TEDDY BEAR LADIES PLEASANT VIEW 9TH WARD
When a child comes to the Utah County Children’s Justice Center to tell their most difficult and terrifying story of sexual or physical abuse they never leave empty handed. Thanks to a group of women in the Pleasant View 9th Ward, when each child is ready to leave the Children’ s Justice Center they get the opportunity to pick out a special hand made teddy bear. For more than 10 years, the women of Pleasant View 9th Ward have come together each month to make a difference in the lives of the children of the community.
Throughout the month, women cut out and sew the shells of these teddy bears and on the 4th Tuesday of each month they come together to stuff and decorate the bears. In the past 11 1/2 years, they have made and donated almost 9,000 bears. The materials are donated by the woman or other members of the community. These women who are mostly in the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and 90’s were once asked how long were they planning to continue to make bears. Their response was as long as there are children who need them.
There are many “bear lady” stories. One member of the group suffered from terrible headaches and she would sew bears in the middle of the night to get her mind off of her pain. She took a short time off from making bears when it was found out that her headaches were caused by a brain cancer, but she is back at work after chemotherapy and radiation. Another member returned to making bears after suffering a minor stroke. Still another continued to keep making bears while her shoulder was in a sling after a fall. Nothing has stopped these women from delivering a minimum of 50 bears to the Children’s Justice Center each month for more than 11 1/2 years.
There are as many stories about the impact of the bears, as there are children who hold them. One child who came to the Center to be interviewed, but was too afraid to tell her story . She still picked out her bear and went home. That night her stepfather took her bear and cut it to shreds with a knife and told her he would do the same to her if she spoke to anyone about what he was doing to her. The child was so angry about what had happened to her bear, she asked to go back to the Children’s Justice Center and told all of the details of her abuse. She also got to pick out another bear.
The Teddy Bear Ladies are positive proof that everyone has the ability to make a difference and that small individual contributions when joined together, can have a tremendous impact on the lives of children. They are an example of how a community can care for its most important asset- its children.
JACK SHEEHAN
John “Jack” Sheehan has been a volunteer for Hospice of Palm Beach County since 1980, serving hundreds of patients and families. He is 83 years old. Although his body moves more slowly, his heart still reaches out to those in need. He takes his volunteer service seriously and sits beside someone so they will not die alone, and he has driven through the city for hours to grant a dying man’s last wish.
Sheehan has never been much for writing reports so it is hard for the Hospice to document the exact hours he serves. He believes people are more important than reports so he spends his time with the people. He gets to know the patient and their family and makes sure both are feeling better before he leaves. He fulfills his role as a home caregiver by meeting the needs of his client and their family and making that a priority over himself.
Sheehan is positive and works to only comment on the good things. He portrays only the good, always looking at the positive. When he sees the downtrodden and the ill, he looks sad but goes on to make sure each situation he faces is made better in some way.
To describe Jack Sheehan one thinks of humility, compassion, devotion to others, selflessness, generosity and in short, a role model for all mankind. A die-hard Irishman, he knows no color or ethnic boundaries. On one St Patrick’s Day, Sheehan came into the Hospice facility in full Leprechaun regalia right down to the buckles on the shoes. He wanted to make the patients’ day a little happier, and that he did. Unresponsive patients began to talk, and patients who had not been able to smile were almost laughing when he made his visits to each and every one.
Last and certainly not least, one of Sheehan’s most memorable acts of kindness involved a lady, a stranger, who was black and blue all over and very ill. She had no one to care for her. He worked feverishly to get her the medical help she needed, and she eventually became a patient of Hospice. He sat with her every day until her death, though he hardly knew her name. She knew him as her angel.
MARK KAPLAN
Mark Kaplan has worked in the Music Department of the Malden Public Schools since he began teaching back in the early 1970s. He teaches instrumental music and band to elementary and middle school students.
Kaplan often was an elementary child's first teacher of music. As their teacher he wants all of his students to learn to love music as he does. He wants music to be fun and not something to dread. He has dedicated his whole career to his students and making music a part of their lives. Over the years, Kaplan has provided students with the skills they need to participate in special programs such as Tiny Tunes Band, Middle School Band, Jazz Band, All City Band and High School Band, just to name a few.
In recent years Kaplan has been very involved in the planning for the Music Department. Since there is no department manager, he has taken on a leadership role in helping to write curricula for all levels, working on school wide assessment procedures, and in working on the room designs and programs for the five new K-8 Malden schools. Beyond what he does in evening practices and marching in parades, he also gives more time to plan an annual trip to reward the band members.
Over the years working with the band students, Kaplan built up a rapport with their parents. He found each year that he would get more brothers and sisters of former students in his instrumental programs. In no time, parents began to associate Kaplan's name with Malden Elementary School bands.
On two occasions when the city faced financial cuts and the school department eliminated music programs Kaplan spoke out at School Committee meetings about the importance of music in the lives of children. He told them that research shows that students who study music achieve better in mathematics and foreign languages. He told them that having music programs also keeps kids involved in something positive which leads to healthy self-esteem. And finally Kaplan stressed that students involved in music programs are too busy to be hanging around and getting into trouble. Kaplan never missed an opportunity to advocate for the kids.
Whenever you work with students after school in extracurricular programs you see their parents frequently. Over the years, Kaplan got the parents involved with their children's music education whenever possible and they eventually formed the Malden All City Band-Aiders Association. Kaplan and the group raised money, chaperoned trips and events, organized spaghetti suppers, leafleted, fundraised and helped with parades and concerts. Although this group deserves praises for what they have achieved over the years their origin comes from the fact that Mr. Kaplan had a rapport with parents that was welcoming and made them want to contribute to his efforts and the kids.
SABINE AUGUSTE
Sabine Auguste has consistently contributed to the Sacred Heart University community and the local Bridgeport, Connecticut area through her dedicated community service involvement, since she was a freshman in 2000. A resident of Stamford, Connecticut, Sabine entered her sophomore year at Sacred Heart University as the president of Habitat for Humanity Campus Chapter. Under her leadership, the Campus Chapter started the year with an annual “sleep-out” dramatizing the affordable housing crisis. The event raised $1,100 dollars.
Sabine worked in partnership with fellow Habitat board members in planning a four-day Habitat Weekend Challenge in South Philadelphia. Fourteen students, under the leadership of Auguste, worked with South and West Philadelphia Habitat for Humanity Affiliates. Working on brick row houses, the participants successfully placed siding on a home and did masonry work. Most importantly, the students learned about the redlining practices that destroyed the Stiles Streets neighborhood.
Sabine also led the Campus Chapter into their alternative spring break trips. In the spring of 2002, the Chapter sponsored two trips: Boston, Massachusetts, and Wilmington, Delaware. Sabine organized the trip to Boston, made all the arrangements and led the five university students and one faculty. She encouraged the group to work in the Habitat neighborhood and planned a Read Aloud visit to a Boston school. They also worked at an after school program. During the week, the students lived in a hostel, worked with Boston Habitat, and experienced the culture of the city.
In April 2002, Sabine initiated Habifest at Sacred Heart University. It was the organization’s first year participating in Habifest – a Habitat for Humanity national effort to dramatize the issue of poverty housing on the university campus. With the assistance of her board members, she was able to organize a shed-building event on campus property. Three sheds were built on the main patio of the university where 55 people participated. Flyers were also given out to educate students about the issue. The sheds were donated to Habitat homeowners in Bridgeport because many of the Habitat homes lacked a place for families to store lawn mowers and lawn equipment. The Campus Chapter also sold t-shirts and pins to raise $780 dollars to pay for the material for the sheds.
Sabine Auguste’s commitment extends beyond her presidency role in Habitat. In the past three semesters, she was one of several student leaders in two annual urban immersion programs at the university. In January 2002, she was a student leader for CURTIS Week, a program that explores the theme of diversity in celebration of the memory and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other social activists. It attempts to confront social issues by exposing the Sacred Heart student participants to the social injustices in society. She led students in their hands-on service experiences. She also facilitated discussion on issues such as urban poverty, prejudice, racism, immigration, and community violence.
In August 2002, she again served as a student leader during Community Connections. Similar to CURTIS Week, Community Connections is an urban immersion week for incoming freshmen. The students lived in Bridgeport and did service work in partnership with the community. She helped in planning the week, transporting and overseeing students at designated worksites and facilitated discussions.
DARLYNN WOSYLUK-WHITING
Darlynn Wosyluk-Whiting has been volunteering for Hospice of Volusia/Flagler for three years. She average 20 hours per month as a care center floor volunteer. Her official duties include helping patients fill out their menus and refilling their ice water. However, from day one, Wosyluk-Whiting felt a calling to take her volunteering to a higher level.
She began to use her highly developed people skills to fulfill patients’ needs and wishes. She befriended a homeless man who came to the care center, sitting with him for hours on end, hearing his life story, promising him she would be with him when he died. She was there the night he died, staying at the center until the early morning hours, fulfilling her promise to not let him die alone.
Wosyluk-Whiting individualizes every patient’s needs, and does whatever is necessary to bring wishes to fruition. One of the patient’s families was having a reunion in New Smyrna Beach and Wosyluk helped move the entire reunion to the care center so the patient could attend. She even created a book of the patient’s memories to be given to each family member as a souvenir. When she picks up on a wish, she sees it through to completion.
One patient wanted to record her life. Wosyluk-Whiting took notes in the patient’s room by day, and typed them on her computer at night. The results were a lovely book of memories the patient could share with her family. One patient believed her life was gifted with three miracles and Wosyluk-Whiting recorded these three separate stories, had them bound together as a book and presented it to the patient.
Each patient’s life is like a drop that radiates a ripple from within, washing over the lives of friends and relatives. When Wosyluk-Whiting so profoundly touches the lives of patients, each in a unique way, she spreads the true meaning of hospice throughout the community. She shows each family member the depth of caring a volunteer can have for any individual, by acknowledging a last wish, no matter how large or small. Wosyluk-Whiting connects on a level deeper than most people. She communicates on a place unencumbered by petty annoyances. One patient told Wosyluk she was like her granddaughter and said to her, “I’ve never loved anyone this quickly in my life.”
No one needs to ask Darlynn Wosyluk-Whiting to find a specific need of a patient; she simply does it on her own. Initially, she was hesitant about working in the care center, fearing her youth and inexperience would keep her form being a good volunteer. However, her wonderful instincts and sincere desire to make a difference in this world kept her going as she searched for a way to use her talents. She makes her own way, following her heart from door to door in the care center, taking in what needs to be met. Even though she is a busy working mother of a boy and girl, Wosyluk-Whiting spends the time she is either not working, or volunteering for her children’s school, at the care center. She has found a way to create her won unique way of volunteering by capturing the memories of her patients. By incorporating the spiritual and emotional need of patients, she has enriched their lives and the lives of their families.
INTERFAITH HOUSING ASSOCIATION
The Interfaith Housing Association (IHA), located in Westport, CT, provides food, shelter and services for homeless residents and people at risk of becoming homeless. IHA has grown dramatically since its inception in 1984, when food and shelter for homeless people were offered in an abandoned firehouse. Today IHA is a nationally recognized model for providing a continuum of care and services for the suburban homeless. Westport is one of only four affluent communities in the country that has shelters for homeless people.
When IHA and other shelters opened in the early 1980s, homelessness was primarily caused by a poor economy and citizens assumed the problem would go away when the economy improved. Instead, homelessness has become an accepted part of life in many communities, however the reasons why people become homeless have changed. A significant percentage of today’s homeless population suffer from chronic mental illnesses, often combined with a history of addiction. In Connecticut, there is a dearth of in-patient treatment services for people with mental illnesses.
When two of the three state mental hospitals and two of the three state addiction treatment facilities were closed they were to have been replaced with community-based programs. Very few programs were actually established – creating a new homeless population. In addition, managed care companies impose severe restrictions on the number of days a patient can receive in-patient hospital services. The result is that people are being released prematurely to the community with no place to go except an emergency shelter. This has resulted in an increased demand for existing services and a need for new programs and services that address the needs of today’s homeless population.
When IHA was incorporated in 1984 it was a largely volunteer program with a two-person staff. It has become a highly professional social service agency with a staff of 24, and the support of nearly 450 volunteers. Shelter is provided for up to 60 people each night, including single men, single women and mothers with children. More than 30,000 meals are served in a year. Programs operate 24 hours a day. Every client receives intensive professional case management services and can participate in the programs listed below:
Homes With Hope is a group of eight permanent housing units for homeless mentally ill adults, individuals and parents with children, who will always need support but have demonstrated the ability to live independently.
Bacharach Community is three small houses that provide emergency shelter for homeless mothers and their children.
Gillespie Center is a shelter for homeless single men.
Hoskins’ Place is a shelter for homeless single women.
Linxweiler House is a 5-bed halfway house for formerly homeless men who are sober and on the road to self -sufficiency.
The Schnurmacher House is a 4-bed halfway house for women in recovery who wish to live in a sober community and who demonstrate a strong desire to change their lives significantly.
NAOMI HUNTING
Naomi Hunting has been a volunteer at the Escalante Valley Elementary School in Beryl, Utah for the past nine years. She affects most people who enter the door of the school, leaving a lasting impression on those she meets.
Hunting is a 30-year old woman with Down’s Syndrome. She attended Escalante in her youth, and now she is there giving back in various capacities. She keeps the children in their seats, and if someone is crying and needs a hug she is right there to help them. Hunting also speaks to the children and shows them how to behave properly on the school bus so they can enjoy their ride and arrive safely. She provides guidance on how to keep their hands to themselves, sit still in their seats and keep the noise level down. Hunting helps with the preschool and kindergarten students. These 3-6 year olds travel approximately 15 miles each way.
Hunting also volunteers in the school cafeteria. There she sets up tables and places salt and peppershakers out on the tables for the children. She is available when the schools need her, and the bus driver states that Hunting keeps her on track with the children and they make a great team.
Hunting takes her service very seriously, and she considers her volunteer work her job. She has gained many friends and helped the young students just entering into the educational system feel comfortable and at ease. In addition to working with the bus and in the cafeteria, Hunting does a little more during the holidays. She dresses up for Halloween and passes out Valentines on Valentine’s Day. She loves being with the children and it is evident in the smiles she receives from the students and the words of appreciation she gets from the staff at Escalante Valley School.
Hunting is one of 350,000 Americans living with Down’s Syndrome. She proves that those afflicted with this condition can live with their families and be active participants in the educational, vocational, social and recreational activities in their communities. Hunting is an inspiration to many and especially those with disabilities, the children she serves and the teachers and staff at the school.
MEALS ON WHEELS VOLUNTEERS
Meals On Wheels (MOW) volunteers deliver hot, nutritious meals to homebound seniors in Kalamazoo County. They enable homebound seniors the opportunity to live in their own home and eat nutritious meals seven days a week. Last year, 175 volunteers delivered 206,019 meals to 1,082 individuals.
Of course, volunteers provide much more than a meal. They provide the frail elderly with a link to the outside world and companionship to seniors who may have few friends or social contacts left. They provide peace of mind not only for the seniors, but also for their families who may live in other towns or states.
MOW volunteers’ impact on the community is substantial. Seniors who are unable to cook for themselves often have to be institutionalized, which is more costly to tax payers than if they are able to remain in their own home. It is difficult to estimate the impact that a face-to-face encounter has on a lonely man or woman, sitting at home waiting for someone to bring them a cooked meal. In a mundane environment, a smiling face and a hot meal are eagerly awaited.
MOW volunteers, young and old alike, are the unsung heroes of Kalamazoo County. Their dedication and selflessness enables frail, homebound seniors to stay in their home surrounded by their pets, possessions and a lifetime of memories. Volunteers donate not only their time, but also their own money for gas. Kalamazoo is very fortunate to have a large number of MOW volunteers who deliver meals for free. Because of this, there is no waiting list here, unlike other cities. In addition, because of this free delivery service, grant money for the program can be applied to producing a larger number of meals than would be possible if drivers had to be paid for their 17,578 hours of service last year. When calculated at a value of $16.05 per volunteer hour, MOW drivers of Kalamazoo donated $282,127 dollars worth of free service to their community last year.
Aside from providing nourishment, volunteers have also saved lives. Volunteers have discovered clients who fell and could not get up, they rescued a client from a burning trailer, and they have stayed with individuals until the ambulance arrived. Volunteers have gone above and beyond the call of duty by bringing dog biscuits to pets on their route, shoveling around the mailbox so that mail can be delivered, and bringing mail and newspapers into the house. They have taken out the garbage, walked dogs, changed light bulbs, connected answering machines, and hunted for glasses and hearing aids. On more than one occasion, they have alerted caseworkers to potential problems.
For many individuals, Meals On Wheels is a very positive experience that sparks interests in other volunteer opportunities. Each story is unique, each volunteer is a real treasure. The MOW volunteers deliver much more than a meal; they deliver peace of mind, a sense of hope, and the knowledge that someone cares.
DEE MIRELES
As a volunteer for the GIVE Program, which provides in home support to frail homebound seniors and the disabled, Dee Mireles contributed nearly 400 hours last year alone. She provided transportation, which enabled clients to shop for groceries, go to medical appointments and run routine errands. She volunteered as a “friendly visitor” for a woman who was homebound because she couldn’t walk. She visited with residents of an assisted living facility “because they get so lonely.” She also took six residents of a foster care home out to eat on a regular basis, making “care packages” as a treat for each lady.
Mireles is an inspiration for all around her. Although she works full-time, she looks forward to helping others during her “time off.” Because of her efforts, 80 people are given a hot breakfast several times a month, are served Thanksgiving dinner, and others are provided with coats, boots, socks and toiletry items. She enlists the help of the members of her church for such things as making, serving and cleaning up the meals, providing them with the opportunity to serve. She is a very dedicated, caring individual who is willing to help out at the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission, her church, assisted-living facilities and the Food Clinic whenever needed. Imagine the impact Mireles had on the woman whose leg was amputated due to diabetes, but who wanted to go to the movies like she did years ago. She accompanied her twice a month, creating a very special and eagerly anticipated event in the woman’s life.
As a full time employee, the greatest obstacle Mireles has to overcome is the time and energy to keep going after her “normal” workday is through. But her love for people and her feeling that “if you supply the will, God will do the rest” keeps her motivated and focused on making a difference in someone’s life. She not only gives of her time, but also has to spend her own money for the gas to transport clients, and for the crafts projects she makes as gifts for clients. Having legally adopted her grandson a few years ago, she faces the obstacle of dividing her time between her job, her grandson and her volunteer work. Although anyone of those jobs would constitute a full-time position, Mireles manages all with a sense of duty and responsibility.
Her lifetime has been one of giving and expecting nothing in return. She took care of her husband who had diabetes until his death, looked after her aunt in a foster care home, and assisted her grandmother when she was ill. Her life is one of dedication and service without reward.
CARLA KNOROWSKI
In 2001, Carla Knorowski, Ph.D., an Associate Dean for Development and External Affairs and Director of Advancement at the University of Illinois at Chicago, founded and provided the major underwriting for the Thirteen-Fifty Foundation. She serves on a volunteer basis as its Executive Director. The foundation is dedicated to the celebration of America and the American flag by encouraging active and purposeful citizenship.
Through the Thirteen-Fifty Foundation, Dr. Knorowski developed the Reaffirmation of Citizenship Oath, which seeks to encourage American citizens to ponder what it means to be a citizen of the United States, and calls them to serve as more engaged, purposeful members of society. Last September 11th, more than 1,000 elementary students, their parents and teachers took the oath, which has been administered at other civic gatherings as well.
The foundation also has developed recognition programs to recognize Americans who have served America and the American flag well through service within the communities in which they live. The Patriot Prize Essay Contest, which the foundation launched this past year, engaged more than 650 high school juniors from the state of Illinois in writing about what the American flag means to them. Awards given through the contest and also through other foundation programs provide partial scholarships to students who are sound academically and at the same time, serve their local communities.
Also launched in the past year is the foundation’s Ideas Abroad program that sends English language books to countries of need, such as Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Thailand. New projects are currently underway in both Haiti and Jamaica. Additionally, the foundation established the Thirteen-Fifty’s Third Fold Veterans Honor Roll, which honors veterans (living and deceased) who have served America in the highest traditions of public service. The Third Fold Veterans Honor Roll members are announced and remembered at special foundation events.
Dr. Carla Knorowski has a well-documented history of service not just at the local and national level, but globally as well. Some of her noteworthy service abroad has been working over and above the duties at the University of Illinois to attract more than $230,000 in seed funding over a five year period to underwrite 30 exchanges between American and Polish doctors to reduce infant and maternal mortality in Poland. The project saved more 10,000 lives lowering the infant and maternal mortality rates 8% and 5% respectively.
She also coordinated a project between Shriners Hospital and a young victim of a marketplace bombing in Sarajevo in the 1990s, which brought the young lady to the U.S. free-of-charge to be fitted for prostheses enabling her to walk. She also co-directed for a three-year period, the Chicago Distance Classic race that raised more than $200,000 for the American Lung Association. The money went towards research and the treatment of lung-related illnesses. Over the course of her career as a fundraiser, she has raised approximately $17 million in private support for education, specifically more than $3 million for scholarships for students so that they may attain an education. She also served on the Illinois Fatherhood Initiative board as well as board of local-area high schools.
