Schinnell Leake

Birthday celebrations are not always affordable, and many homeless parents do not have the resources to celebrate this milestone. But they matter to kids who may not have a permanent home or many special family moments they can call their own.

This struck a chord with Schinnell Leake, a professional event planner in College Park, MD. As a mom, she knows what it means to children to have a party. So she looked at her experience as an event planner and thought “Why can’t I take what I do and do it for children?” She started Extra-Ordinary Birthdays, recognizing that a simple day of celebration is on the bottom of the priority list and often unattainable for homeless families. It is the only organization in the Washington, D.C., area with a mission focused on birthday celebrations for homeless children.

“I realized the importance of birthday celebrations that put the child in the spotlight and made them feel special and great about themselves,” Schinnell says. “Through my various community work, I came to experience that children living in shelters want the same thing—the privilege other children enjoy on their special day–to feel loved, important and valued.”

Together with her crew of volunteers, Schinnell supports homeless parents and their children by bringing all the elements of normalcy and joy that a birthday celebration can provide. Schinnell and her team meet with parents at homeless shelters to plan each birthday party and customize the experience so the parents and children get to choose a party theme and a cake. This approach gives the parents a sense of ownership and helps make them the heroes in the eyes of their children.

Celebrations include a birthday cake, decorations, snacks, supplies and fun games and activities. Schinnell says the hands-on craft activities and physical activities they lead at the parties may sometimes be the only opportunities the children get inside the shelter to create art and get their bodies moving.

Extra-Ordinary Birthdays has hosted 125 parties at homeless shelters in the past year. Through the celebration of each child’s birthday, volunteers become part of a wonderful opportunity to create a moment that will become a positive part of their lifetime of memories.

According to Schinnell, the popular themes her crew has delivered for kids have been Hello Kitty, Dora the Explorer, Little Mermaid, Disney Princesses and Cars … and even a wrestling theme, which she admitted required a little more research among her volunteers to pull off the event.

She describes how her basement at home is spilling over with balloons, decorations and toys she and her team have stockpiled, and how her husband had to give up a portion of his “man cave” to make room for all the party supplies. However, Schinnell’s ultimate goal would be that Extra-Ordinary Birthdays is no longer needed because there are no more homeless children.

Says Schinnell, “For us, it is an opportunity to connect with a child from a place of joy – not their circumstance – as the child experiences how special and valued they truly are.”

Help Schinnell Leake and Extra-Ordinary Birthdays bring more resources to their cause by voting throughout November in the “4:inspiration” competition from unite4:good, which works to inspire positive, global change through acts of kindness.

Don Stephens

Meet Don Stephens, who was surprised Oct. 27 with a Daily Point of Light Award from Points of Light Chair Neil Bush at a Mercy Ships event in Houston. Read Stephens’ story and nominate someone you know as a Point of Light.

Don Stephens of Mercy Ships

Don Stephens has a profound way of drawing people in – and keeping them there.

Dr. Gary Parker, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, met Stephens 28 years ago. Parker was working in North Wales when he learned about the faith-based charitable organization Stephens had founded and still leads, Mercy Ships.

Since 1978 Mercy Ships, which runs the Africa Mercy – the world’s largest civilian hospital ship, has provided specialty surgery and other health care at no cost to millions of people from the poorest nations of the world who otherwise couldn’t access or afford it.

Parker loved the idea of helping address the medical needs of the world’s poor, but wasn’t sure that life aboard a ship was for him. That changed when he met Stephens, who was living and working on the hospital ship with his wife Deyon and four children when Parker arrived on board for a three-month trial in 1987.

“To get people interested, you need to hold up a worthwhile vision, and your personal integrity has to line up with that vision,” Parker says. “I saw that immediately in Don and Deyon, and thought, `Yes, I could work with these people.’ That was 28 years ago, and I’m still at it. And I know I would not be here today if not for them.”

Parker, describing Stephens at sea while the Africa Mercy was sailing to Madagascar, calls him “a classic visionary … He has the ability to get people to step up and pursue these very unthinkable goals.”

From left, Neil Bush; Don Stephens and his wife, Deyon; and Paul Murphy, committee chair of the Oct. 27 event (Photo by Alexander’s Fine Portrait Design)

Mike Ullman, chair of the Mercy Ships board of directors and CEO of J.C. Penney, met Stephens 26 years ago. The two became friends when both were working in Hong Kong, and Stephens eventually persuaded Ullman to get involved with Mercy Ships.

“I was chair of Macy’s at the time, and Don told me, ‘I need accountability, and I don’t have anybody yet,’” Ullman says. “Any time he shares his original reason for what he was trying to accomplish, it’s very compelling.”

Stephens, Ullman notes, was influenced to start Mercy Ships after meeting Mother Teresa and confessing to her his feeling of being burdened by caring for his and his wife’s severely disabled child (now in his 30s).

“He was asking, like most people would, ‘Why us?’ And she challenged him to consider, ‘What is your dream and what are you doing about it? … What’s weighing on your heart?’ He turned that energy into doing something for others,” says Ullman, who is disabled himself. “He changed my life. He is absolutely a very positive, forward-leaning person.”

Ralph Puckett

Together, Points of Light and Billion + Change are recognizing the exceptional work of skills-based volunteers during Pro Bono Week. Read the story about today’s Daily Point of Light honoree, a healthcare exec who volunteers with a group seeking to end world hunger in our lifetime.

Ralph Puckett remembers the conversation that stirred his passion to volunteer. He was having lunch with his manager, who had just completed a special skills-based volunteer program at work that sends employees on short-term assignments to help non-profit organizations solve business challenges. Puckett listened to his co-worker talk about her positive experience, about the difference she made, and he wanted in.

“I realized the need to play outside my sand box and help other people,” Puckett says. “I needed to think outside myself.”

Eager to try something new and unfamiliar, Puckett enrolled in his employer’s volunteer initiative for an assignment with Stop Hunger Now, a non-profit operating out of Raleigh, NC. Stop Hunger Now works to end hunger worldwide by mobilizing and engaging volunteers to package and distribute meals.

What he saw during a 5-day Stop Hunger Now trip to Belize resonated with Puckett. “I’m almost 63 and I have never been hungry,” he says. “I saw chronic starvation and they had no means to correct it. I watched as people received our food and said ‘Thank you, America.’ This was the most rewarding.”

Puckett’s employer, global healthcare company GlaxoSmithKline, has brought nearly 500 people in its workforce through the company’s PULSE Volunteer Partnership, performing service in 60 countries. Puckett’s colleague at GSK, Kim Prillerman, passionately describes his tireless efforts to change the world, saying, “Ralph once shared with me that he felt he learned more from the team at Stop Hunger Now then he felt they learned from him. I know he used his skills set to make a significant impact, which is validated by this [Daily Point of Light] award.”

When his stint with Stop Hunger Now ended, Puckett continued to support the cause, receiving training to become a CHEF (Certified Hunger Event Facilitator). The role of a CHEF is similar to that of a foreman, supervising assembly of meals in compliance with standards. In addition to working his full-time job during the week, he works on the weekends whenever the nearby Stop Hunger Now facility needs a CHEF.

So far in 2014, Puckett has participated in 18 meal-packaging events and has attended two others, involving thousands of engaged volunteers from all walks of life. He even turned his 62nd birthday party into a meal packaging event. The total number of meals packaged on Puckett’s watch this year: 967,222.

The crew at Stop Hunger Now stand in amazement over the exploits of their eager volunteer. “Ralph is a gifted listener and makes everyone he meets feel important and valued,” says Stop Hunger Now Regional Director Rick Kearney. Emily Everett, Chief Marketing Officer with Stop Hunger Now, adds, “Ralph really connected to our vision to engage as many people as possible in this work. He tells everybody he knows about the work we do.”

Puckett feels everyone should try to give back to others. “You need to give back,” he advises. “If you have a moment – 30 minutes or 5 hours – do something. Go play in another sandbox. Take time to invest in someone’s life and continue to connect the dots.”

All it takes is one local hero to make a difference and strengthen a community? Share the story of a difference-maker you know by submitting a nomination for a Daily Point of Light award at https://www.pointsoflight.org/programs/recognition/dpol/nomination

Angela Elbert

Together, Points of Light and Billion + Change are recognizing the exceptional work of skills-based volunteers during Pro Bono Week. Read the story about today’s Daily Point of Light honoree, a lawyer who works with a non-profit group that pairs teen girls and professional women.

She has graced the covers of law magazines and her name appears on several “Who’s Who” lists among top lawyers. Angela Elbert’s many achievements as a legal professional convey her strong drive to succeed. A partner at a national law firm, she excels at counseling clients on risk management and insurance issues. And through her volunteer work with a special non-profit, Elbert is empowering teenage girls and professional women alike to reach for the top.

Elbert felt a calling to volunteer, and she knew she could apply her professional skills in a meaningful way. She joined a non-profit membership association that fosters the advancement of women lawyers. It was through this group that Elbert first learned about Step Up, an organization inspiring girls from under-resourced neighborhoods to fulfill their potential. She remembers being drawn toward Step Up’s mentorship theme.

“I was most impressed by their dual outreach, young girls meeting with professional women,” she explains. Through after-school and mentorship programs, Step Up inspires professional women to inspire teen girls. The goal is to help high school girls from under-resourced communities become confident, college-bound, career-focused, and ready to join the next generation of professional women – alongside Elbert.

Step Up’s programming is oriented to equip both girls and professional women for bright futures. Teens take part in confidence-building activities, field trips to partner businesses, summer internships and college tours. Women sharpen their business acumen through professional development events, which feeds into more skills-based volunteer opportunities. The takeaway for both groups is evident: you’re on a path to achieve.

To Elbert, the most rewarding outcome of this work is that in cities with historically low graduation rates, 100% of the girls involved in Step Up programs are graduating and being accepted into college.

Under Elbert’s leadership as board chair, Step Up announced its first plans to expand since 2006, with plans to enter Dallas and Atlanta within the next five years. Elbert feels her professional background has been instrumental to guiding the organization during this growth phase. “I’m good at seeing the big picture and making a strategy to make others think that way, too,” she says. “Once I decide I’m going to do something, I don’t give up.”

Step Up CEO Jenni Luke is grateful to have people like Elbert working hard to propel growth in the organization. “Angela has made such a big impact at Step Up because she takes her responsibility as a leader seriously, yet does it with a warmth and enthusiasm that is infectious,” says Luke, adding, “We’re very fortunate to have had her leadership at a local level and now on a national level.”

According to this statement from Neal Gerber Eisenberg, the law firm where Elbert works, “We are proud of Angela’s tireless efforts for the advancement and development of women. Angela’s efforts have opened new doors for her colleagues, ensured that women have a larger seat at the table, furthered the career advancement and professional development of young, underprivileged women, and fueled the continued growth of women’s initiatives.”

Elbert sees firsthand that the barriers which have kept women from achieving their career goals are continuing to fall. “There are more and more opportunities for women where there might not have been before,” Elbert states. “The world is opening up, and we have to be able to take advantage of these opportunities.”

Who are the exceptional volunteers in your community using their talents to help others? Share their story by submitting a nomination for a Daily Point of Light award at https://www.pointsoflight.org/programs/recognition/dpol/nomination

Miguel Guerra

During Pro Bono Week, Oct. 19-25, Points of Light and A Billion + Change are recognizing the exceptional work of skills-based volunteers like Miguel Guerra, today’s Daily Point of Light honoree. Read his story and nominate someone you know as a Point of Light.

Miguel Guerra gives a motivational speech to young people in Chicago.

Miguel Guerra’s information technology career has taken him around the country, working with a team that builds wireless networks for food manufacturers, aerospace firms and professional football stadiums. But perhaps one of the most important destinations to him is a school classroom near the inner-city Chicago neighborhood where he grew up.

Guerra is proof to the students – many of whom live near the edge of poverty, gang influence, crime, drugs, and who lack support – that they can change their circumstances.

“I’m fortunate … because I can now try to reach the younger versions of me who were told to make ‘the right choice’ but had never been personally exposed to the countless options outside of a four block radius,” he says.

Guerra volunteers with a Chicago nonprofit that introduces youth to technology. As a mentor, he relates to his audience like few can. He has experienced firsthand what the students are facing. And he speaks their language. The message strikes a hopeful chord: if you believe in yourself, it’s never too late to change your life and get a good job, which can open new doors.

Guerra remembers his life at 26, riding his bicycle through the streets of Chicago at 2 a.m., returning from a second shift job to support three kids, with no car and no money. Back then, he says, “I didn’t even know that the place where I am today even existed.” Guerra says he came incredibly close to not being able to turn his life around, but he had support from his family.

Young people are captivated by the images he shares of the many places he’s been because of his career. There’s the family beach vacation and swimming with sharks. And a video clip of Guerra skydiving.

These visuals emerge from Guerra’s hobby as a photographer and videographer, and give context to what’s attainable through science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers.

“I’m inspired every time a student walks up to me after a talk and thanks me … and feels hopeful after what I’ve shown them,” says Guerra. “I think of how important it is to show them what’s possible.”

Guerra works as a consultant with CDW, a Fortune 500 IT solutions provider. CDW’s involvement with Lumity, a Chicago nonprofit that engages volunteers to facilitate college and career readiness as well as technology support for charities, led to Guerra’s introduction as a skills-based volunteer in 2013. “It’s powerful to hear from somebody who looks like you, grew up in your neighborhood and knows exactly what you’re up against,” says Lumity Executive Director Kara Kennedy.

CDW supports Guerra’s pro-bono work and acknowledges skills-based volunteering as a key driver to creating social and business value.

Guerra encourages other professionals to make time to volunteer.

“Think of your most vulnerable moment and the people that were there for you,” he says. “None of us made it on our own. Someone has given us that helpful nudge at some point. It’s important to reach back and do the same for someone else.”