PROYECTO AZTECA
When an unexpected freeze devastated the citrus crop in 1990, many migrant farm workers in the Rio Grande Valley found themselves jobless and unable to support their families. This area of Texas — Hidalgo, Starr, Webb and Willasy counties — has one of the highest concentrations of migrant families in the United States. With over 500,000 families living in “colonias,” isolated communities of the rural poor living along the Texas-Mexico border, the valley took the hit hard.
Proyecto Azteca, founded in 1991 in response to the crisis, took an unusual tack. David Arizmendi is one of the founders of Proyecto Azteca, which began as an extension of the United Farm Workers’ community service. Proyecto Azteca reaches those families at the bottom of the economic ladder — families with incomes that put them outside of the traditional homeownership market. They cannot qualify for virtually any housing assistance programs because traditional lenders are unwilling to take a chance on families with so few resources. As a result, many colonia families build their own homes, often one room at a time using materials salvaged from abandoned structures. With most homes lacking indoor plumbing or other utility connections, Proyecto Azteca is bringing high-quality housing construction to migrant families in the Rio Grande Valley.
The cornerstone of Proyecto Azteca’s housing development work is its Self-Help New Construction Program. Beginning with just two houses the first year, Proyecto Azteca now works with families to build about 100 homes per year. A kit house — typically a 24 ft. by 36 ft., three-bedroom, one-bath unit — is delivered to the site. Construction trainers provide technical assistance for foundations and utilities, but families average a total of 550 hours in sweat equity to complete their homes. The cost to families averages $13,500, and loan payments are between $50 and $100 a month.
Home ownership is just one step in connecting colonia families to the economic mainstream. Proyecto Azteca also operates four community centers, where families find education programs, social services, citizenship classes and free tax preparation. In addition to home mortgages, the Azteca Community Loan Fund makes micro loans so colonia parents can start or expand a business to give their families greater economic stability. To improve his business, selling clothes at flea markets and garage sales, Victor Rodriquez, who moved his family of nine into their own home last year, used a micro loan to buy a pick-up truck so he did not have to pay someone else to haul the shrink-wrapped bundles of used clothes he buys from local warehouses.
Proyecto Azteca’s loans have helped a cabinet maker buy a table saw, an upholsterer buy a specialized sewing machine and a fruit and vegetable seller purchase a trailer to bring his produce to market. “When we help a family have greater capacity, that increases services to the community,” says Arizmendi. “The investment is small, but the payoffs are enormous.”
Proyecto Azteca is a 2003 Honoree of Families Count, the national honors program that recognizes organizations that are making a difference in the lives of families struggling to survive in tough neighborhoods.
NORMAN GINEBAUGH
The tireless efforts and selfless work of Norman Ginebaugh have improved the services of several nonprofit organizations in West Michigan. His main thrust of activity is donation and commodity pick-ups, solicitations and agency deliveries. Donations are a crucial component to hunger relief agencies, and he helps in providing that pathway.
In recent studies conducted by Second Harvest Gleaners of West Michigan, hundreds of children were identified in the Grand Rapids public school system as being undernourished and in need of nutrition intervention. This hunger issue caused children to suffer abnormal cognitive, physical and psychological development; and these conditions are irreparable. Kids Food Basket (KFB) is a hunger relief agency in Grand Rapids, which is dedicated to attacking childhood hunger in the community and serves an evening meal to children who have been identified by school officials as being undernourished.
The program began feeding hungry children in the fall of 2001, with Ginebaugh as an integral part of its foundation. He embraced the mission and made it a goal to see that no child would have to look in the mirror at the face of hunger. His support and sweat have helped to provide hundreds of thousands of sack-suppers to children in need. Ginebaugh sees to it that KFB has healthy and nutritious food to provide each school day. He continually strives to spread awareness about the severity of the hidden problem and therefore has increased food donation as well as promoting a stronger volunteer workforce. He not only gives nutritious meals through sack supper, but he gives hope to countless hungry children in Grand Rapids.
Ginebaugh spends his days amidst the agencies in the city and assists in several ways. He solicits donations and takes care of the food bank pick-ups. While he is serving he takes note of the needs of each of the agencies for which he serves and shares goods. When he goes to grocery stores to pick up donations, and he makes mental notes of which agencies are most in need of particular items so they can be matched best. His dedication has saved KFB a tremendous amount of money and has allocated goods in the most efficient way.
THE CANDIA FAMILY
The Candia family works together to impact the quality of life in their San Antonio community.
Abel Candia has served as Assistant Scoutmaster and Scoutmaster of Troop 23 since 1982. He also volunteers for the religious program conducted at the Fort Sam Houston Dodd Field Chapel. His wife, Patti, volunteers for the Boy Scouts of America and the Dodd Field Chapel religious program also. She teaches CCD and Sunday school. In addition, Mrs. Candia coaches the cheerleading team on the base.
Rhiannon Candia began her volunteer service as a result of the example set by her parents. She serves for the Fort Sam Houston Catholic Chapel Program as a CCD teaching assistant, a lector and a Eucharistic minister. She also coaches a Tiny Tot basketball team and earned recognition for her stellar coaching ability. Rhiannon was also instrumental in starting a volunteer program at St. Phillips College, where she is a student; and she has served as a camp counselor at Camp C.A.M.P. In addition Rhiannon is a volunteer reader for kindergarten students at Hillcrest Elementary School.
Geofrey Candia also volunteers as a result of his family’s example. He is a middle school student and a member of Boy Scout Troop 23. He is an alter server at the Fort Sam Houston Dodd Field Chapel religious program, and he has participated in feeding the homeless with the Under the Nolan Street Bridge Project. In addition, his efforts that helped to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout include nursing home visitations and his support of San Antonio children shelters.
In addition to their own volunteer activities, the Candia family has drawn other adults and youth into the circle of volunteers at Fort Sam Houston and within the San Antonio community. As a family, they have accumulated more than 2,900 hours of volunteer service. Although they volunteer together, as individuals they bring diverse strengths to their team.
Mr. Candia has inspired his family and others to dedicate their time at talents to volunteer activities in multiple organizations at Fort Sam Houston and San Antonio. Mrs. Candia is a role model to young people both in high school and college. Her focus is to make volunteering a normal part of everyone’s life, not a requirement for graduation. Rhiannon draws her new circle of friends into activities that involve community service. During the Christmas season, she enlisted the help of her friends to deliver gifts and food baskets for Irma’s Angel Project. Geofrey works very hard to practice cheerful service, which is a motto of the Boy Scouts of America Order of the Arrow. He assists in the service projects conducted by his troop, his Order of the Arrow Lodge, his church and his school. His commitment to volunteer has also resulted in other middle school youth choosing to serve.
DEAN ANDERSON
Dean Anderson is a retired Registered Nurse. Because of his training in the medical field, Anderson has chosen to spend his retirement administering to the needs of his community. He serves Central Florida at the Sheperd’s Hope and 211, the official phone number for information and referral services in Central Florida.
Sheperd’s Hope is a free clinic that serves uninsured, low-income individuals. Their clinic locations are opened in the evenings for the convenience of the clients. Most of the nurses volunteer once a month, but Anderson volunteers each week. The staff of Sheperd’s Hope clinic locations is composed primarily of volunteers. Anderson has been a monumental asset to this organization as he volunteers his registered nursing skills on an ongoing weekly basis. He assists in the training of his fellow medical professional team at the clinic also. Anderson volunteers at the Grand Avenue location of Sheperd’s Hope and serves an average of 18 clients per week. He takes the initiative by offering suggestions to management to improve the health care services. Anderson is dedicated to serving the working poor of Orlando who need health care.
The 211 Community Resources information and referral number is new to Central Florida; however prior to 211, the Community Services Network had the challenge of offering this valuable service to people in need of community assistance. Anderson has been volunteering with the Community Services Network since 2000, and when they became the 211 Network, Anderson continues his efforts with them. He is still answering calls form Central Florida citizens in need and directing them to appropriate agencies to meet their needs. Anderson answers between 50 and 100 calls per day covering a wide variety of situations ranging from simple questions to crisis level issues.
The 211 Community Resources maintains a resource database that includes 425 agencies offering more than 3,000 services. Staff members and volunteers initially receive three to four weeks of intensive training before they are permitted to take a call. Additional training and in-services are required on an ongoing basis throughout the year. Given the vast amount of knowledge, patience, resources and time required of an Information Specialist, it is easy to see how few volunteers are willing to provide a long-term commitment to such a position. Anderson has been a steadfast, knowledgeable and reliable volunteer for more than three years.
NATIONAL OVARIAN CANCER COALITION
In December of 1989, Gail Hayward was diagnosed with stage III ovarian cancer. Although her physicians told her that the disease would most likely be fatal within two years, she survived 10 1/2 years. What she accomplished in the final 10 years of her life was build to what is now the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition (NOCC).
Rather than focus on her own health issues, Hayward chose to turn her attention to other women. She was frustrated by the lack of information and public knowledge about ovarian cancer, so she started a network with other survivors and physicians in the United States. She rallied individuals one-by-one and shaped them into a coalition committed to saving women’s lives by working for better education on the risks and symptoms of ovarian cancer. She built the movement at her kitchen table, from her hospital bed and hooked to IV’s in her home.
In 1995, Hayward was able to incorporate the NOCC as the country’s first comprehensive organization providing awareness and education about ovarian cancer. With the assistance of a prestigious national medical advisory board and board of directors from around the country, Hayward set out to develop an organization that would fuel the ovarian cancer awareness movement. She was able to initiate the nation September Ovarian Cancer Awareness public information campaign and create informational brochures and research literature. Within two years of its incorporation, NOCC was acknowledged as the leading educational and information organization on ovarian cancer in the nation.
NOCC remains Hayward’s legacy, keeping alive her spirit of outspoken advocacy, compassion for survivors and families and commitment to women’s health. NOCC initiated the first toll-free ovarian cancer information line and maintains the most comprehensive website for ovarian cancer support in the world. They have also built a network of may state divisions across the United State. Their Board is comprised of diverse professionals from around the country, and the Medical Advisory Board is made up of physicians and researchers active in the discovery of new treatments and early detection methods for ovarian cancer.
NOCC’s mission is to raise awareness about ovarian cancer and to promote education about this disease. By dispelling myths and misunderstandings, the coalition is committed to improve the overall survival rate and quality of life from ovarian cancer. Their goal is to provide the medical community and general population with a national resource focused solely on ovarian cancer; provide complete and accurate information regarding ovarian cancer; and obtain more funding for patient and public education, professional education, quality of life, survivorship in ovarian cancer and basic and clinical research.
NOCC has eight million consumer contacts annually, which includes the web site, telephone, newsletter, membership, community outreach, brochures and information packets. They also have in excess of 75,000 physician contacts each year that include conference outreach and symptom cards for physicians. NOCC now has 43 divisions in 28 states and will continue to work tirelessly for those living with ovarian cancer.
THE MCDARBY FAMILY
The McDarby family of Hillsborough County, Florida has made and continues to make a unique and lasting contribution to the lives of individuals with mental retardation through their involvement with Special Olympics. Like many Special Olympic families, Bob and Val McDarby began their involvement with Special Olympics through their son, Chris who is a Special Olympics athlete. Their love of Special Olympics extended to countless other families in Hillsborough County.
In addition to supporting Chris’s athletic accomplishments, the McDarbys support of Special Olympics Hillsborough County covers an array of volunteer roles. Bob and Val serve as chaperones, coaches and head delegates for Hillsborough County to numerous local, area and state level Special Olympics competitions. Bob also competes as a Unified Partner – a program that puts people with and without mental retardation on the same team – with Chris in golf. They are also among the most ardent cheerleaders for Chris and his fellow athletes from Durant High School.
Through outreach to other families, the McDarbys have helped increase family participation in Hillsborough County by 50%. Additionally, the McDarbys assist Hillsborough County Special Olympics and Special Olympics Florida with a variety of fundraising events throughout the year.
The McDarbys go out of their way to help as many athletes as possible by arranging car pools to practice sessions and competitions. From the weighty responsibility of serving as head delegates to the less glamorous job of standing out in the rain to cook hot dogs at a training day to enduring stifling heat of summer games to man the family tent; there is never a request made of them that they turn down. Their dedication is surpassed only by their compassion and selflessness.
As a golfing family, the McDarby family has helped Hillsborough’s golf program grow by encouraging athletes and parents to try Unified golf. Both Bob and Val are certified Special Olympics golf coaches. Last year the family received an invitation to compete in the Special Olympics national golf tournament. Chris and Bob played as Unified Partners and Val served as their caddy and coach.
The Hillsborough County Training Director says the efforts of the McDarbys and their support make it so much easier for things to happen in Hillsborough County.
NEW YORK DISASTER VOLUNTEERS
For more than 80 years, volunteers from Morgan-Lawrence County Chapter of the American Red Cross have been providing relief to victims of disaster in Morgan and Lawrence Counties, in the state of Alabama and across the nation. Currently, 69 disaster volunteers continue to take training, participate in local drills, maintain the Chapter disaster plan, survey shelters, update merchant agreements and work with other organizations active in disaster so their community is prepared for emergencies. These same trained volunteers respond to local emergencies such as single-family fires, search and rescues, chemical spills, small plane crashes, commercial fires, windstorms and more.
While most reeled in shock and horror at the unimaginable events of September 11th, 10 selfless Red Cross trained disaster volunteers from Decatur responded without a single thought to their own personal safety or the magnitude of this tragedy. Providing disaster nursing, mass care, family service and logistical support, Judy Smith, Karen Butler, Pam Galbreath, Sandra Cross, Linda Smith, Earl Haygood, Linda Robinson, Judy Hawkins, Charles Sanford and Alice Wilkerson spent two to four weeks in New York city.
They worked 12-hour days with families of victims, rescue workers, people displaced from their homes or those whose employment was impacted by the attacks on the World Trade Center. These volunteers made their way to New York as soon as air travel was resumed. Because of the uniqueness of the disaster, their training only provided only a basis for what they faced. The experience was different and the volunteers had to be flexible. Because of the heart-wrenching emotion and extreme stress, the disaster nurses were cycled out and returned home after two weeks. They had provided nursing care to family members waiting for word on their loved ones and to rescue workers, devastated by the scarcity of survivors.
You cannot estimate the impact that the American Red Cross volunteers had on the other rescue workers and family members. They gave countless hours of willingly donated time, compassion, hugs and tears, a shoulder to cry on and someone to listen. The challenge for volunteers was to maintain professionalism and to do their jobs while faced with constant stress and turmoil.
Each of the Decatur volunteers made an extreme sacrifice to help some people they did not know. They had to leave their family for at least two weeks, travel across the country and work strenuous 12+days under emotionally devastating conditions. Each one returned home to continue the local disaster work in which they were previously involved in and to participate in further disaster training.
KEEP AMERICA BEAUTIFUL, INC.
In 2003, Keep America Beautiful, Inc. celebrates 50 years of inspiring individuals to engage in positive actions that improve American communities. Keep America Beautiful connects communities – fostering partnerships among neighborhoods, businesses and government. The organization also meets community needs by helping to build safer, cleaner, more beautiful places to live, work and play all across America.
Keep America Beautiful provides tools, education, partnership opportunities and leadership to a national network of 530-plus affiliates across the United States and five international programs in the Keep America Beautiful system.
Keep America Beautiful finds practical ways for citizens, neighborhoods, schools, businesses and organizations to collaborate in litter prevention, recylcing, beautification and other community improvement initiatives. The most visible and successful illustration of our sustained mission-in-action is Keep America Beautiful’s Great American CleanupTM, which this year engages 2.3 million individuals in more than 14,000 communities in all 50 states. The Great American CleanupTM is the nation’s largest community improvement program and President George W. Bush serves as 2003 Honorary Chair. The 2003 program (March 1 to May 31) involved all states, including a large number of National/State Parks, Monuments and Historic Sites, plus participation of Puerto Rico, District of Columbia, Winnipeg, Canada and St. John U.S. Virgin Islands.
The local activities focused on area of greatest need in each participating community, including: Litter Cleanups; Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (e.g., clothes collection programs); Community Improvement and Beautification (e.g. Adopt-A-Spot, tree & flower planting, etc.); Playground, Park & Recreational Area Renewal; Roadway CLeanup and Beautification; Tire and Battery Recycling; Waterways Cleanups; Youth/Community Educational Workshops; Litter-Free Events; and Special Promotions, Tours, Concerts and Parades. The 2003 program logged more than 7 million hours of volunteer activities through more than 30,000 events.
In addition to the Great American Cleanup, Keep America Beautiful inspires sustained national conservation efforts through the “Liberty Gardens” initiative. This program created a special opportunity for Americans to honor their country, reaffirm national pride and also to transform public spaces into neighborhood areas of natural beauty. More than 1,000 Liberty Gardens have been planted since 2001.
Keep America Beautiful is many things to many people. It is the cornerstone of community conservation efforts focused on reducing litter, improving waste handling practices, fostering respect for public lands, and providing balanced information about solid waste and its management. For elected and public officials, it is a local organization whose public confidence and ability to foster partnerships between the public and private sectors makes it a valued asset in enhancing the quality of life. To teachers, the more than one million students who use its curricula, their parents, millions of consumers, and businesses large and small, Keep America Beautiful is the educator on solid waste and litter. Keep America Beautiful is millions of Americans, educated and involved at the grassroots level, taking personal responsibility for their own actions and preparing a legacy of environmental concern for future generations.
In its 50th year, Keep America Beautiful proudly continues its commitment to the environment, to help Americans to volunteer, to partner with others, to improve communities, and to positively impact the nation by keeping America beautiful.
DR. MARK ASPERILLA
Serving the community is an integral part of the life of Dr. Marianito (Mark) Asperilla, an infectious disease specialist in Charlotte County, Florida. Following the tragic events of September 11, 2001, Asperilla wanted to help make his community stronger and better prepared to respond to emergency situations, specifically in cases of terrorism or a biological attack. Dr. Asperilla was instrumental in forming the Disaster Preparedness Assistance Team (D-Pat, a local bio-warfare response team that quickly grew to 35 members, in October of 2001 that was later merged into the regional Medical Reserve Corps -MRC), to help educate and inform Florida communities about how to prepare and respond during these types of emergency situations.
His efforts include serving on Florida’s Region 6 Domestic Security Task Force, the disaster response committees at all three county hospitals, and coordinating disaster certification training courses. Dr. Asperilla sits on the Regional Steering Committee and the Charlotte County Operations Committee of the Medical Reserve Corps and he is continuously involved in recruiting new members and promoting the MRC to local hospitals and other groups. He currently is planning an educational program for new MRC members, as well as hazmat training for staff of local hospitals.
Dr. Asperilla’s charity work is sometimes one-on-one, as when he provides pro bono medical care to uninsured, low-income patients who could not otherwise afford it. At other times he is instrumental in establishing organizations to help much larger numbers of people to gain access to health care. For example, in 1994 he founded an HIV/AIDS clinic at the local health department and several years later an indigent prescription program, the St. Vincent de Paul Pharmacy, so that low-income individuals who have seen physicians can receive for free the medications that are prescribed for them.
Dr. Asperilla grew up in a family that reached out to those in need, and has continued the tradition throughout his own life. His concern for the plight of disadvantaged youth led him to start the Peace River Boxing Club in 1999, a community center that provides at-risk youth with an athletic challenge, positive role models and a supportive team atmosphere as an alternative to drugs and violence. He also cares about the unfortunate people who live in third world countries, for whom in 1994 he founded A.C.C.E.S.S. Care, Inc., a nonprofit group that helps to organize annual trips to South America where doctors (including Dr. Asperilla) treat the sick and malnourished.
MATT MILLER
Matt Miller has a younger brother, Andrew, who was diagnosed as dyslexic last year at the age of 11. This was a late diagnosis, but that is common; because although roughly 15% of the American population is dyslexic to some degree, it is not until these school children begin reading to learn that the disability surfaces in a pronounced way. Needing specialized schooling, Andrew was accepted to the Chartwell School that was located 2 ½ hours away. The Miller family relocated so Andrew could attend this school.
Matt had a special yearlong assignment from his English class, and he chose dyslexia as his topic. “Project Expertise” was based on extensive research and interviews with educators and experts, and Matt ultimately wrote what became a fully formatted grant proposal entitled, An Early Identification and Early Intervention Plan. This proposal Matt created is a three yearlong collaborative study with the Pacific Grove Unified School District and Chartwell, and it may alter the educational and emotional needs of every kindergarten student in the Pacific Grove Unified School District in Northern California.
The plan calls for the screening of every kindergartner entering the public school for the at risk signs of reading difficulties or disabilities. Once identified, these children will receive carefully crafted phonemic instruction and be monitored and tracked throughout the years until they reach third grade. It is hoped that the vast majority of these students will successfully develop their reading and language skills and avoid future remediation and pullout situations.
Matt presented this proposal to the Superintendent of Pacific Grove Unified School District, the elementary school principals, the Executive Director of Chartwell School, the Special Education Coordinator and the School Psychologist for the school district and the Program Specialist for Monterey County Special Education. All groups were supportive of the plan and encouraged Matt to seek funding for the project. Working closely with Chartwell, a formal proposal was submitted to the Packard Foundation last fall. This December, the Packard Foundation funded the entire project with approximately $90,000. Chartwell School is the actual recipient of the grant and will administer the study based on Matt’s proposal.
Matt learned quite a bit from this school assignment. He knows that when you have a good idea and mix that with energy and commitment; you can obtain outstanding results. He also learned that mobilizing resources that all have a common goal also helps to attain that goal in the most efficient way. Because of this assignment, children from Monterey and Salinas to Santa Cruz will benefit and deserve an equal chance at success.
