The Wild Horse Gang

The Wild Horse Gang, so named because of the history of “gangs” in northwest Oklahoma like Jesse and Frank James and the Dalton Gang, was formed in August of 1993. However, unlike their predecessors, this gang doesn’t initiate destruction and turmoil; they are attempting to transform their communities. The Wild Horse Gang can be found painting park equipment, mowing grass, planting trees and flowers, picking up trash and visiting the elderly.

The 250 citizens of Kremlin were experiencing tough times economically; oil and agricultural profits were on the decline. Kids with nothing to do were venturing down the wrong forks in the road, which produced minor vandalism. The mission was to emphasize productive behavior rather than destructive.

The gang is a group of approximately 20 kids, ages six through fourteen. By learning the values of volunteering and community service, they have transformed themselves into hope for their entire community. Their fundraisers have enabled them to purchase playground equipment for the community park, make donations to civic projects and the relief effort after the bombing in Oklahoma City. They have bought new welcome signs for the highways leading into town. And, one of their largest projects was the completion of handicap parking for the community center.

In addition to its noteworthy charitable projects, the kids are undertaking interesting projects to widen their knowledge of the world around them. They are learning sign language to communicate with the deaf.

An example of the gang’s dedication was demonstrated Christmas Eve ’98. Food had been collected for a local agency to distribute to needy families. In all the hustle and bustle of the holidays some of the food remained to be delivered. All it took was a few phone calls and the gang members were ready to go within 45 minutes. Even though it was a holiday and very cold, the members were in place by 8:30 am to deliver the food.

The Wild Horse Gang meets weekly to select and organize their projects. Each project must offer the children opportunity to take control of their own lives, help others and contribute to the cultural and aesthetic values of the community.

“By getting out and doing things and meeting people, the Wild Horse Gang is convinced that they don’t have to do something bad to get attention,” remarked Renee Hoover, Community Development Support Association, “the residents of the small Oklahoma town of Kremlin are aware that a lot of the stuff going on in their community is gang-related and they are glad that it is.”

Rosa Whitt

In 1976, Rosa Whitt retired from 34 years of teaching and acquired a full-time, self-employed job helping people through volunteerism. First, she became a member of the Selma Beautification Council in Alabama. She was also essential in the development and planning of the Help Self-Help Others Club of Beloit, which was founded by her good friend Wilma Gilford. This club consisted of a group of ladies that sold homemade baked goods, quilts, aprons and crafts to raise funds to buy and preserve a vacant, historical school building in their community.

Through the initiative and efforts of Rosa, the Self-Help Club spread to incorporate the entire Beloit Community, resulting in the formation of the Beloit Community Association. In the 1970’s, the Beloit Community Association began to not only sell homemade products but to recycle as a means of raising money. They were eventually able to complete the goal of the Self-Help Club by purchasing and repairing the former school building. The building is centrally located to the residents of the community and is available for various community functions.

Rosa still holds the position of chairman of projects for this organization and been essential in the Beloit Community Association’s continual growth. During the summer months, 40 youth are encouraged and shown how to recycle in the Association’s summer projects. Rosa, at age 82, is one of the primary teachers of this project. Last year, the students were able to raise enough money to contribute to the purchase of a new truck for the Beloit Community Association. The truck will be used to transport recyclable materials to the trading post.

Rosa writes a column in the local newspaper every week commending others on their volunteer efforts and encouraging people to get involved. The Beloit Community Association is also funded by donations from individuals in the community and grants from the government and other organizations. The Association only receives $30.00 per ton of paper that they recycle and they sell scraps of iron, aluminum cans and cloth at the fair and flea markets. More than the money, the spirit of the volunteers and the difference they are able to provide to the community and environment, is the award that they obtain from recycling.

The Beloit Community Association is currently working on other projects with Rosa in the lead. They have been involved in People against a Littered State, The Adopt a Mile Program and the Clean City Program. She has also started a program in which a daily meal is provided to seniors in the community.

At 82 years of age, Rosa Whitt continues to have the ingenuity and vigor to inspire others towards following in her footsteps of finding new ways to make a difference.

Charles Phillips

In the fall of 1996, Charles Phillips and his wife Ann Harmon Phillips were asked by the South Greenville Elementary School Parent Teacher Association to chair a new Math and Science PTA Committee to address an unmet need. The goal of this committee was to promote elementary math and science participation in new ways.

This urban K-5 elementary school had a population of less than 700 students, 70% minority, 54% eligible for free or reduced lunch and 13% exceptional students, of which 3% were academically gifted. The school has been identified as lagging in technology.

To provide math and science enrichment, the Young Einstein Club was born, with Mr. and Mrs. Phillips as the founders. The Young Einstein Club has a page in the school’s newsletter, with questions for K-2 and 3-5 grade categories, with the answers supplied in code. This newsletter went home with every child in the school. Each child who answered the questions and returned the page to school was an automatic member of the Young Einstein Club. The Young Einstein Club became the vehicle for directing innovative and cutting-edge technology for math and science enrichment to students.

Mr. Phillips developed a network for scheduling teleconferences between students and science and math practitioners, utilizing the North Carolina Information Highway infrastructure. Pitt Community College provided the local site and North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics provided the Distance Learning Sessions.

Phillips also established a partnership with the Virtual Reality in Education Laboratory at East Carolina University’s School of Education. Two Math/Science Pilot Projects were completed utilizing the latest technology on virtual reality software.

Phillips assisted with the computerized entry and registration of six Young Einstein Club members, who competed in the World Wide Web Page Design Competition. Both teams won First Place in the competition and their work was displayed globally on the Internet during the State Fair.

There has been no faculty advisor for the Young Einstein Club. Volunteers for each enrichment activity have been necessary. Some of these activities took place during school, while others were held after school and on weekends. Some were local, while others had an out-of-town component. Phillips has mobilized all of the resources.

The Young Einstein Club has continued for three years, despite changes in the school’s administration and faculty.

Faye Melvin-Brown

Faye Melvin-Brown has been a volunteer crisis intervention counselor at Women in Transition for more than eight and a half years. In that time, Brown has been a calm and compassionate voice of hope for hundreds of women being abused by boyfriends and husbands, women struggling to get clean and sober and women working hard to make better lives for themselves and their children. Brown is an essential part of the lifeline that Women in Transition offers to women in danger.

One of Brown’s assets as a volunteer is her willingness to take the same late night shift every weekend—the midnight to 6 a.m. Saturday morning shift. Phone technology enables the transfer of the agency’s crisis hotline to a volunteer’s home phone number. When a woman in crisis dials the hotline number, the line rings at the volunteer’s house. As a telephone hotline counselor, Brown provides counseling, support, information and referrals to women who are victims of domestic violence, have addiction to drugs or alcohol or have general concerns in times of crisis.

The advanced technology makes it a little easier for volunteers to staff the hotlines, especially on weekends and late at night. Still, it is difficult for the agency to find volunteers willing to take a six-hour overnight shift from their homes because they never know what to expect when the phone rings. Nevertheless, since completing her training in April 1990, Brown has repeatedly taken this overnight shift. The agency’s staff can think of only a few cases of illness or emergency when Brown has not been able to take the line.

The staff has given Brown the nickname “Friday Night Faye” for her dedication to the late night shift. In spite of all the changes that have happened in her life, she has kept volunteering as a high priority. She has been an inspiration to other volunteers, staff, board members and the Philadelphia community.

“Faye Melvin-Brown is a true unsung hero: someone who gives of herself because she knows the need is there and she knows she can help,” remarked Patrice Gammon, Associate Director, Women in Transition, “She is an inspiration to other volunteers, to staff, to board members and to the Philadelphia community at large. We hardly know how to thank her enough.”

Rachel Kersnter

Since the summer of 1993, Rachel Kersnter has been dedicated to meeting the emotional needs of senior citizens through her gift of music.

Rachel has performed more than 325 concerts at retirement homes and senior centers sharing her talent and personality with these sometimes forgotten individuals. Wheelchairs, feeding tubes, IV bags and restraints present no boundaries for Rachel when she passes out hugs at the end of her show. Rachel has completed education classes about the effects of aging and promoted community awareness and elimination of elder abuse by performing at several fundraising events supporting this cause.

Although Rachel never charges for her shows, some facilities do present her with monetary gifts, which she promptly donates to her church or her favorite charities, such as Canine Companions for Independence, Multiple Sclerosis and The Blind Babies Foundation.

“Rachel’s enthusiasm and commitment to living a life of service makes a positive impression on those around her,” commented Dr. Kingon, Rachel’s nominator. “Her unique and fresh approach to service encourages awareness, as demonstrated by a successful Dog Wash fundraiser Rachel organized not only for the purpose of raising money but also to raise community awareness for Canine Companions for Independence.”

Rachel’s social life frequently includes motivating her friends to join in service projects. During this past holiday season, Rachel invited friends over for a cookie baking party where she and her friends baked more than 700 chocolate chip cookies to be given to inmates incarcerated at Chino Prison. While the cookies were baking, the girls also decorated placemats for women residing in a shelter for battered women. Additionally, Rachel regularly participates in city beautification projects such as painting over graffiti.

Brooke Point High School Learn and Serve

Stafford, VA is described as a most ordinary place, with its share of both good and bad. The town, admittedly, does not have a disproportionate number of people in need, but it does have an organization that is devoted to helping anyone who may be. The organization is the Learn and Serve program at Brooke Point High School, a class in which students actively engage themselves in helping local residents, charities and service-oriented organizations.

The Learn and Serve program’s mission is to allow students the opportunity to play an active role in their community. The program is one of a few which attempts to instill positive virtues in the minds of our youth. In the past three years, the program has been involved with numerous volunteer service activities, which it has helped, if not created, and has a total of some 100-plus volunteers. They move furniture, restore homes, paint, restore historical sites and pick up garbage and assist with other organizations.

Of notable importance is that every project in which Learn and Serve is involved, is coordinated entirely by students. This they find is beneficial because teenagers are often more aware effective ways to address the problems and issues they face than their adult counterparts. For example, teenagers driving while intoxicated emerged as a serious problem in the Stafford area. Learn and Serve members, inspired by a local tragedy, which eventually took the lives of three fellow students, campaigned to bring awareness to this danger. Students made factual posters and videos in attempt to educate the public about teenage drunk driving. Last year, students took an extra step forward and, in conjunction with the Stafford County Sheriff’s Department, made a short film which shows the consequences of driving while under the influence. The film was shown during Students Against Drunk Driving week.

Learn and Serve’s effort, in conjunction with the local skating center, demonstrated innovation on behalf of the students. The skating center offered local skaters a chance to reduce their admission fee if they donated a can of food to Learn and Serve for a Christmas drive. Students continued helping families during the holidays, throughout the year, through various Adopt-A-Family programs.

Marcella Garner

Republic is a small community outside of Springfield, MO that is made of mostly hard-working middle and lower middle class citizens. Before People Helping People, there were no resources for residents to go to when they were in need of food, clothing or other immediate items.

Marcella Garner single-handedly started this not-for-profit organization in 1985 because she was aware of the great need in the community for this type of service. She started the organization with no resources, but spent many hours going to churches, social groups and businesses telling them of the need and her ideas. The community response is described as unbelievable.

People Helping People now has a community building provided by the city for storage of food, clothing, household goods and toys. These items are all donated. The building is open and available to anyone in need. It is staffed entirely by volunteers with Garner providing organization and supervision. At Christmas time each year, families in the community can sign up for food, clothing and toys for their families. Each year, school supplies are provided for children in need. Glasses, medical supplies and utility assistance is also available. Since 1985, thousands of people have been helped.

“Through all of this, Garner has been the leader and guiding light,” remarked Lindy Maus, Certified Public Accountant and Garner’s nominator, “she has organized the schools for drives and goes into class rooms each year to tell the children how they too, can help the less fortunate. She works at the building sorting clothing and food, talks to social organizations, meets with families in need, organizes volunteers, the list goes on and on.”

Garner does not stop there, she is also active in other organizations, including, the V.F.W. Auxiliary, Veterans Home, Child Advocacy Council, First Baptist Church and Family and Community Education through the University of Missouri.

Book Nook Volunteers

The Book Nook, the staging area for donated books and other materials, is staffed by dedicated volunteers who collect, sort and prepare donated books, records, stamps, computer software and compact discs for the annual Davis Memorial Goodwill Industries Used Book Sale.

The idea for the book sale originated almost 30 years ago with two Goodwill volunteers, one of whom is still active. The sale has become one of the nation’s largest Goodwill fundraising events and one of the East Coast’s largest book sales. Since the first sale, more than $2 million has been raised. Each year, approximately 13,000 people attend the six-day sale in search of bargain-priced books. Proceeds—more than $250,000 last year—fund job training and employment services for people with disabilities and other barriers to employment throughout the national capital area.

Volunteers do most of the preparation for the book sale. A group of about 35 volunteers, “Bookies,” work year-round sorting and pricing books into 55 categories. The volunteers are described as “knowledgeable and faithful.” Many of the volunteers specialize in a specific category of books and are therefore qualified to price them accordingly. This also provides an opportunity for the volunteers to use their expertise in searching for rare editions. One volunteer’s keen eye spotted a valuable edition of Homer’s Iliad, which netted Goodwill almost $5,000 through New York’s prestigious Sotheby’s auction house.

Many juggle responsibilities at Goodwill with other organizations. One volunteer, a former Tuskeggee Airman, works at the Book Nook, speaks to children and seniors, repairs computers and gives tours at the National Air & Space Museum. Others give time to Goodwill, the Salvation Army, Washington-area public schools and a host of other nonprofit groups.

“Without our volunteers, Davis Memorial Goodwill Industries would not be able to provide the level of service that our communities have enjoyed for more than 60 years,” states David C. Becker, President/CEO of Davis Memorial Goodwill Industries.

Colman McCarthy

In 1982, Colman McCarthy, a then-syndicated columnist for The Washington Post, went to the inner city high school nearest to his office to ask the principal if he could volunteer to teach a course on alternatives to violence. His offer was welcomed and he has been teaching at School Without Walls ever since.

Three years later, he added another school in DC, Woodrow Wilson High School. He then trained volunteers to teach the course, so he could go to another school, Bethesda Chevy Chase High School, where he has been volunteering since 1988. His daily first period class is at 7:25 a.m. and his students consistently rank it as one of the most popular courses at the school.

In addition to these efforts, McCarthy has been on the adjunct faculty at Georgetown University Law Center, the University of Maryland, Trinity College and Catholic University. This past year, he accepted an invitation to teach at the Oak Hill Youth Detention Center in Laurel, MD.

At all of these sites, his courses are on alternatives to violence. “If violence is a major problem in the world,” McCarthy said, “then it’s time I did something more than just write about it.” He did, he began teaching about nonviolence. The purpose of the courses is to give students an intellectual grounding in the methods, history and practice of peacemaking. The courses are theoretical but practical also. McCarthy believes that the skills that Gandhi, King and history’s other proven peacemakers used in their struggles for justice can be used by all of us, whether in our personal lives individually or collective lives politically.

Over the years, McCarthy has had more than 5,000 students. In 1985, he founded the Center for Teaching Peace, a nonprofit organization that helps schools begin or expand programs in peace, conflict resolution and peer mediation. Part of his work as director of the Center has been recruiting other volunteers as peace educators. More than 100 of his own students have been mobilized as volunteers. Among his former students that have taken to heart his call to service are Mark Gearen, director of the Peace Corps, Rep. James McGovern of Massachusetts and Anthony Shriver, director of Best Buddies.

For high schools, the Center provides a curriculum for “Alternatives to Violence,” a teacher’s guide that offers detailed suggestions on what works and what doesn’t work in the classroom when teaching nonviolence, a set of 30 essays on peacemaking, nonviolence and conflict resolution and a reading list of 50 books on nonviolence and peacemaking.

For colleges and universities, the Center provides a detailed syllabus for a 16 week course on “Alternatives to Violence,” a teacher’s guide, a set of 70 essays on peacemaking, nonviolence and conflict resolution and a reading list of 70 books on nonviolence.

Nearly all of McCarthy’s teaching of nonviolence has been as an unpaid volunteer; he receives small stipends for the college and law school teaching. Additionally, he has been a regular unpaid speaker for the Close Up Foundation, addressing, over the years, several thousands of teachers and students on the topic, “How to be an Effective Peacemaker.”

In the past six years, the Center for Teaching Peace has received general support grants from the Helen Sperry Lea Foundation, the Peace Development Fund, the Cafritz Foundation, the Schumann Foundation and matching grants from the Washington Post. Additionally, donations have been made by advisory board members and friends of the Center.

“McCarthy’s ongoing involvement as a volunteer shows no sign of slowing,” states John McCarthy, President of Elementary Baseball, “If anything it will be increasing.”

Micah Inoue

In 1998, a Kennebunk High School sophomore, Matthew Barry was diagnosed with a form of cancer that required amputation of his lower leg. In an effort to assist his family with living and medical expenses, the Kennebunk High School Foreign Language Club organized a restaurant raffle which raised a total of $5,200. More than 200 students assisted with this effort.

The efforts of one young lady, however, were extraordinary. Micah Inoue, also a sophomore at Kennebunk High School, took on a leadership role in the fundraising effort. As soon as the raffle began, Micah set out to help by going to both the Kennebunk and Kennebunkport Rotary Clubs to speak about the fundraising effort on behalf of Matt’s family. Her verve and energy did not end there. She continued to solicit other community members and convinced the “School Around Us” Crafts Fair organizers to allow the raffle tickets to be sold at their event. Her efforts alone raised over $1,000 for the family.

One other example of Micah’s service to others is her catalytic role in getting her Japanese language class at Kennebunk High School committed to a project to make 1,000 paper cranes, a Japanese symbol to bring good health to an individual, for Matt and another student who was hospitalized for cancer treatment. The time needed to construct 1,000 origami cranes amounted to almost 100 hours. While a small amount of these cranes were done in the Japanese class, the majority were done by the Japanese language students outside of class time. Micah, herself, made more than 500 of these cranes.

Besides her involvement with the Foreign Language Club, Micah has also been involved with the club STAND (Students Taking a New Direction). Goals and objectives for this group are to promote substance abuse education through an Alcohol and Drug Awareness program elementary and middle school students. Micah has also been part of promoting the group’s second goal, which is the planning of substance abuse-free activities for the high school.

Micah is described by Dr. Thomas Sferes, the Chair of the Foreign Language Department at Kennebunk High School as a “young lady who possesses a passion for helping others. What is truly unique about Micah is that she has translated this passion into action. She is an example for not only her peers, but our staff and community as well.”

At this time last year, Micah and her mother spent hours creating Fimo clay hearts to be sold at a crafts fair. The project, called “Hearts for Honduras,” raised more than $1,300 for the Red Cross to provide to hurricane victims in Honduras.