimated 3,000 meals per day for 15 days. They received 85% of their donations for individuals, churches, businesses and nonprofit organizations like the Chamber of Commerce. The American Red Cross and the Salvation Army gave the remaining 15% of donations. The approximate cost of the food donations was about $92,800. The Post members and the Ladies Auxiliary served 11,415 hours for this mission.

The Post Commander and Ladies Auxiliary President were responsible for the organizing the endeavor. With a project so large and so many individuals willing to help, being organized was a key factor. They were responsible for establishing a workable schedule and creating a menu as well as coordinating all the volunteers. They worked around the clock, sleeping whenever they could find a few spare moments.

Because of the dedication of all the Post members, this project went smoothly and ran efficiently. VFW Post 10351 proudly served in this mission and were able to assist the more than 70 agencies which include but are not limited to the Texas National Guard, Department of Public Safety officers, fire fighters, NASA EPA employees, FBI agents, FEMA personnel, Sheriff officers, US Forest Service and Texas Forest Service personnel.

When it was time for a new recovery team to come in, the volunteer services and donations were no longer needed. However, the Post had enough food donations to continue feeding for approximately one week. The remaining food was donated to the United Christian Services, Baptist Encampment, several local fire departments and the Sabine Senior Citizen Center.

RYAN OMENSKI

Three years ago, Ryan Omenski’s aunt was given 90 days to live. The doctors said that she would not survive unless she received a kidney. Her aunt’s family scrambled to find out as much information as possible. They began communication with the Alabama Organ Center, where Ryan’s aunt was put on a waiting list. On October 5th, after an unfortunate accident involving a boy from Mobile, organ donation made a kidney and pancreas available for Ryan’s aunt and saved her life.

Since that time, Ryan’s aunt has devoted her life to teaching people about organ donation. She also sparked a fire in Ryan, who has also dedicated her life to volunteering and educating the public about organ donation. Ryan wants the state and national community to be informed about the organ donation process so no family will have to endure the fear and uncertainty that her family did.

When Ryan began college in August of 2002, she began two projects entitled “Project Aware” which involves adults, and “Project Share” which involves children. She attends Alabama Rotary, Optimist, and Kiwanis meetings as well as college events, Organ Donor Awareness meetings and luncheons speaking out about the importance of organ donation. She also visits high schools and has candid discussions with students, telling them about how to become a donor. When speaking to elementary school children through Project Share, Ryan brings a large cloth doll that has removable organs! She reads the children a book about the organ donation process and teaches them the different organs in the body. Her focus is to teach the children that organ donation is sharing a very special gift with someone, and she hopes the children will go home and discuss it with their parents.

Not only does Ryan speak to adults and children about organ donation, she also raises money for the Alabama Organ Center (AOC). The AOC is partially funded by the government; however it is in dire need of money. Currently, Ryan is preparing for a fundraiser to be held in February of 2004. This project will be a dinner and raffle for South Alabama, where she recently won a Miss Alabama Preliminary. She looks at the Miss America Program as another way to reach out into the community and share the message. It has been a wonderful springboard for public speaking events as well as fundraising events. Her goal is to raise $3,000 at the event.

Ryan has also been asked to be a full-time volunteer during the month of January 2004 at the AOC. During that month she will be invited to view an actual transplant as it takes place, travel on public speaking events with the coordinators of the AOC, continue her public education project, and work on fundraising for the AOC.

LESLIE TANNER

Leslie Tanner is a teen volunteer that is in the background, getting things done, and keeping things going. When you come to a program, you do not notice her at first. But she is there. And she continues until everything is finished.

Leslie has been one of the faithful volunteers at the Farm Safety Program. Developed over several years, this program is designed for kids who visit, live on and/or work on the farm. Safety is discussed in many different forms. Safety on an ATV (four-wheeler), safety with small and large equipment, safety with large animals, and safety around ponds and water are a few of the topics.

Leslie started as a program participant. She learned about safety and applied those principles. In a couple of years she became a group leader for different age groups. She helped the adult presenters with the questions that the children asked. She also helped the children realize the importance of what they were learning.

Leslie also has served as a seminar assistant, working with her mother and brother on a visual demonstration of what happens when a person is entrapped within a hay bailer. The explanation and the demonstration gave emphasis to the need for farm safety. Leslie gave the demonstration a true to life explanation.

As a 4-H teen leader, Leslie Tanner continues to complete her project work as an example to younger members. She has entered foods, handicrafts, wood science and many other projects. Leslie does more than just meet the minimum standards. Leslie strives to set the highest levels for herself and for those she works with.

Leslie has helped with the County 4-H Programs and with the Cattlewomen’s Beef Cook-Off. Her service as a young person in her church and community brings information to many people. She is ready to begin and then to continue until the project is completed.

Leslie Tanner was a homeschooler for most of her education. She chose to return to Danville High School for her senior year. She had interacted in many of the programs with the young people with whom she now goes to school. She has continued to keep up her grades, pass the graduation exams, participate in school and church activities, and to hold a part time job.

Leslie has learned to make wise decisions. She was chosen to participate in a 4-H teen leadership retreat. A week before the event, she was hired for a new job with training starting on the same weekend as the retreat. Though it was hard to make the decision, Leslie chose wisely and began her new job. She missed the retreat and fun with her friends, but she learned that adult decisions are made with priorities in mind.

Leslie Tanner has been involved with the Farm Safety program for at least five years. Each year this event finds 100+ youth learning about safety. Leslie has moved from a participant, to a group leader, to a seminar presenter. She has impacted the lives of many children with her words and actions.

EXC!TE BATON ROUGE AREA EMPLOYEE VOLUNTEER TEAM

In 1992, EXC!TE (ExxonMobil Community Involvement Through Employees program) was designed by a group of highly motivated local employees under the sponsorship of Public Affairs and approved by area managers. It is a unique team within ExxonMobil in that it operated independently under management-approved bylaws. EXC!TE’s goal is to encourage employee and family volunteerism in the local community.

The EXC!TE employee volunteer team is led by an elected Board of 21 employees who approve projects and manage its volunteer resources to pursue the following goals:

• To enrich the quality of life in the community through volunteer service;
• To build a quality relationship with the community and enhance the ExxonMobil public image;
• To provide a vehicle for informing and encouraging interested employes, annuitants, families, and friends to support community projects through individual service.

In July 2003, EXC!TE surpassed 40,000 hours of total service to the community since its inception. During 2003, more than 350 employees, families and friends have volunteered 4,000 hours at more than 70 community projects for more than 30 area nonprofit agencies. All volunteer efforts have been pursued on the employees’ personal time. The company supports EXC!TE with a modest budget and time for Board planning activities.

EXC!TE activities during 2003 included, but are not limited to, the following:

ANDREW HUSCHKA

Andrew Huschka is an outstanding youth volunteer. He is very active in Ottawa’s Youth Action Council (YAC) and Youth in Government (YIG) programs, and currently serves as the Vice-President of YAC. Within the last 10 months, Andrew has completed more than 150 hours of community service with YAC, doing things such as working on Habitat for Humanity houses and attending sporting events with at-risk youth. In YIG, Andrew has donated more than 200 hours of volunteer service.

Through YAC, Andrew has served on several committees. He was an active participant in the National Volunteer Week planning committee and helped plan activities for the seven-day event. He also participated in each of the activities. He serves on the Fundraising committee, where he has helped raise more than $1,000 for several projects. He has participated in all of the National Days of Service and has been to numerous other communities, including Topeka, Arkansas City, Junction City and Washington D.C. to speak about youth involvement. Andrew has also been selected to serve on the Kansas Volunteer Commission.

Andrew’s participation in YIG has been remarkable. The eight YIG members spent five months planning a 7th and 8th grade Youth Leadership Camp. They wanted to show youth that they could be leaders in their own community, no matter what age they are. Andrew was one of the most active organizers of this event. He worked three days a week on the project, spending as much as 10 hours a week organizing everything. Andrew single-handedly recruited 20 students for the event, along with four volunteers and raised more than $10,000. With the money raised, they were able to make the camp very inexpensive, so as not to discourage low-income youth from participating. The camp lasted three days and two nights and Andrew was there throughout the entire event. He did all of this while fulfilling his other duties for YIG.

Andrew was also selected by his peers to serve on the Recreational Task Force Commission. He spent 40 hours designing, distributing and analyzing a survey, which the entire middle and high school took. The results of the survey were instrumental in the final recommendations of the task force. He not only took on the responsibility for the task force, but went above and beyond his duties.

Andrew’s participation in YAC and YIG meets a real community need. He is connecting youth with opportunities to serve. He plans service projects and recruits his peers to join him in improving his community. As a direct result of the Youth Leadership Camp, five new youth joined Youth Action Council, and all have applied to join Youth in Government. Through promotion of the program by Andrew and several other members, 40 youth have expressed an interest in joining YAC. Andrew has always been concerned with adults’ negative attitudes and opinions of youth. He strives to break down the barriers that separate youth and adults by showing them youth can make a difference if they are given the opportunity.

GREEN RIVER AREA DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT HOMELAND SECURITY CORPS

The Green River Area Development District (GRADD) Homeland Security Corps was established September 1, 2002, to address disaster response needs in the Green River Area Seven-County District. It exceeded everyone’s expectations for the first year of service. The agency committed the members to educating 1,000 community members with regard to disaster preparedness and response – they educated 38,000! The agency committed the members to recruiting and assisting in training 600 volunteers over a three year period to serve with disaster affiliated agencies – they recruited 375 new volunteers in just the first year! The agency committed the members to establishing a network of community rapid responders who would collaborate to create a Citizen Corps Council and begin training Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT). Again, they achieved their goal!

Finally, members were able to take a mapping system that the local government had established but had never utilized, and enter data to create maps that all emergency responders have access to. This bridged a gap between city and county governments by sharing information.

All these exceeded goals were part of a work plan for the AmeriCorps grant, but no one anticipated the grant would pause on August 21 in its first service year of a three-year grant award, and not begin again until November 2003. The agencies that have grown to depend on these members were at risk of losing all assistance and putting programs like the Citizen Corps Council and CERT teams on hold. GRADD Homeland Security members refused to let this happen..

Among other tasks, GRADD Homeland Security Corps Members:

• Continue to maintain the Citizens Corps meetings every other month
• Educate an additional 3,000 individuals with regard to Small Pox vaccinations, West Nile Virus, and SARS.
• Assist in coordinating a statewide training for firefighters to be attended by nearly 2,000 firefighters.
• Attend training to continue their service,
• Continue entering in mapping data for emergency responders to use.

Since September 1, 2003, the members of the GRADD Homeland Security Corps have continued going to their service site, without the AmeriCorps living allowance of $9,800/year or reimbursement of travel costs, or even the ability to count their time as anything other than volunteer. They have put in a cumulative total of 1,036 hours just since September.