FRANK BARKER

Frank Barker served in a volunteer capacity in 1989 as the President of HabiJax, the Jacksonville, Florida affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International and was the Volunteer Coordinator on the first home that HabiJax ever built. He has worked with various volunteer committees throughout the past nine years.

Under Barker’s direction, HabiJax has been the number one Habitat for Humanity affiliate in the nation, out of over 1,600 affiliates, in the number of homes built starting in 1997 to the present. HabiJax showed a 40% increase in home production from 1997 to 2000. Plans to continue to build at a 54% increase have begun with goals of 202 homes in 2002, 303 homes in 2003, 404 homes in 2004 and 505 homes in 2005.

Barker has been responsible in developing relationships with hundreds of local corporations, churches and civic groups to partner with HabiJax through the years. He has also been instrumental in acquiring thousands of dollars in cash, materials and in-kind donations from within the Jacksonville community to support HabiJax home construction.

A historic habitat event occurred two years ago when HabiJax built 200 homes in 2000 with 101 homes being built in 17 days. Nearly 10,000 hands helped out during weeks of 10 to 12 inches of rain.

HabiJax has now built over 850 homes in Jacksonville since being founded in 1989 and will complete its 1,000th home by the end of the year.

Frank Barker and his wife, Sharon, have been serving as volunteers on the HabiJax Family Selection Committee since 1989 and have interviewed hundreds of prospective HabiJax families. Barker has also been instrumental in developing HabiJax’s Building on Faith efforts that has grown to include the participation of nearly 100 Jacksonville churches.

NONPROFIT FINANCIAL CENTER

Nonprofit Financial Center (NFC) strives to strengthen the viability of communities by enhancing the financial stability and management capacity of the nonprofits, individuals and organizations that support those communities. NFC provides a comprehensive range of financial support to community-based organizations in need.

Founded as a $20,000 dollar a year project, NFC has become an independent nonprofit, managing more than $3 million in assets. NFC’s financial supports are now available nationally. The Center has grown from one part-time administrator to employ eight full-time, three part-time and eight contract employees. NFC’s executive director, Delena Wilkerson, has led the organization for 19 of its 20 years. NFC’s CFO, Dottie Johnson, has 15 years of dedicated service.

The Center’s 20 years of achievement includes distribution of over $20 million dollars in working capital financing to nonprofits, direct financial management training and supportive services provided to more than 850 nonprofit organizations nationwide and direct engagement with more than 4,500 nonprofit leaders around responsible financial management for nonprofits. NFC continues to elevate its presence in the nonprofit sector through an informative website, www.NFConline.org – realizing 1.8 million points of contact this fiscal year.

Without NFC’s emergency loans and financial triage services, many nonprofits would have closed their doors – depriving community residents of vitally needed services. NFC meets the financial management needs of nonprofit and faith-based organizations of all sizes, from new emerging groups to 100-year-old social service agencies. The average NFC client is a nonprofit between 11 and 20 years old with a budget of just over one million dollars. NFC partners with local foundation and corporate donors to ensure that its services remain affordable for the nonprofit sector and to create scholarship funds for services.

NFC builds community by focusing its efforts on a vastly underserved market – nonprofit organizations nationwide. Nonprofit organizations continue to meet the critical needs of the most vulnerable citizens – impacting the lives of many children, seniors and low and moderate-income families. In turn, NFC continues to meet the vital financial management needs of these same nonprofits in increasing numbers. The demand for NFC services has never been higher.

JENNIFER CRAWLEY

Five years ago, as a contestant in the Miss Teen Arkansas pageant, Jennifer Lynn Crawley was asked to choose a critical issue that affects society in general, or young women in particular. In researching a subject that is near and dear to her heart, music, she discovered just how critical music is to the development of a child. She resolved that she would promote music education as her critical issue and broadcast its benefits. This dedicated young lady has done exactly that over the past five years. Jennifer is a volunteer for the Play It Again Arkansas Program. Play It Again Arkansas is a Department of Education program initiated in 1998 by Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. The goal is to assist students in participating in school band and orchestra programs by encouraging Arkansans to donate used musical instruments to their local schools. Since 1998, Play It Again Arkansas has provided more than 1,000 instruments to students across Arkansas; Jennifer began working with the program months before it started.

As a volunteer at the Capitol she mailed letters, made telephone calls, sent response cards, and developed contacts for the new program. In addition, she entertained at the reception at the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion, and served as spokesperson for the program. She spoke in front of College Presidents, Dean’s of Fine Arts, and Chairpersons of Music Departments from colleges and universities across the state, newspaper and television media, and introduced Governor Mike Huckabee.

Originally a piano performance major, and currently a speech communications major, Jennifer is involved in many noteworthy activities at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. She is the assistant to the Campus Activities Director of OBU, a member of the Campus Activities Board, a member of the EEE Women’s Social Club, a member of the Debate Team, the secretary of the Debate Club, the Academics Editor of the Ouachitonian Yearbook, a participant in Elder-Serve, and a member of the College Republicans. She was Vice-President of her freshman class, resident advisor, summer conference coordinator, and represented her student body in the Miss Arkansas Pageant, a preliminary to the Miss America Pageant. She was awarded the Miss America Community Service Award for the state of Arkansas in 1999, 2001 and again in 2002. Sam Beard, President and Founder of the American Institute of Public Service and Arkansas Lt. Governor Win Rockefeller presented Jennifer with the President’s Student Service Award in May of this year.

As you can see, Jennifer is a busy senior at OBU, but has continued to support Play It Again Arkansas and her own program, which she calls FACE the Music. F, A, C, and E represent the space notes on the treble cleft and according to Crawley, the benefits of music education as well – F is for Fun, A is for Academic Achievement, C is for Character, and E is for Expression. She created a web site in 1998 that presents the benefits of music education and provides a vast collection of research material. Please visit the web site at www.whymusic.org

Jennifer has also written several articles on the benefits of music that were published in an Arkansas magazine Protecting Our Children. In addition, she has been promoting both programs for diverse audiences such as civic groups, school assemblies, classrooms, pre-schools, Vacation Bible School, pageants, fashion shows, luncheons and conventions. In April, she was the guest speaker at the annual luncheon of the Arkansas Association for American Mothers, Inc.

Jennifer has a sincere commitment to the young people of Arkansas and to music in the schools. She has a vision and commitment that is rare for someone her age. Her volunteer service has helped significantly in the ability to support music education in Arkansas. She can often be heard saying, “It is my prayer that more children will be given the opportunity to reap the benefits of music education because let’s FACE it . . . Music Education is hitting the right note!”

JENNIFER SILVESTRI

Jessica Lin Silvestri participates in “Call to Protect”; a national organization that collects cell phones, reprograms them for emergency numbers and distributes them to victims of domestic violence. She was nine years old when a teenager from her church was stalked and killed by her ex-boyfriend. After remembering the pain the youth’s family went through and hearing about “Call to Protect”, Jessica contacted the national headquarters to find out that there were no collection sites in Ohio and decided to start a local collection.

She recruited local businesses to be drop off sites, talked local printers into donating fliers that she distributed to local schools, churches and organizations. She then alerted the media about her project. At the time, Jessica had hopes for a couple dozen of phones but stopped counting at the collection of 500 cell phones.

Jessica started work on this project in October 2000 and she continues to collect phones today. In January 2001, she was selected one of “20 People in Mahoning County Who Made a Difference in 2000” by The Youngstown Vindicator. She was featured in the October/November magazine Guideposts for Teens for her efforts. The Association of Fundraising Professionals named her 2001 Philanthropist of the Year in Mahoning, Trumbull, Columbiana, Mercer and Shenango Counties. This is the first time they have chosen a teenager for this honor. She has also been selected to receive a Distinguished Finalist medallion in The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards on the state level. Currently, Jessica is 1 of 120 pre-med students at John Carroll University.

Every year, one to four million domestic violence cases are reported. About 98% of the victims are women. In any given year, almost half of female murder victims are slain by their husbands or boyfriends. In the greater metropolitan area of Youngstown, Ohio, the police estimate that 65% of the 911 calls made were related to domestic violence.

MARLEAU QUICK

Marleau Quick is legally blind, but she is a staunch advocate for education. She began working as a reading assistant at Lincoln Elementary in Salt Lake City School District in the fall of 1993. She was paid for four hours per day and divided her time between two classrooms. She read one-on-one with students, recorded their progress, and keeps the teachers apprised of students’ development.

The following year, she started in another classroom of second graders. After a few weeks, she and the teacher had become comfortable enough in their working relationship, Quick requested to work only with the second graders because she was able to help them directly with their reading skills as opposed to filing, making copies and checking papers. She felt her talents could be used to make a serious impact, so the teacher went to the school administration. They obtained approval from the principal, and she kept the paid two hours but also worked 8:00-11:30 as a volunteer daily.

Though Quick is legally blind, she perseveres through difficulties. She uses a battery operated, magnifying device to see the print and record progress. This past August, budgetary problems caused her job description to include a broader range of duties that did not include being a reading assistant. Again, she declined but asked permission to continue her reading duties in a voluntary capacity.

Quick has been coming in daily and staying longer. Her efforts are recognized and she is more respected for her dedication. She is patient, calm, soothing, and mature. Her presence makes the teachers approach problems more deliberately. She greets the students at the door with warm personal acknowledgments. She listens to the class’s opening on the carpet and adapts to any significant factor that might influence their performance such as health, breakfast, rest, etc. She gets students to the nurses, cafeteria, or a blanket and pillow until contact can be made with parents. She listens for personal conflicts, minor disturbances, and monitors the completion of their work. If a student is having a slow or troubled day, she sits with them until they are successfully finished. She is intuitive about how much work a student is capable of doing and knows when to reduce the load without being destructive for their future growth.

Quick helps tremendously with the effectiveness of the teachers by patiently teaching and re-teaching concepts from a slightly different perspective. She develops their sense of self-worth, capabilities, intellect, and desire to help others. Students begin answering questions or volunteering for tasks that are new and unfamiliar. She makes them feel they are valued and inspires their desire to learn. Her love and commitment to the children of Lincoln that have such varied needs and backgrounds is definitely evident, genuine and reaches far beyond altruism.

NATIONAL ROOFING CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION

As a gift to the country, The National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) decided to coordinate the reroofing of the Pentagon. NRCA involved staff members, volunteer leadership, members at large and the office of Representative Nydia Velazquez, a Democrat for New York, to work with Pentagon officials to coordinate the project.

The Pentagon had no system in place to accept charitable donations of this multitude. NRCA appealed to its membership for monetary, labor and material donations. The Association also produced a video consisting of interviews with volunteer workers and showed the video at its annual convention in February. The luncheon’s keynote speaker was former President George H. W. Bush, who vocalized his support of the program.

NRCA helped identify a lead roofing contractor, James Myers Company, located in Beltsville, Maryland, to coordinate much of the project work. In addition, NRCA helped coordinate and collect material and financial donations, as well as guarantee housing at a reduced rate at nearby hotels for volunteer workers. NRCA has kept in constant contact with the roofing contractor, general contractor and Pentagon officials to ensure the project is proceeding as planned. The work, which encompasses about 60,000 square feet, has an anticipated completion date of September 11, 2002.

To date, 140 members have made financial contributions, totaling $154,000 dollars; 21 have made material donations and 17 provide labor. Home Depotâ donated nearly $100,000 dollars worth of lumber for the roof sheathing. NRCA donated about $10,000 dollars of in kind.

As a result of the rebuilding of the nation’s Department of Defense’s headquarters, NRCA has received support from members who contributed to the project, as well as from other roofing-related industry groups. The NRCA Pentagon Project created solidarity and brought together all industry segments, such as contractors, manufacturers, distributors, architects and consultants, to work toward a common goal. The NRCA Pentagon Project has received a great deal of interest from national, regional and local media.

VICKIE KING

Vickie King has served the community through her search work for the last 20 years. Her focus is on educating the public, especially the children, in wilderness safety. According to documentation, she has participated in over 370 demonstrations reaching in excess of 30,000 people. She loves to speak to elementary and teenage groups and always entertains while educating.

Her dedication to the community is obvious in the many unpaid hours she volunteers in search work. First a member of Rocky Mountain Rescue Dogs, and currently a member of American Search Dogs she is on call 24 hours a day. When she found her professional job getting in the way of search work, she became self employed–at a considerable financial loss.

Vickie always puts the victim first.

King has been on 250 searches and has traveled over 52,00 miles for searches, training and demonstrations. One search King served on took an estimated 6500 man-hours. She is deathly afraid of flying, but has logged over 189 air hours when the situation was life or death. Search work has been part of her life since 1981 and continues to dominate her time as she devotes countless hours to training others. She has trained teams in Utah, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, and Arizona. Vickie works as a mentor, as well as a leader, in the search dog organization.

Anyone who knows King understands her strong desire to support the victim and their family. She often forms bonds with those family members who need her services and helps them cope with the aftermath of the search. Phone calls, letters, and visits with family member all show her unselfish dedication to her fellow man. An average week will find her doing two to three educational demonstrations in schools; training with newer members of the group; and working her own dog, Jamie.

SOUTHWEST CHRISTIAN HOSPICE AND HOPE HOUSE

Founded in June 1983, as an outpatient program, Southwest Christian Hospice and Hope House provides quality healthcare, spiritual and emotional support for terminally ill patients and their families at no cost. The inpatient facility opened in 1987 – becoming the first full service inpatient/homecare hospice in the state of Georgia. Southwest Christian Hospice and Hope House currently serves five, metro Atlanta counties in Georgia under their homecare program. However, the inpatient program has no geographical boundaries.

In 1996, Hope House began providing home respite care for children suffering from severe disabilities and life-threatening illnesses. The Children’s Respite Center – Hope House helps with temporary relief for caregivers by providing quality respite care to those overwhelmed with medically fragile children that require attention 24-hours per day. This facility receives referrals from the entire metropolitan Atlanta area, as well as other areas throughout the State of Georgia and the Southeast.

Mrs. Barbara Bush was recently a speaker for Hope House’s Annual Benefit Dinner and Award Banquet. She stated, “Your generosity and love is a wonderful gift to this community and I congratulate all of you who are a part of this wonderful program. You are exactly what Winston Churchill had in mind when he said, ‘you make a living by what you earn – you make a life by what you give.’”

“The Word of God states, ‘what you do in secret shall be rewarded openly’, and for over a decade Southwest Christian Hospice and Hope House have been committed to glorifying God through His Son Jesus Christ by providing quality care to the terminally ill along with providing emotional support to their families. Receiving the Points of Light Award and being recognized by our country and our country’s leaders is truly an answered prayer and a blessing from God and as a result of receiving this award we realize that many more doors of opportunity to glorify God have been made available to us. We at Southwest Christian Hospice and Hope House want to thank you for choosing us as your #2,243 recipient of The Daily Points of Light Award and may your organization continue to shine and be that beacon of light that promotes volunteerism throughout our nation,” stated Michael F. Sorrow, Executive Director, Southwest Christian Hospice and Hope House.

PAULA LUCAS

Paula Lucas founded and operates the only international toll free domestic violence crisis line, 866-USWOMEN, for battered American women and children, living in foreign countries, offering a “Lifeline of Hope” where none existed before. She founded American Women Overseas (AWOS), based upon what she wished had been available to herself and her three children as abused American citizens living overseas.

In the Spring of 1997, after suffering for 13 years in a violent marriage, Lucas went to the American Embassy for assistance to get her and her children back to the USA. Her efforts were futile. The Embassy offered little more than sympathy and a pat on the back. Over the next two years, Lucas repeatedly went to the Embassy for help and in frustration, began seeking and researching resources for battered American women and children overseas, all the while suffering daily with abuse and abuse of her children. She could find no resources that existed for battered American women and children overseas. She finally escaped on her own in April 1999.

She spent the first five months back in the USA attempting to gain financial support to get her program officially established. Lucas had no money. She was fighting an intense legal battle for divorce, custody and jurisdiction to keep her children in the United States and living between family, friends and domestic violence shelters. In August 1999, after months of inquiries and talking to whoever would listen, Lucas began spending between 60 to 80 hours a week on her program, registering AWOS as a nonprofit organization in Oregon, authoring and establishing the AWOS website on-line by December 1999, www.awoscentral.com applying for and receiving her 501(c)(3) status, networking via the internet and international airmail with American women’s organizations, expatriate organizations, the State Department, the Justice Department and the military. She wrote several grant proposals but continued to be turned down.

In August 2000, Lucas took an overnight position at a women’s shelter as a family advocate to support her family and help abuse families in Oregon, but she still had her days free for AWOS. In September 2000, she finally won full legal and physical custody of her sons, but no jurisdiction for child support or alimony from her ex-husband and had incurred $40,000 dollars in legal fees. Despite her increasing financial burden, she unrelentingly continued to focus on AWOS as volunteer Executive Director. By April 2001, she had received enough seed money in the form of individual donations to launch the International Toll Free Domestic Violence Crisis Line 866-USWOMEN. That same month, Lucas commenced an international crisis line awareness campaign networking with women and expatriate organizations around the world.

LOUISE KING

Having been a recipient of public aid, Louise King was inspired to open a social services agency for young people. This single mother of two wanted to help low-income families with the same problems she once had, such as, difficulty buying school supplies and Christmas presents for her two children.

In the summer of 1992, after months of soliciting donations from businesses all over the community and recruiting firefighters and police officers to speak about fire safety, drug prevention and the importance of staying in school, King held a Back-to-School party at Gloria Taylor Park. The kids were provided with a picnic lunch and pencils, crayons and paper for school.

The program has grown from 40 youth in its first year to more than 100 this past fall. In addition to the annual Back-to-School party, King also has a Christmas party for low-income families. The first one was held in her basement with 50 youth participating. They all received presents of stuffed animals and games. King spent more than $500 of her own money for this past year’s Christmas party.

Through her organization called Service Connection, King encourages young volunteers to serve at a local senior citizen home. The youth join the seniors in playing checkers or other board games or coloring in coloring books. Some seniors even had their hair styled by the youth. King also encourages the youngsters to volunteer their services whenever possible to other organizations. Additionally, she has a small group of children in whom she continually encourages to achieve good grades and to make the honor roll by giving them incentives.