Bob Frisby

Over the past ten years, Bob Frisby of Corsicana, TX has served his community in many capacities through local government, charitable organizations, and church activities.

Currently, Mr. Frisby is serving his second three-year term as director of the House of Refuge, a home for battered wives and their children, and has served as chairman twice. The House of Refuge, an effort supported by all local churches, is the only local facility for housing homeless families in crisis.

Mr. Frisby has served five years as the director of the county’s Association for Retarded Citizens (ARC) and has been president for the last two years. This organization operates a ranch house for housing mentally and physically disabled citizens, runs sheltered workshop, and provides outside work areas where clients are exposed to “normative” real world work.

He was fundamental in the development of a horticulture program for the ARC, where these clients are now able to plant, nurture, harvest and market plants on a year round basis. Mr. Frisby was able to obtain a substantial grant for initiation of the program. During his presidency, the acreage of the facility almost doubled, the ranch house increased by 70 percent with the addition of a women’s wing.

Mr. Frisby has served seven years as a volunteer at the Corsicana State Home, a residential treatment center of the Texas Youth Commission (TYC). For much of that time, he chaired an “aquatic committee” which raised a quarter of a million dollars from the community to enclose the existing outdoor swimming pool for year round use. The structure was completed this year and permits a new dimension of non-confrontational exercise for youth who are unable or unwilling to participate readily in competitive sports. For the past five years, he has served as director of TYC. He is currently serving the first year of a two-year term as chair.

Mr. Frisby has chaired and served as director for several other organizations and committees, as well. As a retired worker, Mr. Frisby is currently devoting his full attention to volunteering.

Alma Cortex-Hill

Alma Cortez-Hill, at twelve years old, has volunteered for more than half of her life with people of all ages, but primarily the elderly, through her church, the Girl Scouts and on her own.

While volunteering with her mother when she was three years old, Alma learned about the needs of senior citizens who did not have children in their lives. She understood then, as she does now, the importance and positive effect of the relationship between children and their grandparents. She shares this understanding through an ongoing relationship with the elderly.

One of her first community service activities was the sponsorship of a family in crisis. With limited resources, Alma collected and donated gifts to the family in the form of clothing, food and toys.

Alma’s commitment to the elderly started at the age of four when she began volunteering with South Austin Senior Support Services (SASSS). She made decorations and gifts for the participants of SASSS’s congregate meals and visited with them. Once she joined the Lone Star Girl Scout Council, Troop 853, she introduced the troop to the seniors and encouraged them to volunteer with her. Since 1992, Troop 853 has provided gifts, decorations, entertainment, and served meals to more than 100 participants for SASSS’s special events and activities. In addition, Alma continues to work with seniors on her own: after school, during breaks and throughout the summer.

Another project that Alma has encouraged her troop to be a part of is The Salvation Army’s Holiday Angel Tree Project, which provides assistance to more than 5,000 children in need of clothing, food and financial contributions. The girls participate in all facets of the project, from educating holiday shoppers about The Salvation Army and Angel Tree to walking them through the process of sponsoring a child by donating gifts.

Since 1995, Alma has volunteered for the Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN), a support ministry for families who are in crisis or homeless. Through St. Mary’s Cathedral, the Lone Star Girl Scout Council and IHN, she has prepared food and refreshments, childcare, and entertainment for families that are supported through this social ministry.

It is the knowledge that one person can make a difference that keeps Alma motivated to serve.

SHORE

SHORE (Sheltering the Homeless is Our Responsibility) is an all-volunteer, interfaith, not-for-profit organization of individuals, businesses, houses of worship and civic groups in central Westchester County, NY who work together to help homeless people.

There is a critical shortage of affordable housing in Westchester, where costs are high, households often double up, and even working families must sometimes decide between buying groceries and paying rent.

SHORE began in winter 1985, when six churches and temples in downtown White Plains opened their doors to give emergency overnight shelter to homeless men who were out in sub-zero weather. Volunteers throughout the city and beyond stepped forward to help operate the shelter and provide meals. Since then, SHORE has grown to involve more than 30 houses of worship and 1,300 individuals and has worked to help people’s housing needs in a number of ways, such as the Open Arms Shelter, the Permanent Housing Program and with Affordable Ownership/Rental Housing.

The Open Arms Shelter, which opened in 1989 under its own governing board, offers 24-hour-a-day shelter and support to homeless adult men. A trained staff provides counseling to assist them in solving personal problems and finding jobs and housing. More than 500 men have been assisted with returning to normal lives in the community through this program.

The Permanent Housing Program began in 1990 when SHORE, using a grant from New York State and funds raised in the community, acquired and renovated a vacant two-family house. Volunteers helped with painting, landscaping and cleanup, and collected donated furniture. Two families with children that had been living in emergency motels moved in as paying tenants. Eight years later, the original tenants are still there, paying rent, sharing in the upkeep of the property, working at jobs and in school, and even helping others in need in their community. SHORE acquired and renovated a second, similar house in 1992, where two additional families are also enjoying the benefits of safe, decent, affordable permanent housing. SHORE has several upkeep projects throughout the year to keep the houses in top condition.

Starting this summer, SHORE began construction on its Affordable Ownership/Rental Housing project: construction of seven two-family townhouses on two sites in White Plains (one of them currently owned by the city). Each of the seven homes will be sold at an affordable price to a qualified buyer who will live in one of the units and rent the other to a selected family coming from emergency housing. The rental income will help the new homeowners meet monthly upkeep expenses, while providing the tenants in the second unit with affordable housing to call their own.

Adele Gerber

Adele Gerber, a professor emeritus of Temple University and retired author, has been involved with RSVP (Retired Senior Volunteer Program) of Montgomery County, Inc. for over a dozen years. Gerber, through RSVP’s award-winning Service Learning collaboration with the Norristown School District, has personally designed and directed an innovative choral poetry program. The program, which involves high-risk elementary, middle school and high school students, stimulates an appreciation of language and helps young people refine speech and communication skills through choral performance. The students perform in local hospitals, nursing homes, and senior centers in Philadelphia. As Ms. Gerber has worked with her students, she has had an incredible impact on their abilities as well as their self-esteem.

About five years ago, Ms. Gerber developed a model family literacy project which trains county Head Start volunteers, day care personnel and parents who work with disadvantaged children. Her goal is to help the children attain language proficiency and instill an early love of books and reading. Ms. Gerber helped develop a reading list of books for preschoolers and researched each book to categorize it for 2, 3, 4, and 5 year olds. Ms. Gerber has also presented many workshops to professionals on how to read aloud effectively to young children and on how to encourage their language development.

Recently Ms. Gerber wrote a tutoring manual for the citywide “Philadelphia Reads” summer camp program. She has been invited to offer observation on her initial research as well as the follow-up camp tutoring project at the “America Reads” Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference in Washington this fall.

For the past eight years, Ms. Gerber has used her expertise during weekly visits with Tiffany Plummer, a young girl who has been neurologically impaired since birth. Ms. Gerber’s love, care and hard work have helped Tiffany’s speech improve significantly. She has also worked with others in RSVP’s Literacy Program since 1991, helping freshmen with reading and writing to enhance their success in college.

RSVP is funded through grants and donations.

Louise Arnett

For more than 20 years Ms. Louise Arnett has put her organizational skills and enthusiasm to work for her community. Ms. Arnett has volunteered with The Boy Scouts of America, The Franciscan at St. Johns, Aronoff Center for the Arts and the Kid’s Café, a satellite of the Free Store/Food bank.

In addition to her personal service, Ms. Arnett has been encouraging workplace volunteerism for over ten years. As the Federated Department Stores’ representative on the United Way Corporate Volunteer Council she has served as a constant reservoir of information and inspiration. As one of the founding members of Federated’s employee volunteerism program, Partners In Time, she led the annual United Way Community Care Week effort with more than 50 employee participants. The employees painted facilities at the Paul House, William A. Mitchell Center, Bethany House, New Perceptions Agency and the Holy Hill Children’s Home. Ms. Arnett currently serves on the Partner In Time steering committee where she helps plan nearly 30 projects annually.

Every Monday night, Ms. Arnett volunteers to feed a balanced meal to the kids in Newport, KY at the Kid’s Café. The Kid’s Café provides nutritious evening meals in a safe, accessible environment to children who are hungry or at risk of hunger in Northern Kentucky. In 1997 alone, more than 240 children were fed at the Kid’s Café. Since the program began, Ms. Arnett has helped to organize art projects, become a personal mentor to a participant of the program, and is in the process of forming the program’s first Board of Directors.

Best of America Volunteers

The Best of America Program is a national alcohol and drug abuse prevention program for the Golden Key National Honor Society, a nonprofit collegiate honor society that recognizes and encourages scholastic achievement in all undergraduate fields of study. The program is directed at school aged youth in the United States. The goal is to educate children that consuming alcohol before the legal drinking age or using illicit drugs is harmful and illegal, and that young people will make choices which affect the quality of their lives now and in the future.

Golden Key members, student athletes and other college students make presentations in local primary and secondary schools and serve as positive role models for children. Volunteers emphasize goal setting, decision making, life planning and the value of education. Presentations also include the distribution of educational literature and resource materials to students and school officials.

The Best of America program is cited in the Final report of the White House Conference for a Drug- Free America (1988) and has received C-flag recognition for two consecutive years from the President’s Citation Program for Private Sector Initiatives.

Kathryn Hall

Since October 1997, Kathryn Hall has picked up surplus goods from a local bakery and personally delivered to agencies in Downtown Austin such as Caritas Annex, Central Presbyterian Church, The Salvation Army, Youth Options Metropolitan ministries, University Baptist Church and St. Austin’s Catholic Church. Having been homeless herself, Ms. Hall is dedicated to helping others.

Often her efforts make the difference between eating and not eating for many of Austin’s less fortunate citizens. Ms. Hall, or The Bread Lady as she is often called, has given more than just food to her community, she also volunteers at Sims Elementary School where she mentors third and fourth grade students one-on-one to improve their reading skills.

Although she does not have a car and relies solely on public transportation, Ms. Hall makes her daily pick-ups and deliveries regardless of the weather. According to one local organization, Ms. Hall is a godsend that has alleviated the hunger of many.

In October 1997, Ms. Hall received a Certificate of Appreciation from Mayor Kirk Watson in recognition of her efforts; collecting seven smoke detectors from area businesses for the Austin Fire Department’s smoke detector drive, which were distributed to needy residents of Austin.

In addition, Ms. Hall has been appointed to the local FEMA board and served as a representative for the homeless. She also represented the United Way at the 1997 Texas Rally for Community and Volunteer Service in San Antonio where speakers included Governor George Bush and General Colin Powell.

Janet Keyser

OASIS is a not-for-profit program for seniors 55 years of age or older, dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for older adults. The program offers challenging programs in the arts, humanities, wellness and volunteer services. While the program’s organizers believe that all of the volunteers of OASIS are deserving of recognition, one volunteer, Janet Keyser, seems to stand out a little more.

Janet Keyser has been an OASIS volunteer for more than eight years. Specifically, she volunteers with the OASIS Intergenerational Tutoring Program, a devoted group of more than 400 tutors who mentor to children throughout Scottsdale and Phoenix, AZ. With more than 200 hours logged in each month, OASIS considers Mrs. Keyser a great asset.

Janet gives of herself and her talents to a child each week and spends time reading with that special person. In addition she tutors and trains others volunteers to be tutors each week.

Janet organized an OASIS Resource Library, to help other tutors find books, ideas and resources for them to work with their OASIS child. OASIS tutors visit the library every week to find puzzles, games, cutout, puppets and other such items to assist them with their tutoring. She is also a vital member of the OASIS Helping Hands Program, a summer program she helped design to provide tutors with training and ideas during the times that school is not in session.

In addition to her work with OASIS, she also reads to children in her spare time and is a part of the “Read to Me Program”, started by Barbara Bush. She is a member of a special program called “K through Gray”, which was started by Phoenix College to allow elementary students to interact with senior citizens through the Internet. Using text-based materials, they work to improve their reading and enhance their computer skills.

“For all she does, Janet exemplifies the senior citizen we all hope to become,” remarked Elaine M. Schumacher, Assistant Director of OASIS.

Cindy Georger

Cindy Georger has been a volunteer at the Learning Lab, Inc. since 1994. The Learning Lab is a nonprofit organization which provides individualized educational programs such as Adult Basic Skills, English as a Second Language, and Family Literacy to assist students in improving their ability to use printed, numerical and written information so they may function successfully on the job, in the family and in the community.

Mrs. Georger spends 2 hours a week in the preschool classroom working with children ages 3 to 5 from families with at least one functionally illiterate parent. While their parents are in one classroom working to upgrade their skills, the children participate in a pre-literacy-based early childhood program. Parents and kids work together frequently on intergenerational activities intended to foster a love of learning and to break the cycle of illiteracy within families.

Mrs. Georger’s help is critical to the success of the class, enabling each child to receive an abundance of one-on-one attention and by showing their parents, through example, how to effectively read to or engage in hands-on activities with young children.

This past year, Mrs. Georger took on the task of chairing the Learning Lab’s annual fundraiser, The Lunch for Literacy ’98. She spent countless hours recruiting table captains, soliciting book and raffle item donations, keeping track of ticket sales and arranging the program. The event raised more than $12,000 to support Learning Lab classes.

In addition to her work for The Learning Lab, Mrs. Georger also serves as a volunteer coordinator for the “Book Talk” program at a local junior high school. The “Book Talk” program involves parents, adult volunteers and students who come together for round table discussions about books they have read. In addition to leading book discussions, Mrs. Georger regularly meets with teachers to select which books to include, arranges for book purchase and distribution and recruits participants.

Benicia Hernandez

Benicia Hernandez has volunteered at the Jones Magnet Elementary School for the past 3 years. The Jones Elementary School is an immersion school, where children of English speaking families learn all school subjects in Spanish. This is a real challenge for many of the students who have never had any contact with the language before. From day one, the children are taught everything in Spanish. Benicia, a native of Cuba and former teacher, volunteers at the school every day. She works with parents, teachers, and children, primarily those in the second grade, with their school studies.

The parents of the children at Jones Magnet Elementary School have continually commented on Benicia Hernandez and how she has helped their children, not only with their language schools but also with the difficult challenges of immersing into the program. The children do not speak Spanish and many of them feel frustrated and alone when first arriving to the school. Benicia is able to help those children that need one-on-one attention as they immerse themselves into the school program.

For the teachers at Jones Magnet, Benicia is a tremendous resource for language and culture. She is able to show her love of the Spanish culture as she develops beautiful art to add to the ambiance of the school and individual classrooms. Within the school, there are several programs and opportunities to participate in cultural events. Benicia continually makes costumes for the children in performances. She uses whatever is available to make the costumes and involves the children in whatever way that she is capable.

Benicia is dedicated to the children at Jones Magnet Elementary. She has the ability to change the attitudes of the children. As she spends times with others, she helps them develop their own self-esteem as well as see the good in diversity. She believes that any and every child will do well within the program. Benicia has been described as a volunteer who cares about education, cares about children and cares about the future.