Save the Date for the 2027 Points of Light Conference!

ANN HEIMAN

Mrs. Ann Heiman has devoted her lifetime to children and youth. Her knowledge and understanding of the strengths and limitations of community organizations and agencies is impressive. She exemplifies the title of “risk-taker” because she is an advocate with a cause. Her reason, passion and dedication are outstanding. Though she was plagued with cancer, she fought the battle and is a 47-year cancer survivor who never stopped her works of service.

She has been a part of many organizations. Most of her life, she resided in Greeley, Colorado, and many people have benefited from her abilities. She was a founding member of the original Eastside Health Center, served on the organization task force for Transitional House and was a founding Board member of the Weld Food Bank who now distributes 37 tons of food weekly to those in need. She was also one of the First Board members of A Woman’s Place.

Mrs. Heiman has been or is currently volunteering in several organizations. She is a member of We Can, Greeley Center for Independence Board, Chair of the City of Greeley Human Relations Commission, a member of the City of Greeley Youth Task Force and School District Six Board of Education. Other places she has volunteered are Weld County Headstart, Eastside Health Center, Colorado Childcare Coalition, Weld County Alternative Placement Commission, Parental Responsibility Committee, Coalition for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention of Weld County, A Woman’s Place Board, Teen Parent Program, Transition House of Greeley, Weld Food Bank and the March of Dimes. She also served as a Girl Scout troop leader for 15 years and was president of the Mountain Prairie Girl Scout Council.

Mrs. Heiman does not work for recognition, but her strong sense of community and dedication has resulted in many awards. She was Greeley Citizen of the Year by the Greeley Board of Realtors 1992-1993, received Colorado Association of Education of Young Children Award for distinguished service to the children of Colorado in 1989, received certificates from the Children’s Resource Network from 1981 to 1987, and she was recognized by Greeley Area Exchange Management Council, University of Northern Colorado Chapter of Phi Delta Kappa and the University of Northern Colorado Department of Psychology for her outstanding service to the educational committee.

DIANNE GOKIE

Dianne Gokie has been a volunteer for AIDS Services of Dallas (ASD) for over 12 years. She has shared the agency’s mission to provide affordable and dignified supportive housing to low-income and homeless individuals and families living with HIV/AIDS. ASD targets individuals and families with the greatest medical and financial need for assisted living: people living with symptomatic HIV/AIDS who are moderate or low income, or are indigent and who are affected by the economic travesty the disease causes.

Since 1988, Gokie has served as Volunteer Coordinator for St. Rita AIDS Ministry, a group she started to assist residents at ASD. She served on the AIDS Task Force for the Catholic Diocese for many years and has worked hard to increase an awareness of AIDS in her faith-based community. Gokie currently serves on the Board of Directors for ASD, and continues her work as a Supper Club volunteer for low-income and homeless persons living with HIV/AIDS.

Dianne Gokie organized a group of volunteers through St. Rita Catholic Church, called “Supper Club.” Her volunteer effort was a spearhead of outreach to the Catholic Community to educate her community about the important volunteer opportunities available to help those in great distress and need. Gokie’s volunteers began bringing and sharing meals with residents at ASD’s apartment buildings, back in the days when most people were unwilling to assist persons with AIDS because of their fear and ignorance of the disease. She cared about providing nutritious home-cooked meals to supplement the limited incomes of the residents living with HIV/AIDS. She planned menus and coordinated a group of volunteers to prepare their favorite dishes, deliver them to the residents and share meals with them, offering not just food – but caring, compassion, and good humor, too.

Today, Gokie’s original Supper Club has blossomed into five (5) separate groups, numbering more than 150 people in the effort. Each group prepares and shares a meal once a month to one of four apartment communities housing individuals and families living with HIV/AIDS. She cultivated her core group of volunteers to more than 150 people from St. Rita Catholic Community alone. The agency has been spared many thousands of dollars in food costs that could be directed toward other direct services. Residents have reaped many benefits by knowing that they are cared for and loved.

Gokie has helped raise private money for special needs, including funeral expenses for indigent residents who die without families or support systems. She coordinates an annual Christmas gift drive to provide Christmas gifts for each resident. Last year alone, more than 110 gifts to residents were arranged by her efforts. For nearly 11 years, the holidays have presented Gokie with a huge task, but one she has managed faithfully.

ASD’s four facilities are located in a poor area in North Oak Cliff, many people in North Dallas would avoid. In her early volunteer days, drug dealers and prostitutes frequented the area. Drive-by shootings were not uncommon. She did not let the neighborhood or the threat of personal harm deter her. The ASD apartment homes for persons living with AIDS were not initially welcomed to Oak Cliff. Neighbors protested and picketed against the projects. Gokie continues her volunteer work with persons considered by many to be pariahs of society, in an area that was not safe, in what once appeared to be a losing battle.

THE NORTH BROWARD HOSPITAL DISTRICT

The North Broward Hospital District (NBHD) has established one of the most comprehensive and unique school partnerships with the Broward County Public School Districts. Recognizing the importance of early intervention and the role of the school system in addressing child health in 1983, the partnership was born. The School Partnership’s goal was to improve student access to, and participation in, primary health services and to involve children and families in health care through a wide range of outreach and educational enrichment programs. NBHD’s School Partnerships was created to address current health issues and to promote healthy generations of Broward County citizens for years to come.

This program is a multi-million dollar investment in student and community health. NBHD contributes $750,000 in personnel, goods, and services, more than $8 million in direct health services, and $25,000 in educational enrichment activities. The funding is a combination of special tax funds, patient revenues, grants, gifts, volunteerism, employee contributions and in-kind support.

The countywide initiative provides multiple programs and services that enhance the school district’s commitment to achieving various objectives. Direct, indirect, and educational health services have been developed in seven areas. School health clinics have been established to offer services to pregnant and parenting adolescents. Last year the centers recorded more than 49,000 patients that were serviced by prenatal care, well-baby check ups, immunizations or routine care services. There is a medical liaison in each of the 29 schools that coordinates the school’s education program. Last year, this program served more than 32,000 students in the 29 schools.

The Children’s Diagnostic & Treatment Center is a segment that provides follow-up services to high-risk infants and children. It contracts with four preschools in Broward County to provide services to young children with disabilities. The fourth area is sports medicine. This program provides salary support for Sport Medicine Trainers at twelve high schools. Last year, volunteer physicians performed more than 1,000 physicals through this program. Last year, 626 students participated in a variety of clinical experiences at all of the four district hospitals last year. Health Services for School Employees provides health screening and Worker’s Compensation evaluations available to 20,000 Broward County School District employees. Finally, the School-to-Work Transitions program offers on-the-job training for medical magnet as well as mentally handicapped students in a variety of health occupations.

The NBHD’s School Partnership initiative targets all school-aged children living in the northern section of Broward County and schools located within medically underserved areas. The leadership, vision, and dedication of NBHD have created an innovative and viable program that supports many individuals.

OTISSEY DENTON

Mrs. Otissey Denton was a teacher for thirty-three years. After her retirement in 1991, she began spending three to four days a week at schools, nursing homes, the library and civic clubs; however, she began her service to the community long before that. She has been active in her church since 1979 and has planned at least eight programs and seminars annually, served on the Board of Directors for Oklahoma School of Religion in Tulsa since 1990, and she has been an active member of her sorority for 50 years.

“Miss Ote,” as she is affectionately referred to by most, is and has been a major force in her community throughout her life. Though she has had to deal with the loss of her husband and one of her daughters, she is still a driving force in Muskogee. She is rather delicate and fragile looking; though she is a strong woman with a melodious voice that cannot be missed. One of her joys in life is entrancing children with her stories and encouraging them to read themselves. The community of Muskogee believes that they have a national shrine in Denton. They believe she is a beacon of light that serves as an example to both the young and the old. She encourages the adults to keep their family traditions alive and tell stories to their children. If you have passed through the county, you may hear of her or meet some of the many people whose lives she has touched.

Denton is director of Christian Education at Mt. Calvary Baptist Church, served as dean of Christian Education Collate District (a consortium of 20 Baptist churches), served as instructor for the State Congress on Christian Education, and is member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority. She is also a member of Delta Kappa Gamma, Friends of the Library, The National Story Telling Association and Oklahoma Territory Tellers. In addition to this, she takes on numerous literacy programs for the library and tutors for the Muskogee Area Literacy Council. For the past four years, she has written a literacy column for the local newspaper, and for the past eight years she has facilitated workshops on how to tell stories.

Though she is retired, Denton has a full schedule and her accomplishments are too numerous to cite them all. Her weekly activities include telling stories with children at Cherokee Elementary two mornings per week and tutoring a student through the Muskogee Area Literacy Council. Some of her special activities during 1998 were telling stories at the Muskogee Public Library about the theme, “Love Stories for Children and Adults,” telling stories as part of the Summer Reading Program at the Warner and Muskogee Library as well as telling stories to adults and children at the Muskogee Public Library Fall Festival. She also gave a book review, presented Writing for the Adult New Reader at the Tutor-Training Workshop at the Muskogee Public Library for the Literacy Council.

In 1999, she was honored with the American Library Trustee Association Literacy Award, nominated for the American Association of Retired Persons Legacy Award for volunteering in literacy and received the Education Youth Work Award from Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority for her commitment to help youth with their educational endeavors. The Muskogee Daily Phoenix and Muskogee Chamber of Commerce voted her as one of “The Five Who Care” volunteers of the year and she received an award from Toyota Corporation for her involvement in literacy programs in 1998.

LOYOLA COLLEGE PREP

The city of Shreveport, Louisiana, is quite proud of the students at Loyola College Preparatory School. They are very active in the community and annually sponsor events to help the disadvantaged. They collect food baskets for those in need, clothing for those who may not have the same and they helped with the neighborhood revitalization efforts when the city was rocked by a senseless and brutal murder.

Mr. Chester Howell, a car salesman, was brutally murdered by two men while accompanying them on a test drive. The men had robbed an Iowa bank prior to this senseless act, and they were arrested by the police and charged with both crimes. Unfortunately the suspects needed a vehicle, and Mr. Howell became a statistic because of it.

Tiffani Howell was a student at Loyola College Prep when her father was murdered. His death was as devastating to the students of the close-knit school as it was to his family. Her classmates rallied to her side and made sure she and the family had all their needs met. Some delivered food to the home, some called and made sure they always had company when needed and still others prayed. However, the student body wanted to do more.

The freshman class began to work on a march against violence in the community. They wanted to show that violence was unacceptable and to give comfort to the family as well. The March Against Violence would give the Howell family support in addition to the thirty-seven other murder victim’s families in the Shreveport/Bossier City area from the year prior.

Four hundred students joined together with administrators and residents support. The event received widespread media coverage, which helped spread the message of non-violence that it sought to promote. The Howells and other family members of other victims expressed their appreciation, and the students of Loyola were able to heal a little more because of the march. The students felt they had done something positive in the aftermath of a negative situation. They all expressed their concern for their community and the families that had been so devastated by the senseless violence. The compassion and caring were amazing, and the school wants to keep the fire alive and have planned a second March against Violence for March 19, 2000. This annual event will create a permanent sign of hope for the community.

WEST SENECA YOUTH BUREAU

Ten years ago, social worker Mark Lazzara chose to make the switch from counseling youth to providing them the chance to do community service, because there were no efforts in the area that offered children that opportunity. His decision has had a significant impact on the youth of Erie County and Western New York.

Today, the West Seneca Youth Bureau, with Mark Lazzara as its Executive Director, is a leading organization in bringing service learning to Western New York. The West Seneca Youth Bureau has initiated programs such as the Y.E.S. (Youth Engaged in Service) program, an after-school and weekend community service program for young people 12-18 years of age. The youth participate in activities such as playing Bingo with nursing home residents, dancing with disabled adults at Christmas parties, and serving food to the homeless at the City Mission. More than 300 young people are presently enrolled in this program, which provides opportunities for leadership through service. Instead of becoming burdens on society, these youth are giving gifts of self back to the community.

During the 2000-2001 school year, the YES program will pilot a new, one of a kind program in Western New York – an advanced placement service course. Interested students will have the opportunity to receive college credit for a course from Erie Community College in which they will participate in regular classroom learning as well as community service projects. The hours volunteering for YES activities will count toward the hours they need for their college credit. This course will provide a unique opportunity for students interested in the field of human services.

In addition to YES, the West Seneca Youth Bureau facilitates more than 400 full and part-time AmerCorps and AmeriCorps*VISTA members who serve in various capacities, making it the largest program of its kind in Western New York. Since 1993, the organization has been the proud sponsor of five AmeriCorps programs: Sharing the Words, America Reads, the Governor’s Violence Prevention Corps, the Service Action Corps, VISTA, and the WS Urban Corps. The West Seneca Youth Bureau has offered one million dollars in education awards, which enable AmeriCorps members to pursue higher education.

The West Seneca Youth Bureau is also embarking on a new project in cooperation with a young teacher and her students, the Freedom Writers. The Freedom Writers overcame poverty, violence, drugs, and gangs to become excellent students and individuals. Staff members of the Youth Bureau, AmeriCorps members, and the Freedom Writers are developing a violence prevention and tolerance program to be piloted in Western New York. With the wave of school violence and intolerance, this program will be instrumental in reversing the trend and helping children learn through literature to become successful, productive citizens.

The West Seneca Youth Bureau has proven to be an instrumental resource in improving the lives of thousands of people in Western New York. The many volunteers of the Youth Bureau have given greater educational opportunities to thousands of children, warm meals to thousands of elderly people, and clean gardens and parks to their communities.

IDAHO YOUTH RANCH

The Idaho Youth Ranch (IYR) is an integral part of the Idaho community. Last year approximately 300 young people, from five residential facilities, served more than six thousand volunteer hours. They impact their local communities through service learning activities, which results in a life changing experience for most of them. IYR believes in continuous service that builds a connection with the community while having a definite impact on those it serves.

Community service is emphasized in all IYR programs. The participants fill sandbags when floods hit the area, adopt families in need during the holidays, and they have even built a playground in Coeur d’Alene. They help senior citizens rake leaves and do necessary painting, help at soup kitchens and volunteer their services doing data entry for a local marathon.

Two projects they are especially proud of are the ongoing commitment to Lake Walcott State Park and Cougar Bay Nature Preserve. The state does not have the money to maintain the facilities and without the time and energy of the IYR, both would probably be abandoned. Several times a year, they youth pick up garbage, do minor repairs, refurbish picnic tables and clear brush to make the trails. The children learn to recognize a community need and respond to it. Many times the youth work next to community leaders, members of fraternal and community based organizations as well as churches and heads of schools and corporations. This interaction helps them brush up on their communication skills, which will help them throughout their lifetime.

Other ongoing activities the IYR participates in are three adopt-a-highway projects, Boise River Festival, Special Olympics, Boise First Night, Christmas Tree lots, Paint the Town and commitments to a local community hospital and senior center.

The impact of some service organizations may not be measurable, technically, but they are definitely seen. This is the case of the IYR with regards to Lake Walcott in particular. Ongoing repair and cleanup is critical, and hundreds of people would be unable to utilize the park’s facilities without the help of the young people of IYR. The flood response is also another example of impact where a specific need was met with extra person-power to fill and place sandbags. Their effort saved thousands who live along the river from major flooding.

Getting troubled children involved in hands-on project to help a community is challenging and rewarding. Each community and each situation are unique. What is not unique is the benefit to both the volunteers and the community. The youth realize they can succeed at tasks and are valuable to society. They understand more about their self worth and characteristics like courage, perseverance and integrity. The experiences allow the children to be a positive part of their community and recipients of praise. The positive encouragement received by the youth results in a positive attitude and hope for the future.

MARIA PLACER

Maria Placer was born in Valencia, Spain. Her father was a scholar and professor, and his love of freedom prompted him to move his family to the United States. Placer attended high school in Syracuse, N.Y., and earned a Bachelor of Arts and Master’s Degree in Political Science from the University of Kentucky and the University of Southwestern Louisiana respectively. She has always been independent and began working at the age of 11 as a babysitter. Throughout her high school and college years, she was employed as a tutor and clerk at the university, and she spent her summers in Washington, D.C. working for the government as a clerk, translator, and interpreter.

In 1966, Placer began working at KLFY-TV, a CBS affiliate in Lafayette, La.. There, she worked her way from a station receptionist to head the traffic and continuity department. She joined the newsroom in 1970, where she again achieved the unprecedented; she worked her way up from office manager to vice president of the news. Placer is a determined and dedicated worker. She utilizes obstacles as opportunities as opposed to something negative. Throughout her career, she has used her positions to implement programs that highlight the plight of homeless, abused and neglected children, and find resources to help bring them happiness. Launching a daily public affairs program called “Concern,” she gave children’s needs a format and learned of the serious problem that has become a focus of her career. What began as a news assignment became a life-changing event.

Placer began to produce and air Wednesday’s Child in 1982. This served to bring to the public’s attention the countless children who were in need of homes. Wednesday’s Child is now synonymous with adoption in Acadiana. In addition to this program, she has helped to form and serve on the board of directors a unique support group for adoptive and foster parents. This provides the funds for counseling for the children, financial help including Christmas presents for the children and funding the expenses of developing experts on adoption available to the parents. She co-founded Big Brothers Big Sisters of Acadiana, established the local chapter for “Child Find,” and was part of the formation of a Teen Pregnancy Prevention Task Force in her community, which has now gone nationwide.

Placer spends much of her working time providing, not just covering and exposing the child abuse and neglect problem. She meets privately with troubled families and dispenses information about the proper agencies to contact for further assistance. Her weekends are used to give public appearances at schools, churches, civic groups, conventions and workshops dealing with stopping child abuse. Personally, she has produced and aired more than 30 series dealing with child abuse and neglect. Placer was one of only 35 people nationwide to receive the prestigious Commissioner’s Award in Washington, DC for her efforts to prevent child abuse and neglect.

Placer has given voice and recognition to a problem the children could not solve on their own. She wants the children that go through Wednesday’s Child to find security, love and a family. She has received many accolades for her work, but none as important as an invitation she received to a high school graduation with a picture and a notation on the outside of the envelope which read, “one of your Wednesday’s Children in 1988.”

HEALTHREACH CLINIC

Despite Lake County, Illinois, being one of the most affluent counties in the country, a large number of its residents are uninsured. Approximately 67,000 individuals (11% of the total population) are uninsured. That number is greater than the entire population in 80 of Illinois’ counties. Also, having a job does not ensure having insurance; of those over 18 years old, 62% of the uninsured are employed.

HealthReach, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) corporation that provides a free clinic for the medically underserved of Lake County, providing access to healthcare. Eighty-five percent of the patients served by HealthReach Clinic are minorities. Volunteer physicians, physician assistants, nurses, and others provide most of the care. HealthReach Clinic has been in operation since May 1992, providing more than 25,000 people with medical care.

Without the ability to access routine and preventative healthcare, individuals are often forced to obtain care only after they are ill and then through more expensive routes to care, such as the emergency room. Healthcare and medications, provided at a free or reduced cost, allows them to use their personal resources for other needs. Last year, HealthReach was able to provide more than 4,000 patient visits and more than $250,000 worth of medications to patients.

To ensure that quality healthcare is provided for patients, HealthReach monitors outcomes. That monitoring has shown, for example, that 90% of their patients with diabetes and/or hypertension are controlled after three months of care at HealthReach, whereas prior to this care none of the cases were controlled.

HealthReach is unique in Lake County, the only clinic in the area providing the following service on such a large scale:

  • Infants to senior care
  • Primary healthcare
  • Patient education and wellness services
  • Mental health services
  • On-site cardiology, orthopedic, and podiatry services
  • On-site blood drawing and EKG testing
  • Access to other testing (e.g., CT, MRI)
  • Access to specialty consultation and treatment
  • Medications

A $5.00 donation is requested at each patient visit, and if HealthReach is unable to provide the patients with free medications (samples and other medicines obtained from pharmaceutical companies), a co-payment of 25% of the wholesale cost is requested for medications purchased for patient use. These fees are requested, but not required, which allows the patients to take ownership for a portion of their care.

ZETA COMMUNITY CENTER

Since its inception in 1946, Beta Tau Zeta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. has diligently worked to make a difference in the Greater Miami Area. The dream of owning a building that could be used to further the work of the sorority went unfulfilled for several decades. Finally, in 1992, the rebirth of the idea to purchase a building to help continue the cause of community service was presented to the sorority’s executive board and general membership. The idea received unanimous approval.

After two years of dedicated work by many women of the sorority, The Zeta Community Center seemed to be within reach. The Executive Director, Rosetta Vickers, began a search for a building. She wanted the facility to be within the community and be accessible by all whom it would serve. The sorority found a building on NW 54th Street in 1994, and signed a contract to purchase the same.

Vickers was instrumental in the birth of the Zeta Community Center. The building now stands as a textbook example of positive work for the community. She is a dedicated community volunteer who never stops giving, never stops working, and never stops caring. Vickers gave her sorority sisters the leadership and direction they needed to capture the moment and make their dream a reality. She facilitated the mobilizing of resources to fund the center and continues to work to keep all of its services going.

The center, less than two years old, has taken on the task of instilling high moral standards and self-esteem in each youth that crosses its threshold. It cooperates, communicates and collaborates with individuals, families, churches, businesses, and community groups to benefit the children and the rest of the community. The sorority takes great pride in the center and continues its great legacy of public service there.

Some of the programs offered at the center are Survival Opportunity Seminars (SOS), Reaching Out Youth Advocacy Leaders (ROYAL), free tutoring and mentoring as well as free karate and keyboard lessons. The ROYAL program has a Scholarship Legacy Fund that assists qualified students in pursuing their educational and career goals. The center has been a savior to hundreds of disadvantaged children in addition to those who may have had some problems at a young age with the law. It has been an inspiration for the community and an encouragement to all to continue to strive for higher heights.

The goal of the center is to help children and youth achieve their maximum potential. In doing so, dropout rates should decrease in schools as well as crime in the community. They provide counseling assistance and other aid that helps community members become more self-confident which will result in higher levels of self-sufficiency. In addition to that, parenting skills and social and cultural activities are offered at the center. The Zeta Community Center embodies compassion, care and true service.