DAVID SCHMITZ

David Schmitz has been a police officer for the Green Bay Police Department for almost 15 years. During the past five years, he has worked as a Community Police Officer at a city elementary school. Tank Elementary School has a Community Police Office at the school, and there, many of the children have learned how to make their community a safer place to live.

Officer Schmitz enjoys his assignment and takes it seriously. He knows that many of the children may not have mentors or examples at home, and he strives to fill that void. He is in total agreement with the mission of the school and Community Policing and works tirelessly towards enhancing the community while he is both on and off duty. Though working with the children is a part of his job, he does not hesitate to handle any situation brought to his attention.

Officer Schmitz works well beyond his eight-hour day. His heart is for the children and he uses his energy to encourage them and help them get through difficult circumstances. Officer Schmitz has worked with troubled teens, youth who have run away or are contemplating running away, or youth who just need to talk.

The children at the school are proud to have Officer Schmitz with them. Officer Schmitz has lunch regularly with the students at school because he likes to stay in touch with them and be aware of how they are feeling and what challenges they are facing in their lives. This is by no means required by Green Bay Police Department, but it is Officer Schmitz’s choice. Not only does Officer Schmitz work with the school, but also he is quite active in other community organizations. He works with business owners, property owners, churches and civic organizations to promote the welfare of the Green Bay community.

Officer Schmitz is involved in many projects in Green Bay. He works with Character First. This program teaches positive character traits to students monthly and encourages them to utilize them in their daily life. He also devotes time to Shop with A Cop where he takes disadvantaged children to get Christmas presents for their family, Cops & Bobbers, where he takes children fishing for a day, and Clean Up Day, where he organizes and participates in litter pick-up with the children in the community. In addition to this, Officer Schmitz takes children to see Sesame Street Live as well as the Shrine Circus. He works at the community picnic and sits in the dunk tank, he is a Big Brother, and he is involved in the Police Athletic League/Boys & Girls Club after school program.

Officer Schmitz has a family and works, volunteers, and raises his three children. He was honored and awarded the Tank School – Spirit of Giving Award because of his dedication and commitment to Tank Elementary School. He is also a member for the Wisconsin Association of Community Oriented Policing (WACOP) and was recently elected treasurer.

MARY E. VOLZ MIDDLE SCHOOL

For over 30 years Saint John of God Community Services has served the needs of people with profound disabilities living in southern New Jersey. Over the course of time, many partnerships have been forged. One of the longest standing and most rewarding partnerships is with the Runnemede School District’s Mary E. Volz Middle School.

Over the years, over 700 eighth graders have been involved in this partnership. They have served as tutors, mentors, and child care assistants for children with profound disabilities. Their efforts have enhanced the educational experience of the students and supported the work of the staff. The middle school students are given a chance to bond with persons who are a little different than them. They are also given a realistic view of the professions in the field of special education.

Many of the student participants have gone on to become special education teachers, physical therapists, nurses or speech therapists. Their volunteer experiences have shown them the difference they can make in someone’s life. Many of the alumnae specifically stated the experiences they encountered while volunteering greatly impacted their choice and enjoyment of career.

This service-learning project has alumnae who are very supportive. The school’s current project coordinator was once a volunteer in the program along with her daughters who are about to go to college. The charter group of youth has watched others behind them as well as their own children follow in their caring example of service. They are continuing the cycle of “giving back.”

ADAPTIVE SPORTS FOUNDATION

The Adaptive Sports Foundation began as The Disabled Ski Program in 1984. In its first season, there were 20 volunteer instructors and 30 students. They began before the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1996; however, their mission was similar. They wanted anyone to be able to participate in any recreational activity. Their name has since changed to the Adaptive Sports Foundation, but the call is still the same.

The Foundation initially had a small office in a little building in a parking lot. There was little heat and less equipment so the volunteers and participants alike kept their coats on. A small chalkboard was used for daily assignments, and though the group did not have much; they greeted their students with enthusiasm and a positive attitude. That continues today to encourage the students and instructors alike.

The Adaptive Sports Foundation provides all seasons sport and recreational activities for physically and/or cognitively challenged individuals in a mountain environment designed to increase the participant’s self-esteem, independence, and potential. The results of the program have been the students leading better lives by being healthier and being more productive within their families and their communities.

Their slogan is “if I can do this, I can do anything.” Presently, the Foundation has 125 volunteer instructors who serve 1500 disabled athletes annually. The program continues to serve as the research and development center for adaptive instruction. They also are a model for others interested in establishing adaptive programs.

The volunteer corps is a group comprised of various people of various positions in life around the Windham community. The Foundations encourages and provides education and certification for high school and college students, teachers, physical therapists, retirees, doctors, lawyers, nurses, homemakers and the like. Those who serve with the program donate 16 teaching days in addition to 10 other days of training.

The students are diverse also. Some are developmentally delayed, autistic, retarded, blind, visually impaired, quadriplegic, paraplegic, cancer patients at all levels of treatment, along with those who have multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, blood disorders, and amputees.

LESLIE CHILDERS

“Alternative Response” (AR) is a community outreach program designed to offer on-scene crisis intervention to those experiencing traumatic events and to offer resources to those in need, in the city of Surprise. The functions performed by the AR program allow firefighter and paramedic units to be available to protect the community. Leslie Childers is a member of the AR team and she brings hope to those who have none, happiness to those who are grief-stricken, understanding to those who are lost and compassion to those who have been neglected by society.

The Phoenix Fire Department started the AR program in 1995. Two professionally trained volunteers staff a fire department van, one being a Crisis Response Advocate (CRA) and the other, an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). The CRA provides immediate crisis intervention through grief support and offers information and referrals available within the community. The EMT provides basic medical care and assistance to the CRA.

The volunteers are dispatched along with various fire department units on a wide range of calls including checking the welfare of individuals, assisting families displaced by residential fires, providing support and referrals to victims of crime, such as domestic violence, homicide, sexual and physical assault, providing support and referrals to citizens in psychological crisis or trauma, providing grief support, information and providing referrals in adult and pediatric death situations.

After the brutal murder of her father five years ago, Childers was prompted to work in the area of behavioral health. She now has a double Master’s Degree, one in social work, and one in public relations. When an AR van has been unavailable, the fire department units have always been able to count on Childers to show up and help console those who are suffering.

RICHARD LEFEBER

When his rural, Appalachian Region community of 1,100 lost 275 jobs, Richard LeFeber realized he was witnessing an economic disaster. He saw no established organization available to mobilize the community and see them through this disaster. LeFeber did not get discouraged, but saw this as an opportunity to make a change.

LeFeber founded an all-volunteer organization, The Cattaraugus Local Development Corporation (CLDC). The purpose of this nonprofit organization is to foster economic and community development. Since its inception in 1996, the CLDC has filled several key community roles: catalyst, advocate, champion, coach, facilitator, and implementer.

LeFeber and the CLDC have initiated and facilitated more than 17 projects capturing over $3.5 million for the 25 communities it now serves. LeFeber took a hiatus from his own business for two years to work full-time, without pay. He did this to insure the viability of the CLDC and its projects. They have been a needed resource to the Cattaraugus community and have been the cause of five businesses receiving low interest loans. These loans were from the two grants received from the United Stated Department of Agriculture (USDA) that totaled more than $141,000. The money was set aside in a Revolving Loan Fund for small businesses.

CLDC has also funded a feasibility study to create a unique college curriculum in Preservation Arts. They now partner with Alfred State College which has received $60,000 in ARC funding to develop this program. CLDC has identified and facilitated a grant person to work with a village that needed a new water system. Their efforts on this particular project resulted in more than $650,000 in grants and low-interest loans to complete the projects.

Some other notable accomplishments of CLDC are taking a grassroots movement that took ownership of a 12-mile abandoned rail-bed and turning it into a “Rails-to-Trails.” The result was acquisition of the rail-bed, raising more than $500,000 in local match and the receipt of more than $1.5 million in grants for creating a multi-use, linear park through six municipalities. They have also replaced existing street lighting in the historic downtown district, took possession of a 1,100-acre defunct real estate development and transferring it to 540 parcels and green space to disadvantaged homeowners which resulted in permits for the construction of new homes. They also obtained a federal permit that approved 500 acres in the community into the Federal Wetland Reserve Program that would designate that are as a natural resource for educational research.

LeFeber has attended more than 430 civic meetings, seminars and public hearings. He has amassed over 50,000 miles traveling for CLDC and written over 1,000 pages of correspondence. In addition to this, he has personally given more than 5,500 hours of service during the last two years. He expended his personal resources to create this organization for the benefit of the community and aggressively worked to insure the variety of projects would be funded and completed. LeFeber restored his belief and others in the community that they can take control of their region and its viability.

ALEXIS KUSY

Alexis Kusy is a sophomore at the Academy of the Holy Angels in Demarest, New Jersey. She is also enrolled in the Yamaha Music Center in Paramus, New Jersey. Alexis has been involved with the art of music since the age of three and enjoys sharing and making music.

Alexis has brought many opportunities of community service to her music class that will benefit charities as well as churches and school. She has utilized her strong repertoire and musical prowess to play at events for The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation as well as Big Brothers Big Sisters. Alexis has never said no to any charity who has requested her music.

In 1999, Alexis created an intergeneration singing group entitled JOY – Joining Old and Young. They reach out to senior care centers offering comfort and happiness through music. This endeavor helps her and others in the group stay connected with the seniors who face isolation in the larger community. Alexis believes that music strikes a deep emotional chord, communicating when words are not able to do so.

Alexis uses every opportunity to give her talents as service to others. She was selected to perform at Yamaha’s National Junior Original Concert, Celebration 2000 and dedicated her performance to Operation Smile. She believes the greatest gift she possesses is her smile, and she set her goal at 750 dollars, which is the cost of one operation to correct a cleft palette that would keep a child from being thrown in a garbage heap in China. While Alexis was preparing for her national concert, she pursued ticket distribution and activities to benefit Operation Smile. She raised over 1,200 dollars for the organization and was happy to help a few more children face the world with a smile.

Alexis tries to develop innovative approaches to solving problems. While working with JOY, she encourages other students to join and share their talents to help others. While working with JOY, Alexis accepts donations for Operation Smile. This continues to join the young and the old. She lets others know they can use their love of music as a venue for community service. With JOY, Alexis makes house calls to shut-ins and others in need.

Though Alexis is 15 years old, she shows initiative and the genuine concern for her community. She uses her musical talent to bring together the youth of the community and the mature that sometimes feel forgotten. Alexis is a Young Ambassador and will be representing as the same at Princeton University where Operation Smile will be holding their World Conference this summer.

BIRMINGHAM-SOUTHERN COLLEGE SERVICE LEARNING COORDINATORS

Birmingham-Southern College has 21 student coordinators to manage the service learning activities of more than 650 participating students. These coordinators are responsible for initiating activities, recruiting volunteers, and maintaining the programs. There are two paid staff members that facilitate the program and raise supporting grants.

The Office of Service Learning has been in existence for over 15 years. It began as a way for students to work on service-learning projects during the college’s January Interim term. It has spread, however, to nine on-going projects and a variety of one-time interim service opportunities.

The student volunteers support the Firehouse Men’s Shelter as well as the First Light Women’s Shelter. The youth serve dinner and spend the night interacting with the men and women who live at the shelters. The Office of Service Learning also supports the Humane Society, International Tutoring, and Meals-on-Wheels. Students nurture animals and assist with other projects at the Humane Society’s adoption center. Weekly, students work with international residents to help them enhance their English speaking and writing skills as a part of the International Tutoring Program. The students also support the Meals-on-Wheels Program by delivering meals to elderly residents in a nearby community every day, with the exception of major holidays.

The four other on-going programs supported by Birmingham-Southern are Success Story, Trades Towers, Woodlawn Community Development, and Woodrow Wilson Elementary School. The Success Story program pairs youth with college students. The youth are tutored, played with and listened to during this weekly after-school enrichment program. In the Trades Towers Program, volunteers host parties, organize trips, and provide companionship for senior citizens living on fixed incomes. Students work with residents, businesses, and civic leaders to help with the Woodlawn Community Development’s revitalization effort. The students tutor, lead a scout troop and chess team, and sponsor special events at their adopted elementary school, Woodrow Wilson.

Service learning at Birmingham-Southern includes such a wide variety of projects. This results in recipients and clients gaining both short-term and long-term benefits. All of the programs provide opportunities for hands-on involvement and community building. Though it is difficult to statistically track the needs met by the program, the volunteers feel elated because they know they help the homeless and elderly receive meals, children and international students are tutored, and their community is improved.

PROJECT ENHANCEABILITIES

Project EnhanceAbilities was birthed in December 1996 in Lee County, Florida. Prior to its inception, there were few community-based activities designed to provide recreation and social interaction for teens and young adults with moderate to severe disabilities. A series of Day Camps during Christmas break, Spring Break and in the summer, Saturday programs and Sunshine Days – recreation programs on teacher duty days during the school year – welcome families and the participants.

Before the program was started, the only option for most children and young adults with moderate and sever disabilities when school was closed was spending time at home with family members or paid caregivers. Few community activities had been designed to accommodate persons with special needs. Since the program began, it has organized social and recreation programs for 37 children and young adults ages 7 to 22 that have moderate to severe disabilities.

The program’s first partner was Gulf Coast Center. The center is a residential facility for more than 300 adults with developmental disabilities that is operated by the Florida Department of Children and Family Services. They provide EnhanceAbilities with a house as a base of operations and access to all facilities free of charge. By 1997, Lee County Parks and Recreation Services joined the partnership as primary sponsor of Day Camps and Sunshine Days by providing funds for program activities and salaries for the key staff.

EnhanceAbilities is an innovation. The organizers saw a need and created a new set of programs to fulfill that need. Two mothers and a caregiver of children with severe disabilities, Marci Greene, Barbara Wood and Carol Brotherton, wanted more for their own children and others with similar needs. They were the founders and advocates of the program, and they paved the way in accomplishing something that no one in the community had done before or even considered possible. The demand for providing for a child with severe disabilities takes a huge toll on a family. EnhanceAbilities’ programs provide support, space, and hope for the future that did not exist before.

To date, volunteers between the ages of 12 and 84 have given over 2,000 hours of service. As the organization grows and new activities are added, more volunteer opportunities are created. Volunteers are a vital part of the Day Camps and Sunshine Days, especially the young volunteers who serve as buddies to each of the campers.

A winner of the 1998 JC Penney Golden Rule Award of Southwest Florida, EnhanceAbilities gained the support of many other individuals and organizations. Since it was founded in 1996, the program has grown consistently each year. The vision for the future includes building a facility on the Gulf Coast Center campus to serve as a home to the day program serving 25 people.

STAR NIGHT VOLUNTEERS

The Kansas City Star newspaper encourages and supports their employees in volunteer endeavors throughout the community. One of those employees, Diane Scott, was an avid volunteer. Through her experiences, she saw a need for mentors and educational assistance for the children of the community. Scott had a vision to tutor and be a role model, so in 1995 she mobilized her co-workers and began a weekly youth enrichment program. The program had meetings and get tog ethers at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City’s West Bluff Site.

Initially, the endeavor began as an after-school tutoring initiative, holiday recognitions, clothes closet, and a reading club. Throughout its maturity, the program added dance classed to enrich the lives of the over 125 youth from the areas public housing complexes. Hundreds of at-risk youth have been tutored and mentored by the volunteers. Scott and her co-workers believe their work is an opportunity for the youth to get connected to the community through caring adults.

The site for the meetings had to change, and the program was moved to the Clymer Center Boys & Girl Club. Though they were in a different area, the youth from the West Bluff Site were still a part of the program. They were transported to the new site so they could continue to participate in the activities. The “Star” volunteers were encouraged because the children from West Bluff did not want to be left behind and wanted to continue in the program.

The program has blossomed into the Star Night Volunteers. Star Night now continues to benefit young people by providing them with non-traditional activities that celebrate cultural diversity. They teach Boys & Girls Club members about Cinco de Mayo, Hanukkah, Black History Month, and other events that they may not be exposed to in their every day life or through the school system. The volunteers pride themselves in being inclusive and sensitive to the various cultures that are represented in the Clubs. The members enjoy the time spent with the volunteers whether it is the tutoring sessions or special events.

Star Night is still running strong in 2001. The volunteers have also taken on the responsibility of chaperoning overnighters and field trips and organizing service projects for youth. They also sponsor an annual safety program during Halloween. Through the years, they have donated clothing, books, and other materials to the center. The Boys & Girls Club are excited about the partnership with the Star Night Volunteers and believe their work has strengthened the youth and continues to support their goals and dreams along with that of the National Club.

Star Night Volunteers also have classes every Thursday evening. The youth come out in great numbers to attend classes on crime, drugs, violence and role models. The youth are provided with engaging alternatives and presented with the skills, knowledge, behaviors, and personal attributes they need to succeed.

DRUG INTERVENTION COMMUNITY EDUCATORS

In March 1997 Drug Intervention Community Educators (DICE) was born and consisted of approximately eight members of high school age. Since that time, DICE has increased their membership to 35 youth who are in either their junior or senior year in high school. This alone is a huge accomplishment, never mind the fact that they have planned, organized, participated in or attended more than 220 events.

DICE is a nonprofit organization, which meets once a week for two hours at the East Providence City Hall to plan events, etc. Besides weekly meetings, DICE has approximately 1-3 events in which they either plan or attend every week. They are a year-round group, which never stops, not even in the summers. On an average, every year, each member puts in approximately 700 hours of voluntary community service.

The DICE program enhances protective factors, empowers youth and helps to create a sense of community, thus reducing the risk of substance abuse, negative school experience, teen pregnancy, crime and prejudice. For example, in East Providence there are very few places where teenagers can “hang out”. The Recreation Department is out of the geographical area for the city’s neediest youth and has very limited offerings. There are no youth centers besides the school-based activities (none of which are community service oriented) and there are little to no opportunities for youth to get involved and have a voice in their community. As a result of being bored, youth get in trouble and often turn to drugs.

DICE by no means single-handedly solves this problem, but offers the youth an alternative to making healthy decisions. Through being involved in the youth-run program, the teens learn leadership and organizational skills, along with how to act responsibly and be an active, contributing part of the community.

In the past few years, DICE has had so many notable achievements that the organization is not only known citywide but also statewide. The media is constantly covering DICE events, and one newspaper has recently given DICE a weekly column in which they will feature a DICE member and all of his/her positive deeds. DICE has not only empowered youth, but in turn, has empowered an entire community.