GEORGE MANZANARES

Ignacio, Colorado, is a small, isolated town which boasts a population of 800 residents. Alcohol and drugs offer easy diversion to the youth of the community who feel somewhat disconnected. Despite the recent natural gas and gaming-derived wealth developed by the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, whose members make up about 30% of the community, the local youngsters complain of being bored and alienated. Since 1995, Ignacio has mourned 20 highway deaths. More than ½ of the fatal accidents were a result of either alcohol or drugs and involved people 21 years of age or younger.

George Manzanares was born during the Great Depression, and has been a member of the Ignacio community since his birth. He retired as Chief of Police in 1980, but he still has a concern for what is going on in his hometown and has devoted thousands of hours per year to young people and boxing.

Manzanares observed the youth of the town daily and sensed their general disconnection from the broader community. Because of this, he started George’s Independent Boxing Club. This club was formed to offer young people an alternative to traditional school sports because all children may not excel at football, basketball, or baseball. The community is diverse in its makeup but united in the fact that drugs and alcohol are affecting the old and young. Many family problems arise due to the use of the substances, and many of the young people are angry. Manzanares’ aim is to get kids off of the street and into a structured set of activities, managed by him as coach, where they can find a controlled outlet for their anger and aggressive feeling in the ring. This is definitely a greater choice than the self-destructive outlets of substance abuse or family violence.

In his service, Manzanares follows a framework that professionals may call a “locus of control.” He sees many parents who rely on outside forces such as the criminal justice system to discipline their children and guide them down the right path. Many of these children have little respect for anything and display an “I don’t care” attitude towards parents, authority figures, and all other aspects of their lives. He credits this prevalent attitude as the cause for members of the community being constantly high or intoxicated, and it motivates him to continue his mission. He believes when he saves even one, it is all worth it.

Since the club’s inception in 1969, Manzanares has saved more than a few lives and inspired more than he will ever know. His approach emphasizes structure, respect, discipline, and teamwork. As he coaches and counsels his boxers, he leads them to apply the lessons they learn in the ring to their daily lives. His club boasts of both male and female boxers as well as three adults who assist him in coaching and organizing club practices and meets. The club ran from 1969 until 1981, and he revived it again in 1994; it now runs all year long.

JAVINE MILLER

Javine “J.C.” Miller has taken the mission and vision of Dollars for Scholars and personally mobilized it across the state of Iowa. He founded the Dollars for Scholars chapter, Citizens Scholarship Foundation of Brooklyn-Gurnsey-Malcom (CSF of B.G.M.) in 1989. This chapter serves the school district of 655 students that bears the same name.

The local student’s attitude towards post secondary education has changed greatly. Prior to this chapter’s existence, less than 45% of the local high school graduates continued their education after high school. Today, the number of high school students in this area that are continuing their education is more than 80% thanks to financial and inspirational support form Miller and CSF of B.G.M.

Brooklyn-Gurnsey-Malcom (B.G.M.) is a small, rural community where residents often find it difficult to fund their children’s post secondary education. Since Miller started the CSF of B.G.M., more than $193,000 has been distributed to 462 students. The scholarship support has been awarded to more than the traditional top 10% of a graduating class, thus making more students aware that they should aspire to further their education. The creation of CSF of B.G.M. has fulfilled the lack of scholarship support within the community and helped bring the community and the school together.

Miller had the insight to start an endowment fund for his chapter. The endowment ensures that there will always be money available for scholarships – even if times become difficult for the community. Today, this endowment has reached more than $800,000, thus ensuring continued scholarship support in the Brooklyn-Gurnsey-Malcom community.

Miller has started more than 25 chapters throughout the state. In turn, these volunteers have raised thousands of dollars in scholarship funds for students in their communities. Miller voluntarily travels throughout the state talking with interested volunteers and starting new chapters for Iowa Dollars for Scholars. The B.G.M. community reflects Miller’s drive to enable students to reap the benefits of higher education.

FEDERAL INMATE PRESENTERS OF THE SHARE PROGRAM

The Sharing Hope About Recovery Experiences (SHARE) Program is a community outreach program based at Federal Medical Center Carswell, a prison for female offenders in Fort Worth, Texas. Since the program’s inception in the summer of 1996, the inmate presenters have spoken to more than 2,000 at-risk adolescent girls and women, usually in small groups of 20 or less audience members. The purpose of the SHARE Program is to provide important information to the adolescent girls and at-risk women in the local community about the circumstances and behavior of women who are serving time in federal prison. The intention of the SHARE Program is not to scare them into avoiding prison, but to educate them about the choices that girls and women often make that eventually lead them into compromising situations.

Preventive and rehabilitative community programs designed specifically for at-risk females are generally absent due to the historical trends of either treating both male and female delinquents or offenders the same, or neglecting the needs of females because they represent a small portion of the overall population. The SHARE Program, one of the few “female only” programs in the community, provides a unique service. The inmate presenters express themselves in an honest and compelling fashion, often eliciting strong emotional responses from audience members. When the inmate reveal their histories of childhood chaos, abuse, neglect, and other traumatic events and the subsequent choices they made, the at-risk audience members often admit that they are experiencing similar problems in their own lives.

When the program first began, six inmate presenters were selected after careful screening and interviewing. The original group of six inmate presenters in 1996 expanded to 12 presenters by the fall of 1997. In 1999, seven new presenters were selected, bringing the total to 15. The inmate population is now aware of the program’s success and many applied to become presenters. The number of community agencies involved in the program continues to grow as word about the inmates’ ability to reach difficult teens and women spreads.

Initially, all programs were conducted inside of Federal Medical Center Carswell, however in late 1997 eligible inmate presenters were allowed to go out into the community. The first group, teens from the Texas Youth Commission Willoughby House, a halfway house for delinquent girls, were an enthusiastic audience. They cried for the presenters’ struggles and for themselves, many of whom are from deeply troubled families. Since that first presentation in December 1996, the SHARE presenters consistently receive similar feedback from girls in dropout prevention programs, alternative school, residential treatment facilities, the juvenile detention center, and battered women’s shelters.

The SHARE Program has been in continuous operation since December 1996. It received the Federal Medical Center Carswell Volunteer Program of the Year in 1998 and was nominated for the award in 1997 and 1999.

CAROL PRATT

Carol Pratt has been a volunteer leader for 4-H for five consecutive years. She has assumed a leadership role in six 4-H clubs, seeing that the boys and girls in these teacher-led 4-H clubs have opportunities to learn parliamentary procedure, speech presentation, demonstrations, preparation and completion of 4-H record books. For five years, Carol has arranged her family vacation to allow her to go to 4-H camp as a parent volunteer. In this capacity, she plans and executes a camp talent show, led numerous craft activities, taught nutrition classes, been a cabin counselor, and monitored swimming and recreational activities.

In 1998-99, Carol actively recruited boys and girls for 4-H camp by presenting the 4-H camp video to nine classes. She helped sponsor a camp scholarship contest for 4-H’ers and 10 scholarships were provided. County camp enrollment doubled in 1999. Parents of fourth grade 4-H’ers were overheard saying, “They will be alright at camp, Carol is with them.” This confidence was generated because Carol Pratt believes strongly in the worth of the 4-H program and is quick to share her belief with parents as she gives leadership to other community programs for children. She was on a committee sponsoring 4-H as an active club in the middle school for 1999-00. There are now six 4-H clubs in the middle school. She plans on helping teach an etiquette class to middle school students this year.

Carol gives support to special interest 4-H clubs that meet during the summer. She has helped two sewing groups learn how to sew. She helped 4th and 5th grade classes collect 240 food items for the needy and helped 4-H classes plant flower beds for Community Pride projects. She has been a judge for several 4-H Bread Baking Contests.

In addition to her 4-H involvement, Carol participates in a local adults family and community education club that educates the community in areas of family and consumer science. She has been an active member in their yearly fundraising efforts. These funds have been used for 4-H scholarships, needy families, planting welcome flowerbeds at the state park entrances and a contribution to Friends of the Park.

Carol has served as vice-president, and several other positions, of her local PTA and a supporter on many committees. She was instrumental in getting a playground built for a local school and was a member of the committee that helped to build a local park and walking trail. She lends leadership to a yearly egg hunt for neighborhood children, sponsored by the local Business & Professional Club. In addition, Carol managed a Santa Shop at Maynardville Elementary, so that local children can purchase gifts for others. Daily, Carol Pratt commits herself to youth as she actively participates in school leadership, 4-H activities, egg hunts, food drives, park and playground improvement initiatives and other worthy causes.

ISOBEL HOLMES

Isobel Holmes is an 89-year-old ball of energy! She has been active in the Foster Grandparent Program (FGP) since 1982. Eighteen years of volunteer service to one program is quite an achievement, not to mention the thousands of children’s lives she has touched.

After retiring from a full-time job, Holmes began looking for something to “keep busy.” Like most people, she went to an employment agency where she was told that she was “too old” for most of their jobs and should try volunteer work for FGP.

When Holmes began with FGP she was living outside of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and was volunteering at Hissom (a residential facility for children who needed a safe environment). Their clients included mentally and physically handicapped children, as well as children who had been taken from abusive homes. Most of her days were spent being a grandmother – reading stories, playing board games and walking, or pushing wheelchair-bound children around the campus. But, the learning was not just for the children – it was at Hissom that with one of the children that Holmes, well into her 70’s, Holmes learned to ride a bike.

Three years ago Holmes moved to a small community outside of Oklahoma City and wanted to remain active with the FGP. She took it upon herself to find the program closest to her, completed orientation and became the first Foster Grandparent in Choctaw, Oklahoma at L.W. Westfall Elementary School.

Currently, Holmes works individually with kindergartners doing art projects, reading, playing, talking and being the grandmotherly influence that many of these children do not have. She arrives at school around 8am and does not leave until nearly 3pm everyday – in spite of the fact the program only allows her four hours a day. She is dedicated to helping these children regardless of her time and tiredness.

Holmes even spends her off time at the senior center promoting FGP and trying to recruit and mobilize new members. She is the motivator of the group. There are currently 40 members in this program and many of them use Holmes as their yardstick. They often say, “If Isobel can do this at 90, I can do it at 65!” She inspires many of them to continue their service while reminding everyone, including staff, that we do this for the children.

Her uniqueness comes about when you talk to her. She really works with the children in the way in which they like to learn. A good example of this is that she rewards children by telling them stories. Many people do not remember presents from their grandparents but the stories can last forever as a piece of living history. She teaches children that the elderly are not just a population of people sitting around waiting to die but are, in fact, viable members of society who can continue to give back while keeping busy.

PEACE BY PIECE FACILITATORS

The oldest pediatric hospice in the nation is Edmarc Hospice for Children in Norfolk, Virginia. Founded in 1977, Edmarc serves more than 100 children who have life-threatening illnesses each year.

Prior to the establishment of Peace by Piece, a bimonthly support group for grieving children ages 3 to 18, Edmarc had been offering a support group for bereaved siblings twice a year. However, following the death of the son of an Edmarc Bereavement Coordinator, they realized how many more children have no safe place to go to express their feelings and fears openly.

Many children are thrust into the grieving process. At a time when they are most vulnerable, these kids experience isolation. Friends and schoolmates tend to become impatient with demonstrations of acute grief after a few weeks or months. Often, even relatives don’t know how to help. To meet this ongoing need in their area, Peace by Piece was established, to offer grieving children and teens a caring, safe environment to share.

Peer support is a very important component of Peace by Piece. That’s why groups are set up by age. These groups always meet in the same location at the same time to give kids a sense of familiarity, comfort and stability. Twice a month they come together to participate in activities, play, talk or just be with kids their age who know what they are going through. Times like these ease their sense of isolation and help the slow but sure process of healing begin. Support groups are free for however long they are needed.

Peace by Piece support groups are facilitated by gifted and extremely dedicated volunteers. These volunteers are carefully chosen. They participate in a rigorous training program and screening process. Upon completion of training, each facilitator agrees to a minimum one-year commitment. That’s two evenings per month at four hours per evening on site. This does not include the volunteer’s planning time.

Peace by Piece Facilitators brings diverse levels of experiences and backgrounds to the program. The service they provide is described as invaluable. Combined with their compassion, patience and keen ability to listen, facilitators create an emotional safe haven. Through their hard work, many children have transformed. Their anger has subsided. The need to act out has diminished. They can now share their thoughts and feelings.

Peace by Piece is 95% volunteer driven. Without the dedication of the facilitators, this program would not be available. The success of this program is largely based on the quality of the current volunteers and the standards they have set. It is clearly evident that their commitment to program participants has created the right environment for kids to make it through their grief as well as opened the door to additional referrals.

Peace by Piece is now celebrating its one-year anniversary. Within this time, volunteer facilitators have donated more than 1,200 hours. When reflecting over the past year, many of them have shared the immense respect they have for the children, teens and adults who expose their most intimate thoughts and how they feel privileged to be a part of their grief process.

GENERATIONS INCORPORATED

Generations Incorporated was born of the conviction that the separate needs of youth and senior citizens could be addressed by bringing the two groups together. Founded in 1991, Generations Incorporated incorporates the generations to strengthen individuals and communities.

Generations Incorporated programming addresses the unmet educational needs of Boston-area schoolchildren. The fact that one third of all Boston fourth graders failed their Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) reading tests is an indicator of their urgent need. By focusing on literacy at an early age, the benefits can be reaped throughout adulthood. Generations Incorporated addresses other important needs as well, including reducing negative stereotyping by youth of the elderly and disabled, helping youth develop self-confidence, connecting elders to the younger generation and contributing to their sense of dignity and purpose by sharing allowing them to share their life stories and experiences with youth.

Generations Incorporated is helping to change the way Americans view its oldest and youngest members. As the percentage of Americans over the age of 65 steadily rises, Generations Incorporated feels that too much focus has been on how this will effect the economy. Generations Incorporated is working to shift this focus toward the positive social implications, demonstrating that youth and seniors have much to gain by working with one another.

Seniors are often an untapped resource, with enormous potential for helping others. Through Generations Incorporated’s Leaps in Literacy and After School Programs, senior volunteers serve as one-on-one reading coaches for elementary schoolchildren. In its Generation Clubs programs, middle-school students are paired with elderly partners in senior facilities to develop mutually beneficial relationships. The programs run for the duration of the school year, varying in intensity from the Generation Clubs once a week to the one-on-one Leaps in Literacy sessions four days a week.

Thousands of Boston-area youth and seniors have benefited directly from Generations Incorporated’s programming. Students participating in the Leaps in Literacy program raised their reading skills an average of 2.92 reading levels in just one year. Eighty-five percent of participating youth said, “because of the Generation Club, I don’t judge people as much for being different.” Also, nursing home staffs report that Generations Incorporated improves the quality of life for residents.

Generations Incorporated serves more than 1,000 youth and seniors each year, in partnerships with more than 50 organizations. Over 100 senior volunteers have been mobilized this year to improve the skills of young people each week. The organization continues to expand its volunteer base to meet unmet needs. Generations Incorporated was chosen as the winner for the 1997 Massachusetts Youth Service Alliance Community Service Award and was selected from over 110 nationwide applications to be one of the first nine America Reads programs to utilize senior citizens as reading tutors.

MOTE MARINE LABORATORY VOLUNTEERS

There is a special group of retirees contributing thousands of hours to Mote Marine Laboratory and the marine world. They remember when the sea and sky were bluer, the fishing was better, and manatees and dolphins thrived along the coastline. Mote’s volunteers remember, and they are determined to return those conditions to the community through their efforts for stewardship of the marine environment and its inhabitants through their work at Mote.

Founded in 1955, Mote Marine Laboratory is an independent, nonprofit organization. The Laboratory seeks to pursue knowledge in marine and environmental sciences and to educate the public through its aquarium. Without the aid of our dedicated crew of volunteers, most of whom are retirees, this mission would be impossible. In 1999, more than 1,200 volunteers donated an estimated 141,000 hours of service.

For example, Mote volunteers serve the community as aquarium guides, positioned throughout the aquarium to explain various exhibits, which are based on Mote’s research. Again and again, guests praise Mote volunteers for being friendly, knowledgeable and attentive, especially to visiting children. Our volunteers can also be seen in the community educating about the marine environment through the Mote Mobile Exhibit, an aquarium on wheels.

Often braving cold and wind, volunteers involved in the Marine Mammal Stranding Program support the animals in medical tanks around the clock. Whatever the outcome, valuable information of the animal’s life history and for similar animal’s care in future strandings is gained. Sea turtle volunteers patrol Gulf Coast beaches at sunrise everyday May through October ensuring all sea turtle nests are marked, safe and undisturbed. Considerable tedious, behind-the-scenes work is also the responsibility of volunteers. Processing tissue samples, sorting microscopic organisms, and cleaning tanks are examples of less visible, but vital, services volunteers contribute.

What makes Mote’s volunteer program unique is that is was created and organized by a few dedicated volunteer in the early 1980’s when there was still a very small paid staff. The few Mote volunteers at the time recognized and responded to a need to fill the increasing needs of the expanding laboratory. A Volunteer Board was established, committees were formed, and bylaws were written, making possible today’s well-organized, extensive volunteer program. These dedicated volunteers manage much of the program themselves, with a year-round, ongoing commitment.

Mote volunteers come from all walks of life and financial backgrounds. Their support allows Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium to continue its work in protecting and understanding the environment. In turn, Mote enables volunteers to use their career expertise and develop lifelong friendships. Not only do these folks help the environment and the community, but also they themselves use the skills it took a lifetime to hone. What is wonderful for Mote is good for the retirees, who willingly now accept leadership position because they want to serve.

THE COMMUNITY CHURCH TUTORS/MENTORS PROGRAM

Five years ago the members of The Community Church (United Church of Christ) of Vero Beach made a commitment to the children and youth of the community. A partnership with the Indian River County school district was formed and a mentoring program at Rosewood Elementary School was established.

Every Wednesday afternoon, a dedicated corps of 45 volunteers meets with students to read, play games, make crafts and spend time together. Students selected for the program are students who have “fallen through the cracks” – students who do not qualify for any special education programs, but who need the presence of a caring adult in order to do better in the classroom. Some of the children come from single parent homes or homes where families struggle financially and have little extra time for nurturing. Most are children who are not performing well in the classroom.

The following year an academic program focusing on reading skills was established at Thompson Elementary School. Tutors were also sent to the Freshman Learning Center to work with ESOL students. Now in its 5th year, 137 Community Church School volunteers go into six public schools (Rosewood Magnet School, Thompson Elementary School, Vero Beach Elementary School, Gifford Middle School, ESOL at Freshman Learning Center, and Vero Beach High School) and impact the lives over more than 180 students each week. It is estimated that this will culminate in more than 4,150 hours in 1999-2000.

On Wednesday afternoon alone, when county schools have an early dismissal, 69 mentors and tutors are involved with children for 1½ hours after school. Other programs take place during school. In most cases, the child leaves the classroom and meets separately with the adult. In a few situations the tutor meets one-on-one in the classroom setting.

Most school programs begin in October and end in April, although the ESOL program at the Freshman Learning Center begins in early September and continues through final exams in May. Volunteers work with first graders through tenth graders. Elementary school tutors focus on reinforcing reading skills. Middle and high school tutors assist with language and math skills. All tutors and mentors sign a covenant with the church committing them to regular and faithful attendance. The church promises to provide ongoing training and support.

The mentoring and tutoring programs at The Community Church are ministries of presence. By being there regularly, the adult is a caring presence for the young person, which sends a message of worth to the child. The youth is important enough for the adult to come each week. As a result, a bond develops that is evident as the tutor or mentor’s face lights up when the child walks into the room.

In March 1998 the church received the Florida Education Commissioner’s top award for its contributions of time and talent to public schools. The goal of The Community Church is to encourage other faith communities to develop similar ministries.

PA AMERICAN LEGION HOUSING FOR HOMELESS VETERANS, INC.

A 1996 national survey estimates that approximately a quarter of America’s homeless are veterans of military service, those once among our society’s strongest and healthiest citizens. The 2.8-million member American Legion, the nation’s largest veterans organization, has fought for federal homeless veterans assistance for generations. Its community-based volunteers are their brothers’ keeper. The American Legion is comprised of nearly 15,000 local “posts” organized within 55 state level departments. The American Legion Department of Pennsylvania operates an exemplary transitional housing program for homeless veterans.

In 1987, under the leadership of then Department Commander Ronald F. Conley of Pittsburgh, the department’s Board of Directors created the program. As a result of the American Legion’s program, veterans and their families, who otherwise would sleep on the streets, are housed in any of the five Legion shelters in Pittsburgh, the one in Philadelphia, or the other in Ephrata, Pennsylvania. Males and females – some single, some with children – are given a fighting chance to get back on their feet and as many as 20 people are housed nightly in each facility.

The program is a success, with 85% of the clients finding work and becoming productive members of society. Many become reunited with hitherto estranged families. Some start families.

The birth of the program belied tales of Capitol gridlock. Both the Pennsylvania American Legion and the National Organization lobbied Congress to enact legislation in 1987 allowing the corporation to purchase seven properties from the Department of Veterans Affairs, at a 50% discount, for the sole purpose of creating transitional housing. Those were houses on which the owners defaulted on their GI Bill mortgages. Ninety-five percent of the corporation’s funding is provided by the American Legion Department of Pennsylvania, including a personnel start-up contribution of $35,000.

Non-Legionnaires are responding the American Legion’s missionary zeal. Members of the American Legion Auxiliary, an affiliated organization with its own charter, volunteer in the shelters. American Legion Auxiliary Juniors, teenage young ladies who believe in helping people also participate. Following the Legion’s example, Pittsburgh members of the Jewish War Veterans operate a similar program.