Ryan De Kruif

Ryan De Kruif is an 18-year-old high school graduate from Littleton, CO who has contributed thousands of hours to his community through a variety of volunteer services.

In middle school, he and his family read to and encouraged children to improve their reading skills at the Sun Valley Church. This church is located in central Denver where there are underprivileged families who cannot afford individual tutoring. He did this weekly for a couple hours during his summer vacations.

When Ryan entered high school, he continued to volunteer. Along with his high school church youth group, Ryan babysat for children of the homeless at the shelter, Samaritan House, one Wednesday evening each month during his freshman year. Through Brother Redevelopment, Ryan participated in three full days of painting the homes of those in need, and during May 1998, he ran the successful project of painting Sun Valley Mission Church. On a mission trip to Mexico during summer 1996, Ryan and four other teens worked for a week putting a new roof on a home.

In 1997, as a member of Key Club, a service-oriented school organization, and the National Honor Society, he participated in a canned food collection effort on Halloween, and a Christmas food drive. Ryan also made Christmas cards and valentines that were delivered to nursing homes and hospitals. During spring 1998, he helped organize Littleton High School’s annual Blood Drive, sponsored by the National Honor Society.

From 1994 to 1997, Ryan was active in the Arapahoe Rescue Patrol (ARP), a voluntary youth-run emergency response, search and rescue team. ARP actively aids firefighters and police in emergency situations by providing security detail, traffic control and evidence search. However, the primary duty of ARP volunteers is urban and mountain search and rescue for missing and injured people. During his time with the program Ryan contributed more than 2,000 hours to the program in training, administrating and responding to emergency calls and served as one of the top three student command staff who ran the ARP.

From August 1997 through March 1998, Ryan trained a guide dog through Have Paws Will Travel, a 4-H Guide Dog Puppy Club. This organization is dedicated to raising and training dogs to “give greater freedom” to blind people. He asked and received permission from his teachers and high school administration to allow the dog to spend one or two days a week at school for training and for expanding student and staff awareness of this program. Toward the end of March, he was awarded a new puppy to train. Ryan has given numerous presentations to various schools and civic groups to raise community awareness and expand the program. Starting August 3, 1998, he will be interning with Guide Dog for the Blind, Inc.’s training department. As their top candidate, he was allowed to intern with the department of his choice.

Friends of Fisher House

In June 1990, philanthropists Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher of New York City offered to fund and build “comfort homes” on the grounds of military and veteran hospitals across the country. Today there are 25 Fisher Houses on 16 military installations and four Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers. These houses represent an investment of more than $20 million.

Fisher House provides temporary lodging in a “home away from home” atmosphere to families of seriously ill patients being treated at military and Department of Veteran Affairs medical centers. Each uniquely designed house have eight suites and a common living room, dining room, kitchen and laundry room.

House construction is supervised by Rosen Associates Management Corp. of Jericho and carried out by employees on a no-fee basis. Rosen Associates Management Corp. employees donate their time to plan, design and oversee the construction of each house, while providing employment and volunteering opportunities in the local communities where the houses are located.

Built on government property, these houses are operated and maintained by the respective branch of the armed services. In the past year, 150,000 lodging days were provided to nearly 6,000 military or veteran families. With most houses having only a single employee as manager, the program depends on volunteers for its daily operation and growth. More than 3,000 “Friends of Fisher House” including individual volunteers, entire military units, veterans and service organizations donated more than 27,000 hours supporting the families who were guests at the houses. Volunteers cooked meals, donated books and flowers, baby-sat and provided needed transportation. In addition, volunteers managed fundraising activities and businesses and organizations gave donations and gifts-in-kind.

Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher have received several letters from former guests thanking them and their volunteers for the comfort they experience and the assistance they received while at a Fisher House.

Soroptimist International

In 1997, the Midwestern Region of Soroptimist International created a workplace campaign to stop partner violence through education. Soroptimist International is an organization of professional and executive women who work together to improve the lives of women and children both locally and internationally.

The Midwestern Region, consisting of 43 clubs across Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin, began working with the Corporate Alliance to Prevent Partner Violence.

Through their relationship with Corporate Alliance, they have established partnerships with major corporations such as Kraft Foods, American Express, Arch Daniels Midland and the NFL. In these partnerships they work together to implement a consistent message that encourages domestic violence prevention. Soroptimists in this program act as links between businesses and the communities in which they serve.

During October, which is Domestic Violence Prevention Month, more than 200 businesses and 1,400 volunteers participate in various activities throughout the region. Some of the current programs with the region include: the DOVE program in Zanesville, OH, which calls together law enforcement officials, judges, psychologists, healthcare providers and shelter directors to discuss the needs of the community. Each month more than 10,000 flyers are sent out individuals within the community announcing events such as town meetings, prevention classes and forums.

Since 1997, the program has distributed more than 20,000 hotline assistance cards to victims within the workplace, hosted domestic violence and prevention forums, donated thousands of volunteer hours and dollars to support battered women’s shelters and provided assistance to victims.

Retired and Senior Volunteer Program’s Provide-a-Ride

The Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) of Oklahoma County, Inc., established the Provide-A-Ride Program (PAR) in October of 1994 to address the problems caused by the lack of available transportation for frail seniors.

Because of the lack of access to transportation, many older adults miss necessary medical appointments. These medical appointments vary from routine doctor visits to critical dialysis and radiation treatments. Some seniors need transportation two or three times each week.

Through RSVP’s PAR program, drivers are matched with an elderly person based on compatibility. Since it implementation, PAR has grown to more than 51 volunteer drivers who transport more than 100 frail, low-income senior citizens to critical medical appointments. The drivers provide at least 200 rides per month while receiving no monetary compensation or stipends for their work.

Debrah Shulman

Dr. Debrah Shulman has given more than a decade of her life to preventing middle school students from abusing drugs and alcohol. Dr. Shulman is the driving force behind the Eckerd Drug Quiz Show, an innovative television show that educates students about the issues and problems related to drug and alcohol use.

Created in 1985, the Quiz Show, has grown from a small creation in upstate New York to cover most of the state. Plans are in place to expand the show across the country. In 1985, the program had 200 participants; now more than 30,000 students participate representing more than 200 schools in 31 school regions. The show, with its lights, buzzers and fun atmosphere, challenges students to think and answer questions about drugs and alcohol.

Through her leadership, Dr. Shulman has encouraged community organizations and businesses to contribute their services to the show. For example, Eckerd Corporation has donated thousands of dollars to the show and now sponsors the show.

In addition to her professional duties, Dr. Shulman updates the show’s newsletter, manuals, student study package and writes all questions utilized in competition.

Michael G. DaDurka

Michael G. DaDurka is a full-time government teacher at Jordan High School in Long Beach, CA. In addition to his work with the students of Jordan High, he has donated numerous hours to serving those on federal, state and local committees in Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley, and Costa Mesa. Mr. DaDurka’s focus is on helping his students and those in the community understand the importance of voting and becoming involved in the community.

Mr. DaDurka set up a speaker’s forum, spending many hours of his own time contacting government officials, so that his student and those of other social studies teachers had an opportunity to hear and ask questions. He invited the superintendent of the school, school board members, state assemblymen, federal congressmen, mayors and city officials to participate in the forums.

Students learn the importance of participating in the election of government officials and voting to better their community. At his request, the city registrar came to Jordan to instruct students on how to be poll sitters during an election. As a result, forty-five students participated in the community as official poll sitters at the last election. For eight years, he has had an ongoing voter registration program and annually has the League of Women assist students in a community-wide voter registration day.

For his in-depth work of developing a strong community service program, Mr. DaDurka was awarded the Medal of Merit in 1991 as a special honor by the Jordan High administration and Toyota Motor Corporation. The medal was given to recognize the extra hours of volunteer work Mr. DaDurka performed. In 1994, Mr. DaDurka was asked, along with a fellow colleague, to develop a community service curriculum for the entire school district. Now the class in community service allows students to meet college admission expectations and/or acquire summer jobs or permanent employment.

The Close Up Foundation for New Americans has chosen the Program for New Americans developed by Mr. DaDurka as a model version for other schools in the United States. The goal of the program is to acquaint the students with the fundamentals of American citizenship in order to assist them in becoming community leaders in the future.

Reverend Ray Wilke

Over six years ago, Reverend Ray Wilke had the opportunity to travel to Latvia (a country in the eastern block of Europe, formerly part of the USSR) and visit the members of the community there. During his stay in Latvia, he saw the great needs of the people, especially for the orphaned children and the poor who were suffering in the newly free Latvia. Upon his return to the United States, Wilke mobilized members of his church and community to start the Orphan Grain Train (OGT) movement. His goal was to provide clothing, food and medical supplies to help the orphans in Latvia survive.

Wilke is said to have begun his work with a passion. The first container of supplies was shipped early in 1993. Since then, over 200 forty-foot containers have been sent to the former Soviet Union, Africa, the U.S. and Latin America. These shipments have included the first portable medical/dental clinic in the Republic of Kazakhstan, equipping medical clinics in Panama and providing school supplies for over 74,000 children in Russia, Ethiopia, Brazil and Panama.

Today, volunteer centers of OGT have been established in Wisconsin, North and South Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, New York, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Indiana, California and Colorado. Thousands of men, women and children give of their time and talents to reach out to those in need throughout the world. Volunteers have given over two million man-hours during the past 5 years to OGT.

Last year, Wilke made the national news with a project he started to assist ranchers in the Dakotas who had lost many cattle. “One Good Cow” was the program Wilke used to rally ranchers in the Midwest to donate one pregnant cow to a rancher in the affected areas of the Dakotas in an effort to replenish their herds. Wilke led a modern day “cattle drive” in the Dakotas with the first herd of relief animals.

(1) Colbert Williams & (2) COPS FOR KIDS

Deciding that “young children need good male role models,” 18-year-old Colbert Williams of Benton Harbor, MI has committed much of time to making sure that he is one of them. Through community service, Colbert is setting an example for his three-year-old son, whom he has custody of, and for other youth to act responsibly and compassionately within their lives and towards their community.

For the past two years, Colbert has volunteered at the LINK Crisis Intervention Center in St. Joseph, MI. He is a member of their Peer Counseling Team, where he acts as a peer-to-peer advisor. He underwent two hours of training per week for eight weeks in order to become an advisor. He then met with students every two weeks to counsel them on various issues of their concern. He also serves on the LINK financial board and on its junior board of directors, which both require attendance to monthly meetings.

Colbert also volunteers his time in other ways. Since September 1997, he has worked on a newsletter written by teens for teens. The newsletter deals with current social problems that teens may encounter, such as sex, drugs and peer-pressure. He also travels to local high school parenting classes and teen groups, to talk about his experience as a teen farther. He stresses prevention and responsibility at these talks.

Throughout his high school years, Colbert has been a tutor for the Drop/Stop Tutoring Program at Lake Michigan Catholic High School. This program is a dropout prevention effort that involves working with students who are at-risk and/or need assistance with some of their class work. He tutors daily for about an hour.

Colbert has also volunteered with a Kindergarten class at Fair Plain Elementary School in Benton Harbor, MI. He spent three days a week after the completion of his regular school day helping 23 kindergarten students with reading and teacher directed activities.

Colbert’s list of volunteer experiences won him the 1998 Outstanding Youth Volunteer Award, presented by the Southwestern Michigan Volunteer Center at its National Volunteer Week Kick-off on April 17, 1998.

Colbert was raised in a dysfunctional family, and has lived with his guardian for the past four years. Despite the obstacles he has faced, he has maintained a positive attitude and has set assertive goals for himself and his son.

———————————————————————–

COPS FOR KIDS

COPS FOR KIDS is a program offered by Big Brothers/Big Sisters and is a component of Youth Focus, Inc., a United Way Agency, serving the needs of youth and families in Greensboro, NC. Based on the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program model, children are matched with adult volunteers. All volunteers in the COPS FOR KIDS program are employed with law enforcement in some capacity.

COPS FOR KIDS volunteers commit to spend quality time with at-risk children. They serve as positive role model and help to build a better relationship between law enforcement and youth. The volunteers of COPS FOR KIDS commit to be matched one-on-one with at-risk youth from the Greensboro, NC community. The volunteers help to eliminate the negative perceptions that many children have about law enforcement and this develops a greater appreciation for those who protect and serve the community. The children learn to view their volunteers as trusted friends.

Each volunteer makes a one-year commitment to the program and agrees to spend two to four hours each week with his or her young friend. Together they work on goals and life skills designed to improve the youth’s self-esteem.

Special events are scheduled throughout the year to bring the group together for support and fellowship such as the annual Bowl for Kids Sake bowl-a-thon and a COPS FOR KIDS night at various local athletic events.

AirLifeLine

AirLifeLine is a network of volunteer pilots and airplane owners who fly low-income children and adults to and from specialized medical treatments. The purpose of AirLifeLine is to provide access to healthcare to those in need who cannot afford medical-related travel. AirLifeLine also transports bone marrow, blood, tissue samples and emergency medical supplies around the country.

In 1978, Tom Goodwin, a California businessman founded AirLifeLine, who saw that many light aircraft sat idle most of the time and almost every pilot was looking for a ‘good reason’ to fly more. Initially, the program was established to provide efficient transport of time-critical medical cargo. In 1984, services were expanded to include the transportation of patients who require, but could not afford medical travel. Over 800 pilots are involved in AirLifeLine today. All pilots meet the federal aviation proficiency requirements and have a current medical certificate and aircraft insurance. An average of 4 missions are provided daily, with over 14,000 being completed thus far.

At this time, the provision and availability of life-saving medical care is undergoing radical changes as medical professions, insurance underwriters, health benefit providers and government and political forces realign themselves and their position concerning the nation’s health. The impact of new policies and expensive medical technology has meant that much medical care is available only in urban areas. Rural patients are left far from advanced medical treatment.

Through AirLifeLine, patients are able to travel without cost to receive state-of-the-art medical care. AirLifeLine is funded through private donations, member pilots, businesses, organizations and foundations.

Al and Doe Scaia

Mr. Al Scaia, a retired projects design engineer, works together with his wife Doe, to develop, design and produce equipment that allows individuals with disabilities to enhance their daily living skills. Together the Scaia’s have volunteered thousands of hours at Creative Living, an assisted living center for people with physical disabilities. Mr. and Mrs. Scaia worked with other volunteers installing a complete emergency power system that supplies power for lighting, smoke alarms, communication and lifesaving medical equipment.

Mr. and Mrs. Scaia have also designed constructed and installed more than 30 special mailboxes for two of the Creative Living Centers’ apartment complexes. In 1968, they designed and installed a complete communications system for Camp Goodwill, a camp for disabled children in New York. Since that time they have designed a variety of custom made devices that focus on the specific needs of each individual’s unique disability. Some of their inventions include a hair brush for a patient without arms, a tripod set that allowed a child who couldn’t pick up the receiver to use the telephone.

In addition, Mr. and Mrs. Scaia have also designed and built items for the Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and Home Health departments of both Virginia Baptist Hospital and Lynchburg General Hospital.

Mr. an Ms. Scaia receive funds from The Telephone Pioneers of America for materials.