LEON OMAN

Leon Oman is an example of an individual that is committed to social, economic, and personal change. In the 15 years that Oman has worked for Community Education, he has changed the lives of countless individuals, both youth and adults. He has demonstrated his commitment to grassroots change by opting to remain on the “front lines” with the people who need him most.

Leon Oman is the Community Education Specialist at Andersen Schools. Although his position is 40 hours per week, he works far beyond his required hours. His average schedule has him at Andersen on weekdays from 9a.m. until 7p.m., and on Saturdays from 8a.m. until noon. In many schools, Community Education is an area in which adults take a Spanish class or brush up on their computer skills. Thanks to Oman’s ongoing commitment, Community Education at Andersen has reached far beyond this scope.

Community Education is an integral part of the Andersen Complex. In order to combat the fact that many Andersen students have working parents who are unable to be home when the school days ends, the After-School Activity Program was created. This program gives students the opportunity to expand their school day in creative and exciting ways. Students are able to choose between activities that focus on arts and crafts, sports, literacy, computers, and other areas of interest.

As the success of the After-School Activity Program has expanded, so has its scope. Oman spearheaded the creation of an after-school homework club entitled “Cool Kids.” In this program, students are placed in small classes where they receive homework help, tutoring, and mentoring. These students are able to extend their day from 2p.m. until 5p.m., often eliminating the problems that occur when kids are unsupervised after school.

Another way in which Oman has made an impact is in his role as supervisor of AmeriCorps members. His work as a supervisor is purely voluntary and is an example of his unending commitment to the program. This year, he supervised more than 11 members. He takes care to see that each person feels supported and encouraged and that every individual is able to utilize their particular interests or talents.

The impact that Oman makes on the lives of those who encounter him cannot be measured in a qualitative sense. It is measured in the stories that are told when someone at an AmeriCorps meeting chimes in with, “Guess what Leon did for me!” It is measured in the number of students in the Andersen Complex who do not think twice about bursting into his office demanding that he let them into an activity that is full or put them on the bus list because they want to join a friend in computer class. His success is measured in the everyday experiences that seem to go unnoticed because, in Leon Oman’s world, they are so common.

THE MANATEEN CLUB

The teen population of Manatee County Florida saw quite a need, and in 1995 they banned together and formed the ManaTEEN Club. This club was founded to encourage youth volunteerism as well as bridging the gap which was so apparent in their community at the time. Manatee County’s elderly population is more than 68,000 compared to the teen population of a little more than 12,000. Five years later, the ManaTEEN Club is considered the nation’s largest teen volunteer program with more than 10,000 active members who donate in excess of one million hours of service annually in southwest Florida.

ManaTEENs represent every public, private, charter and alternative middle school and high school in their area. Though there is no community service requirement for graduation from a Manatee County High School, this organization was birthed on the shoulders of the teens. They volunteer because they are empowered to make a difference – they want to volunteer and do not do it because they have to.

ManaTEENs lead hundreds of training workshops to promote youth as decision makers and community leaders. They are taught the skills to identify unmet needs and the support system to find creative solutions to meet those needs by their peers. ManaTEEN assist over four hundred not-for-profit organizations, schools, retirement centers, communities of faith and hospitals. In addition to that, they develop several direct-service programs to benefit the community. Some of the on-going programs include: Adopt-a-grandparent, Home Safety for Seniors, Youth Service Learning Council, Ties That Bind, MERIT, Carousel Kids, Weekend Dads and Operation Painteen. The Adopt-a-Grandparent program connects 500 teens with 500 seniors who live alone. The teens assist with transportation, shopping and healthy communication. Teens conduct safety needs assessments in the Home Safety for Seniors Program.

The Youth Service Learning Council is a grant council which meets throughout the year to solicit, review, select and administer more than $30,000 annually in mini-grant funding for service-learning projects. The ManaTEENS coordinate temporary shelter for homeless families and assist them in finding resources who can help them on a permanent basis through the Ties That Bind program. MERIT stands for ManaTEEN Emergency Response Initiative Team. This program trains teens to operate emergency shelters and dispatch workers in case of a disaster in Manatee County. Carousel Kids connects teens certified in child care with families in need of episodic baby-sitting, and Weekend Dads encourages non-custodial fathers to spend quality time with their children. Each week, ManaTEENS in the Operation Painteen paint the exterior of homes for low-income families that otherwise would not have that service.

The ManaTEENS are a force not only in Manatee County but throughout Florida. They spend summers and holidays traveling throughout the state and the rest of the country assisting other Volunteer Centers in developing their own teen initiatives.

OPERATION JUMPSTART

It’s a Tuesday at noon and all the students at Longfellow Sixth Grade Center are rushing to get their lunch. Only one student, Heather, is standing in the hallway with her lunch tray. Helen walks in the door and Heather breaks into a smile. They automatically begin chatting about their day and what has happened since their last week’s meeting.

Helen and Heather have been matched in Operation Jumpstart for two years. Before Heather had a mentor, she was dealing with several behavior problems, truancy, poor hygiene and social performance. She was ecstatic when told she was getting a mentor. The pair immediately hit it off and have met weekly ever since. All the times Heather thought she was facing alone have since improved and this year she made A’s, putting her on the honor roll.

In October of 1997, Big Brothers and Big Sisters (BBBS) of Sedgwick County and Communities in Schools (CIS) initiated a collaborated effort called Operation Jumpstart (OJS). The school-based mentoring program targets 5th and 8th grade students, students “transitioning” from elementary to middle school and middle school to high school. BBBS and CIS are a natural fit when it comes to mentoring school-aged children. BBBS offers expertise in mentor recruitment, selection, and training while CIS site coordinators offer on- site supervision and insight into the child and school setting. OJS is currently in eight schools with hopes of expanding to all CIS-served schools in the near future.

Operation Jumpstart is federally funded through a JUMP grant and as the lead agency, BBBS administers the $190,000, three-year program and contributes significant in-kind support to the budget as well. The goal of the program is to serve 100 youth at risk of educational failure, dropping out of school, and/or involvement in delinquent activities, including gangs. Often, fifth and eighth grades are the most difficult transition points for students and Operation Jumpstart assists students in successfully completing this transition through one-to-one mentor/mentee relationships.

Each of the school sites are located in areas of high crime, and have an overwhelming majority of students who receive Title I benefits. Stanley Elementary School and Hamilton Middle School have 77% of their students receiving free or reduced lunch and textbooks. At Alcott Academy, the percentage of students receiving free or reduced lunch and textbooks is at 70%, making the need for OJS a priority for these children.

At the conclusion of the initial 1997-98 school year, Operation Jumpstart had 75 mentor/mentee matches and each school year following, the goal of 100 was met. To this point, including the 1999-00 school year, Operation Jumpstart has served a total of 201 children. Each year the program is evaluated for goals met. Ninety-seven percent of OJS students were promoted to next grade. Average daily attendance was 91% and 99% of OJS students remain in school.

KATHLEEN HAMMER

Kathleen Hammer has been mentoring students at Vancouver’s Peter S. Odgen School since 1992. In her role as mentor, Kathleen provides one-on-one tutoring as well as assisting the teachers with classroom activities. In 1999, Ogden School earned a national reading program award due in part to their very active volunteer/mentoring participation.

As project coordinator and volunteer for the Women In Action after school mentoring program, Hammer has been working closely with at-risk fifth grade girls at the Eleanor Roosevelt Elementary School since 1993. The girls in this program are growing up in one-parent, low-income home environments. Her involvement includes coordinating the program with the school’s faculty and Electronic Data Systems (EDS). In addition to this, she instructs and mentors those adults who opt to participate in the program. The program focuses on various life skills from daily hygiene to conflict management.

Hammer has been instrumental in revitalizing the program to make it more interesting, inviting, and relative to the needs of today’s girls. One practical skill that girls are not receiving at home deals with clothing maintenance and teaches simple sewing skills like sewing on a button. The program has been a huge success and all of the fifth grade teachers, the school counselors, and the principal have remarked about the positive changes that they have seen in the girls who participate in the program. It has become so popular with the students that the enrollment reaches capacity within 24 hours of the first notice of a new session.

Since 1992, Hammer has been the local project coordinator for EDS’s JASON Project and has been since 1992. The mission of the JASON Project is to excite and engage students in science and technology and to motivate and provide professional development for the teachers. Kathleen’s role includes coordination of the program between EDS and the school systems, student instruction for fifth through ninth grades, and hosting more than 200 students each year to live satellite broadcasts.

Hammer also mentors, tutors, coordinates, and participates in every aspect of the programs. However, it is important to note that many EDS staff members at the Vancouver Account also participate in these programs. They do so because Kathleen Hammer can and does create an environment of enthusiasm, excitement, and satisfaction regarding people’s participation in volunteer programs.

THE VOLUNTEER SERVICES COUNCIL OF THE TEXAS CENTER FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASE

Since 1953, the Volunteer Services Council of the Texas Center for Infectious Disease (TCID) has provided tuberculosis patients with basic services that the hospital was not able to provide.

When tuberculosis was rampant in this country: men, women, and children were separated from their families and sent to hospitals throughout the country. Hospitals were located far from patients’ homes and the patients were hospitalized for months or years. The need arose to provide an array of services that are not usual to the typical hospital. Normally medical treatment took an hour or two, this left the patients with many unfilled recovery hours.

Tuberculosis treatment left many patients without financial support and placed a burden on their families to try to provide for those at home and those in the hospital.

The Volunteer Services Councils (VSC) were formed to help patients with these needs. They were armed with the task of providing services to a virtual small town of patients. The needs varied: clothing for people of all ages; educational programs for children and adults; recreational programs that taught a trade; recruiting priests, ministers, rabbis and purchasing personal hygiene or cosmetic items that surpass basic hospital issue.

As better treatment for tuberculosis became available, the number of hospitalized patients decreased, going from thousands to under a hundred. The hospitals started closing as the need dwindled, the Texas Center for Infectious Disease remains the one primary acute care on-campus facility for tuberculosis.

VSC remains active on the TCID campus chartered with the same basic purpose as in the beginning. The faces of the patients have changed but the needs remain the same and more acute. Many of the patients are homeless; the very nature of their living conditions makes them more susceptible to tuberculosis. They come to the hospital literally with the clothing on their backs and no family ties.

The Volunteer Services Council provides GED classes and is commencing computer literacy classes. VSC provides parties and cookouts for the various holidays, clothing, leather supplies for leatherwork, sports equipment for volleyball or basketball as well as checkers and puzzles. There are personal shoppers for the patients and a hair stylist who comes in once a month to cut hair at no cost to the patients.

The following report shows the outstanding job that the volunteer completed in 1998-99, and reflects the kind of work done for 45 years at TCID by VSC. Approximately 594 volunteers donated 7,248 volunteer hours to the hospital, providing a salary saving of $48,244.25 for the year. Also, $46,105.31worth of in-kind donations was received. VSC also met a variety of patient needs: 19 pairs of glasses; 24 bus tickets; 384 shopping requests; 42 birth certificates; 389 clothing orders; 196 hair cuts; 48 religious encounters; 196 stamps and 115 patient, employee, and volunteer activities.

PATRICK ROWE

In December 1970, Patrick Rowe founded Silver Wheels Football Club. The Silver Wheels Wheelchair Football Team is a non-profit, tax –exempt, recreational organization composed entirely of physically and mentally handicapped young men and women ranging from pre-teen to adult. The team members come from the Buffalo and Western New York area. The Silver Wheels compete against non-handicapped groups who must also play football in wheelchairs. The main emphasis is to provide service to members and make the non-handicapped public aware of the abilities of handicapped athletes. Throughout its history, Silver Wheels has helped to raise thousands of dollars for local charities.

Silver Wheels football games are held indoors on a regular basketball court under specially modified NFL rules. The season runs from the middle of October to June, and the games are designed to be as competitive as physically possible without leading to serious injuries. Some of the teams that the Silver Wheels team has competed against include: Area media stars, members of the Buffalo Bills and Sabres, the Blue Pride of Buffalo, area Lion Clubs, Kiwanis Clubs, High School faculty groups, and other varied community service organizations. Membership consists of approximately 40-50 people.

Twenty-one years ago, Rowe formed the Silver Wheels team to provide an outlet in which wheelchair-bound men could feel as capable as anyone else within their limitations. He felt that the disabled have just as much right to play sports as anyone. In 1985, Rowe was attacked in his Cheektowaga home and stabbed 23 times. After being left for dead, he managed to call police and lived to testify at his attacker’s trial. The Silver Wheels Wheelchair Club was started while he was a junior at Williamsville North High School.

Rowe played guard and middle linebackers for a decade before retiring in the early 1980’s. Now, he served strictly as a coach for the team. Since 1970, the “Wheels” have played approximately 150 games, losing only 12 of these games. In 1982, a group of cheerleaders known as “The Silver Stars” was added to the Silver Wheels program. The squad is composed of young women with a variety of handicapping conditions.

When a person joins the Silver Wheels team, Rowe councils him/her with the parents to get more education, become employed and contribute to society. He encourages them not to sell themselves short or sit in front of the ‘tube’ and let their parents take care of them. Through this and by example, Rowe has become a father-figure to his Silver Wheels family. For more than 20 years, he has worked a 4-day week at Buffalo Psychiatric Center. In addition to this position, he lines up games for Silver Wheels, provides transportation to team members, and plans fundraisers and social activities, among other tasks.

Rowe also responds to requests to speak at public functions. In 1999, he was the main speaker at the graduation exercises of a local Buffalo school. In December 1995, Rowe had an article entitled, “Dating and People with Disabilities,” published in the periodical 1 Step Ahead – The Disability Resource. He has also written several poems from the “physically challenged person’s point of view. Canisius College, Rowe’s alma mater, established in 1992 the “Pat Rowe Award” for students exhibiting outstanding campus and/or community service.

MARNITA JOHNSON

Marnita Johnson is a former homeless resident of the Homeless Prevention Center. This is a 30-bed shelter in Woodbridge, Virginia, operated by Volunteers of America Chesapeake (VOAC). In 1993, VOAC created an innovative program called AfterShare for former residents returning to the Center to volunteer. After moving out of the center in 1997, Johnson came back to volunteer. In May of 1998, she officially took over as the volunteer AfterShare Coordinator.

Johnson was eager to take AfterShare in new directions. In 1998, she began outreach to the unsheltered homeless. As part of the county’s Continuum of Care Committee, she was instrumental in the documentation of the unsheltered in two 1999 point-in-time counts of the homeless. During this process, she trained AfterShare volunteers and community members on outreach techniques and the needs and concerns of these most vulnerable of the homeless.

Although AfterShare volunteers had always handled donations of clothing, food and household items, Johnson adjusted the processing system so the donations that were not needed by the Center could be shared with members of the community, who, though they may not be homeless, were still in need. Items have been organized and distributed every Saturday and Sunday afternoon, without exception, from June of 1998 to the present. Although many AfterShare volunteers were trained to handle the distribution and documentation, Johnson was either active or available at the Center all but two days in approximately 18 months.

When a new Center was built adjacent to the old site, and the Center moved in May 1999, Johnson identified a room for a computer lab. Since early 1998, Johnson had renovated donated computers for families to use at the Center and take with them when they found a new home. The new lab gave her the room to successfully solicit the donation of brand new computers, software, and printers, creating one of the most resourceful computer labs anywhere. Former residents, who were computer lab students, come by to volunteer as well assist Johnson with teaching.

Sometimes only a few hundred dollars towards a rental deposit meant the difference between success and continued homelessness. Johnson organized AfterShare 2000 Rent Fund, which raised more than $4,500 in November and December 1999. Utilizing the VOAC AfterShare Web site, donations and profiles of families were made available publicly. One hundred percent of all donations go directly to landlords or vendors. In December 1999, the first four families were assisted into permanent housing. The AfterShare 2000 Rent Fund will continue as Ms. Johnson accepts invitations to speak to various organizations that have pledged ongoing support.

Marnita Johnson has overcome many obstacles in her life. She is a leader by her example and continues to give between 150 to 300 hours of service per month at the Homeless Prevention Center.

CLARK COUNTY SOCIAL SERVICE NEIGHBORHOOD JUSTICE CENTER VOLUNTEER MEDIATORS

The Clark County Social Service Neighborhood Justice Center (NJC) in Las Vegas was created through legislation approved by the Nevada State Legislature in 1991 to provide citizens a wider access to justice and an alternative to the court process for conflict resolution. The NJC is unique as the only community mediation service in the country that is part of a social service agency. In 1999, NJC volunteer mediators contributed a total of 2,661.75 hours of service to the Neighborhood Justice Center.

The NJC currently has more than 100 volunteer mediators who conduct approximately 500 mediations per year. They mediate cases involving disputes between neighbors, consumers and merchants, employers and employees, landlords and tenants, families, doctors and patients, and parties involved in business transactions. The mediators assist the parties in coming to their own agreement by reducing the obstacles to communication, maximizing the exploration of alternatives, and addressing the needs of those involved.

The program is highly successful in that approximately 72% of the mediations end with a formal agreement between the parties, ending their dispute in a non-adversarial and private way. Mediation is provided in the main center, satellite offices, and in five Justice Courts in Clark County. In addition to providing mediation services in small claims courts, NJC volunteer mediators now mediate cases referred by Henderson Municipal Court.

The NJC has developed several specialized mediation programs in which volunteer mediators actively participate. The Victim Offender-Reconciliation Program (VORP) provides mediation between youth first-time offenders, who are referred by the courts, and their victims. The VORP experience enables the victim to confront the offender and provide input on matters of restitution. Through VORP, the first-time offender has the opportunity to hear about the impact of the offense, and participate in a meaningful response to the offense.

The NJC has also developed a Conflict Intervention Team (CIT), which utilizes specially-trained volunteer mediators to go into a school in response to a large scale conflict that is most often racially motivated or gang-related. The mediators conduct one-on-one mediations and large group mediations and conclude their intervention with helpful information for the school on ways to prevent or address future conflicts.

The services of the NJC volunteer mediators are invaluable in helping citizens resolve disputes peacefully, in a way that preserves relations and promotes understanding.

ABC UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT & ABC FEDERATION OF TEACHERS

The ABC Unified School District (USD) has come face to face with America’s future. In this district of contrasts, no ethnic group can claim a majority. It boasts Whitney High School, whose standardized test scores are higher than any other school in California. But ABC is also challenged with educating large numbers of limited English immigrant students. These children come from what is commonly called a low socio-economic background. To advance these students’ educational needs, District superintendent, Dr. Ron Barnes, and ABC Federation of Teachers (ABDFT) president, Laura Rico, began addressing the situation in an unorthodox way.

Students, who are facing a variety of hurdles on their way to academic success, often need innovative approaches. In a labor-management partnership, the Union and District stepped outside their contract and developed a program showing their commitment to excellence for all of ABC’s students. The result is the Southside Schools Reading Partnership – “a partnership around a dream,” says Dr. Barnes. To make the dream a reality for one-third of the students, the partnership is reaching beyond its certificate staff. It also involves parents and community members who have a common goal – to ensure academic success for students from the six participating schools.

There are no mandates requiring teachers to teach an extra hour a day. There is nothing compelling the District to fund training programs for teachers. No one is forcing ABCFT to help with money to make the program successful. The Union President advised that the overriding goal of all children in ABC is acquiring the skills that will make them productive citizens, and this is what motivates labor and management to work cooperatively.

Since the program began last June, teachers have attended special district funded training sessions. ABCFT has contributed funds for teachers to travel out of state to enhance their instructional skills. One school’s staff has opted for a staggered reading program. This requires them to teach an additional hour each day. Plans are underway to create a mobile learning center. This converted bus would travel throughout the community to offer adults expanded learning opportunities. Evening parent classes have been scheduled. In an effort to aid parents wanting to attend classes, both parties are striving to develop a free, voluntary preschool program. There are leadership meetings once a month for progress and invention sessions.

This unique labor and management partnership is a model of focused education. The Union and District see themselves as equal partners in achieving a dream of universal literacy for ABC’s students. President Clinton has noted there will be no majority ethnic group by the year 2020. In the ABC Unified School District , 2020 is now. If the partnership helps to meet future challenges today, then what lies ahead is not just a more diverse society – but a more literate, tolerant and productive one as well.

DR. RODERICK POWERS

Dr. Roderick Powers’ attempts to mobilize the community’s ability to react to natural disasters is unending. He speaks to various civic organizations, church groups, professional groups, and just about any group that wants to hear him speak on disaster preparation. The disaster training program involves quite a few hours of instructional time – which he gives without hesitation. In addition to the instructional time, he is a speaker for the Lee County Chapter of the American Red Cross, involved in First Aid training for local businesses and industries, and completes CPR training also. All of his service activities have helped the Auburn-Opelika-Lee County area develop a closer working relationship in areas other than disaster services. Dr. Power’s approach to disaster training is unique and a productive developmental program that includes students at Auburn University, Community College and the public and private school system.

The same outcome designs are evident in Dr. Power’s involvement with the East Alabama Medical Center’s Volunteer Program. His ability to include people in the decision-making processes and the accomplishment of volunteer goals has increased the volunteers’ capabilities to meet the new approaches being utilized in the hospital and its outreach program. The involvement of volunteers has bridged the gaps between community services being offered and the community’s acceptance of these programs. The hospital has increased its programs to include Hospice House, Indigent Mercy Clinic, Camelia Place Independent Living – Health Care Facility, Adult Day – Care Program and a Diabetes Center. The transition from hospital-based to community-based programs has been greatly facilitated by the efforts of Dr. Powers and the volunteers. All of the programs reflect the new approach to medical care giving , and the volunteers under Dr. Powers guidance are a vital part of the transition.

Dr. Powers is also actively involved with retired teachers in Lee County. While Dr. Powers was President of the Lee County Retired Teachers Association, its enrollment jumped significantly and the association’s number of recorded hours of volunteerism increased also. Dr. Powers was awarded the plaque for having the most hours for volunteer work for counties the size of Lee in Alabama. During his tenure, he also initiated a program whereby the association has political representatives to speak on the behalf of any issues that effect their members.

In addition to these activities, Dr. Powers is also an interactive participant with the school system and the students of Lee County. He serves on the Southern Association of Schools and Colleges accreditation teams where he has been a Peer Team Chairperson as well as a member of the team. He thinks of innovative ways to solicit more student involvement in the community and service to each other. Dr. Powers always attempts to suggest to the school system additional assistance , especially instructional programs that will provide a more meaningful learning experience for the students. He shows the children that community involvement should be a life long relationship with whatever community in which they reside.