BENEDICTINE UNIVERSITY

Connect America, Benedictine University-style, began March 31, 1998 when the University (a small, private liberal arts college) officially partnered with the Marksville Catholic School in rural Marksville, Louisiana. This “adopt-a-school” program brings two distinct schools together, providing three essential components, including: service learning, student teaching opportunities, and scholarships.

Marksville’s community needs are great. The Marksville Holy Ghost Catholic School enrolls approximately 175 students in grades kindergarten through eight. This school’s history has been less than satisfactory in having its graduates matriculate to colleges and universities. In rural Louisiana communities, like Marksville, needs are great and opportunities for growth are infrequent.

When the school was on the verge of closing in 1997, Brigadier General, Sherian Cadoria, US Army Retired, agreed to serve one year as the volunteer school principal. She continues to serve as the volunteer principal. There were no funds to hire a lay teacher and the Pastor did not have the necessary experience to administrate a school. Upon entering the school, she found raw sewage, methane gas leaks, falling ceilings, outdated textbooks and only two of the 10 teachers were board certified.

The achievements associated with this partnership are noteworthy. Benedictine Univeristy students and faculty assist Holy Ghost School in tutoring, teaching, curriculum development and faculty development. There is a shared cultural exchange, which offers the rural children hopes that extend beyond their small town.

For two years, faculty and students from Benedictine University have traveled to Marksville in the summer to provide weeks of “sweat equity.” They have cleaned, repaired, renovated, caulked, primed, and painted the interior and exterior of the buildings. During the University’s 1998-99 and 1999-00 winter breaks, education majors and faculty spent two weeks with the students and teachers of Holy Ghost School working as teacher’s assistants, researchers, curriculum developers and mentors to the youth. The University volunteers spend their time outside of the classroom offering friendship and cultural exchanges, encouraging success and inspiring hope in the students.

LABORERS’ LOCAL #1407

The Laborer’s Local #1407 has been an active part of the Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin community. They have provided assistance for the young as well as the old when needed. They mobilize the community and make a difference.

The Laborer’s Local #1407 is a LIUNA Organization that has been housed in Wisconsin Rapids since May of 1993. The Laborer’s Hall is known as the “Home of Labor” for many donated Union affiliated functions. The Senior Citizens meet monthly at the hall, they have various Boys & Girls Club drawings, a truck drawing and a Neukirchen Benefit – named for a woman who was injured in an automobile accident and became disabled. The Laborer’s Hall also places a tree on the premises the first week of November. This tree is special and has ornaments with names of children of families who are displaced union workers. Volunteers take the ornaments and purchase a gift or gifts for the children or families.

Share and Care is also recognized by the community as a way to show the less fortunate that the community does care. The Hall is used for the packaging of the food that goes out to those who are in need. In addition to that, the Laborers donate the Hall for drug testing and asbestos screening. It is also donated so that training sessions can be held on topics such as asbestos, forklift, scaffolding and confined space.

The Laborer’s Local #1407 has donated $10,000 to the South Wood County Sports Complex. They donated labor for the demolition of the Boys and Girls Club and for remodeling. The children of the community then had a safe place to go and meet friends, learn leadership skills and expand their knowledge. They are a union affiliate of the Central Labor Council of Wisconsin Rapids and Vicinity and were one of the unions that backed the referendum for the remodeling of the schools located in the Wisconsin Rapids School District.

In addition to these acts of service, the Laborer’s Local #1407 has also made contributions to the following charities: Union Night at the races, Nekoosa Library, Boy Scouts of America, Junior Statesman Foundation, Dad’s Day, March of Dimes, Share and Care, Bowling League, Lenna O. Shasky Benefit, Wisconsin Special Olympics, Wisconsin Rapids Rangers Baseball, Opportunity Development Center, Bike-a-thon, Solidarity Day, Wisconsin Rapids Firefighters, Labor Quake Victim Fund, Heart of the Wisconsin Shrine Club, United Way of Wood County, Leukemia Society of America, City of Hope and Wisconsin Labor Historical Society.

NEPTUNE MIDDLE SCHOOL

Neptune Middle School (NMS) firmly believes that service learning is a vital part of an effective school curriculum. In their eleventh year of operation, NMS has a strong history of serving the community. Nine academic teams – three at each grade level, special area classes and programs, departments and school clubs all participate in on-going, annual service-learning projects as defined by the annual school improvement goals developed by the School Advisory Council.

A Youth Service Council composed of 20 at-risk and honor students was established after being awarded a 1997 Florida Learn and Serve Grant. The school’s program expanded to 18 service-learning projects this year and numerous community partnerships. The Council, once only an after-school club, is now a leadership class offering. Members represent at-risk, exceptional education and regular education populations in addition to diverse ethnic backgrounds.

The school meets human needs through projects accomplished through work with local agencies. Honor Society students volunteer with Give Kids the World after researching a terminal illness that plagues children and sharing the information among peers. The local Council on Aging is the site of an annual Young at Heart Dance. This is held on Valentine’s Day to provide adolescent companionship to the elderly. Plant-Row-For-the-Hungry engages the services of a local gardener in the planting of vegetables where the crops are donated the local Meals on Wheels.

The school also touches the environmental needs by publicizing and actively recycling. The eighth grade class won top awards for the amount of recycling accomplished. They filled bins with paper, cans, glass, phone books as well as styrofoam. In addition to this, plans are being formulated to work with the local Wildlife Commission to preserve an island in the community.

The Florida Wading Bird Research Project established an innovative partnership with Gatorland of Florida and the Kissimmee Valley Audubon Society. NMS students along with senior citizens, observe native wading birds and their nesting habits on the Gatorland property. Students conduct field research, identify species, nesting habits and habitats, serve as field guides and update a web page showcasing the research. A local Historical Society utilizes school volunteers to conduct demonstrations for visitors also.

NMS is firmly established as a school active in serving its community. The activities they participate in are funded by grants, fundraising or business partnership donations. Their goal is to continue to strive for excellence in service, and to continue to foster a spirit of service throughout their school community.

LOIS PARK

Lois Park began tutoring with an adult literacy program in Helena, Arkansas, in 1984 at age 67. Her husband, a minister for 45 years, died in 1981, leaving her with “time on her hands.” Perhaps the thing that inspired her most was realizing that most of the farmhands who worked for them were illiterate. One of these men refused to let any of his children go to school. As those children became young adults, two died untimely deaths because they could not read. One died in Little Rock as he drove the wrong way down a one-way street. The other suffered fatal burns from a kerosene explosion because he did not know what was in the can.

Park received her volunteer tutor training at Phillips Community College in Helena. She soon learned that the illiteracy rate in the county was 80 percent. The local postmaster told her that he was asked to read mail aloud for many local citizens. After her training was complete, her first class started on a Monday night with an assigned student. On Thursday night, three students attended. In a short time, her class grew to include 22 students, most friends and family of the first, assigned student.

Park’s students were primarily non-readers, ranging in age from 17 to 84. Several had never attended school. They met twice a week from 6 until 10 p.m. on Monday and Thursday nights. From this group, two graduated from college and became teachers. Many others have jobs today. Most of her older students came because they wanted to learn to read their Bibles. Park was able to oblige since, as an unpaid volunteer, she was not restricted by any guidelines or restrictions.

When Park moved to Grenada, Mississippi, in 1995 to be near her family, she immediately resumed her volunteer efforts. She promptly contacted the Grenada League for Adult Development. She has worked one-to-one with three adult learners since that time – a disabled female in her early forties, and two males, one in his late thirties and one in his late forties. Her current student began as a non-reader in March of 1998 and has progressed to the third reading level. He has also started building a personal library at home. Park encourages each of her students to do his or her personal best. Many times her students have surprised themselves by how well they can learn.

Park has volunteered well over 200 hours since she moved to Grenada. She also belongs to a number of organizations and civic clubs. As an 83-year-old, and despite health problems, she continues to serve and help others build their basic skills. She often says that helping people to function on a higher level has been all of the thanks that she needs.

COLLEGE PARTNERSHIP FOR KIDS TUTORING PROGRAM

The motto for the College Partnership for Kids Program (CPK) is “Students of Today for Students of Tomorrow.” This aptly describes the mission behind their service. In 1990, students from the College of William and Mary, motivated by the vision of one student, formed a relationship with a local elementary school and CPK was born. Now, 10 years later, CPK serves 13 elementary and middle schools and has more than 200 tutors who devote nearly 10,000 hours each year to providing academic and social support to local students.

As members of the Greater Williamsburg community, CPK tutors realize that it takes more than the tireless efforts put forth by local teachers and administrators to educate the young students to become productive citizens. In this era of over sized classrooms where schools act as social support systems, there is a greater need for community members to step forward and support the educational goals demanded by our society. CPK tutors volunteer schools to provide a much-needed resource for teachers, administrators, parents and most importantly, students. CPK tutors help prepare students to succeed in both their academics and their lives.

While schools and students reap benefits of extra instruction, CPK tutors are also rewarded. Tutors gain a greater sense of self and an understanding of the direct benefits of working with young students. In addition, CPK provides tutors with tangible skills that can be used in coursework and employment settings. Mandatory training sessions are held each semester, including the monthly “Kids Korner” training series. CPK also provides an extensive training manual for each tutor and a wealth of other resources, including reproducible games to use while tutoring. Leadership opportunities are available, namely in the form of Program Director positions, where tutors act as liaisons between a particular school and the CPK Coordinator. These positions help tutors develop key communication and organizational skills. Program Directors provide the personal contact and encouragement necessary to retain tutors. This type of student-to-student contact is a primary reason for their strong retention rate and the growing number of tutors volunteering with CPK for the first time.

CPK provides a unique experience for the tutors and the partner schools alike. They customize their program to match the needs of the schools and the preferences of the tutors. Tutors are sent to schools where they will be most effective based on their experience and comfort level. This enables CPK to provide the most beneficial experience to each of the 200 tutors as well as ensuring that they make a difference in the lives of the students they tutor.

CPK succeeds through the efforts of its tutors, the Coordinator and school educators who are willing to give of themselves to see that the young students of tomorrow have an opportunity to learn today. The College Partnership for Kids has truly become an outstanding addition to the school system, and the college students want to give back to the community and are willing to do what it takes to make that happen.

MERLIN ATKINS

Merlin Atkins takes pride in his community and has a desire to make it the best “Maryville” it can be. He aspires to create a healthier city by engaging citizens in building new pathways for community and regional sustainability. In his quiet, unassuming way he is able to mobilize the support and enthusiasm for projects that result in a better community.

Atkins, who is married with children, successfully juggles family life, a career and volunteer service. His skillful ability to prioritize and organize allows him to be a successful farmer, church worker and family man. His life is an example to his family and the citizens of Maryville alike.

Though Atkins’s volunteer efforts are varied, many of his achievements have focused on children and young adults. He has served on the Nodaway County Fair board of directors since 1984. He is currently the treasurer and served as president from 1984 through 1987. When the Fair Board recognized a need for remodeling the Maryville Community Building, a facility used for youth programs, Atkins volunteered to lead the project. With his enthusiasm, he recruited volunteers of all ages. Under his guidance, students from the Area Vocational Technical School FFA Chapter helped paint and remodel the building. He not only provided leadership but equipment, his own labor and that of several of his family members to successfully complete the project.

One of Atkins’ most important achievements has been serving on a committee to form a ministry center. This center hoped to combine the food pantry and clothing room, two key resources that serve youth and families, into one central location. Atkins found an appropriate space in a former retail store in 1998. The Ministerial Fellowship agreed the site was perfect and formed a board to oversee the remodeling. He was elected to the Board of Directors and headed the efforts to recruit volunteers as well as businesses to donate time, labor and materials for the renovation effort. The Ministry Center was dedicated in 1999. It housed the food pantry, clothing room and Catholic Charities counseling. Atkins and his volunteers served for more than one thousand hours of labor and materials which would have totaled over eleven thousand dollars.

Atkins is also a dedicated member of the First Presbyterian Church. He has served as Elder, adult and children Sunday School class teacher, youth mission trip leader and chairman of the Deacons. His church and church family are very important to him. He and his wife host an annual hay ride and roast for the young people of the church. He makes it a point to learn the name of every child in the congregation and also volunteers to counsel young married couples who are experiencing marital difficulties.

Merlin Atkins extends himself to anyone who is in need. He does not call himself a Christian but lives a life that embodies the virtues of Jesus Christ. He is committed to improving his community for the benefit of all.

FAITH IN ACTION

As the media and society focuses on accounts of negative acts, Faith In Action strives to be a positive impact in its community. People of all ages work together through this volunteer, care giving ministry. Faith In Action of Piatt County was founded in 1997 as an outreach project of the Piatt County Nursing Home. The initial funding for the program was provided by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Faith In Action is a volunteer ministry of help designed to be the hands in action and the giving hearts in the community. It is a home and community-based outreach program targeting senior adults in the Piatt County area. It organizes caring people from all faiths who wish to offer assistance and companionship to senior adults and any other persons in need. A portion of the volunteer caregivers of Faith In Action is the teens. The young people that are involved have recruited many of their friends. During the holiday time, the youth met and made decorations for the seniors in their area as well as baking cookies and singing carols.

The Faith In Action program was created in recognition of the need for doing simple things in the community. Small things, like preparing meals, mowing lawns or grocery shopping make a big difference in the lives of the seniors. All of the people involved in the program are volunteers: young and old, rich and poor. The characteristic that unifies them is their sense of community. Currently, the program has sponsored retirees. They make calls for reassurance to those who are homebound, run errands and mentor children in the evenings. Once the volunteer spirit of Faith In Action touches the seniors, some of them become volunteers themselves. One of the seniors had volunteers helping with her grocery shopping because she has limited sight. She, in turn, makes calls to seniors who are homebound.

The emphasis on a commitment of personal time is what makes this program so unique. That commitment is what has caused the program to succeed. Faith In Action is part of the National Federation of Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers, and the program is based in Monticello, Illinois. Volunteers are recruited through churches of all denominations in the county. Today, more than 140 people have assisted in excess of 120 members of their community through the Faith In Action program.

MOBILE MEALS OF TUCSON, INC.

Mobile Meals of Tucson’s mission statement is to meet the special nutritional needs of the homebound in their community at an affordable cost. They are a non-profit organization staffed primarily by volunteers. The program was founded in 1970 in Tucson with eight routes and four facilities serving 40 clients. By 2000, Mobile Meals is operating with 29 routes and more than 100,000 meals from nine facilities. They continue to recruit facilities each year to assist them in increasing meals to the homebound as the need in the community increases.

The primary purpose of the program is to provide palatable meals that supply nutrients to an individual who is unable to prepare or obtain adequate meals during a period of need. Their service is for all persons who would benefit, regardless of race, age, income and ability. It is not the purpose of Mobile Meals to create dependence. When a recipient is physically and emotionally able to care for himself or herself, his or her meals are discontinued until further need is established.

The object of Mobile Meals is to help maintain or restore the individual’s health. To increase and maintain the highest state of independence possible for the elderly, ill and disabled, and to hasten recuperation after leaving the hospital or extended care facility. Meals are provided by the hospitals and healthcare facilities in Tucson and in turn, Mobile Meals pays these facilities for the meals. Volunteer drivers deliver two meals a day – lunch and supper – Monday through Friday each week. Mobile Meals of Tucson does not receive government funding and is not a United Way member agency.

Mobile Meals provides only special diet meals prescribed by a physician, which they order from a hospital or healthcare facility. Furthermore, they do not have an age restriction so funding is not available for the program through the Older Americans Act. The board and volunteers decided to remain a privately funded agency.

There are currently 300 volunteers in various capacities. The drivers deliver meals and substitute drivers fill in as needed. The driver coordinators organize routes and assign drivers, the nurses do medical assessments, and interpreters assist the nurses and office staff. In addition to this, the clerical workers run the day-to-day operation of the agency. There are only two paid positions in the agency: Executive Director and Dietitian.

Mobile Meals grew from a need seen in the community by the doctors and nurses of Tucson. They are a grass roots organization that always make a positive out of a negative and turn problems into success stories. This program is a unique and valuable asset to the Tucson community.

WORLD CARE

World Care is a 501(c)(3) organization that implements three major initiatives: Tools for Schools, Tools for Health, and Tools for the Earth. World Care provides school supplies to thousands of children each year to keep them in school; donates medical equipment and supplies to victims of natural disasters; and promotes recycling of office supplies, books, and equipment to keep these items out of the landfills. In 1999, hundreds of volunteers from corporations, civic organizations, government, and student groups donated 25,000 hours to World Care’s programs. This year, World Care is serving children in 210 Arizona schools, 7 out-of-state districts, and 27 international schools.

Lisa Hopper, President and founder of World Care, started the organization on a small scale (out of her garage) about six years ago, and it has grown to encompass hundreds of volunteers and businesses in Southern Arizona and beyond that devote their time and funds to World Care’s cause. The span and reach of World Care’s effect on needy citizens at home and abroad has not gone unnoticed. Recently, a delegation from Moscow came to Tucson and met with Hopper to learn how they could launch a community-based volunteer effort like World Care to secure donated school supplies to keep Russian children in school.

The impact of World Care has been phenomenal. Each summer, two semi-tractor trailers loaded with supplies are brought to a Care Fair, sponsored by Kiwanis for Kids and World Care. Children come to Pueblo High School in Tucson to pick up their school supplies and receive medical/eye exams and vaccinations, sign up for a subsidized lunch program, and receive donations from a food bank. In 1999, World Care distributed 12,000 school packs at the Care Fair and in 2000, it provided 14,000 packs. Throughout the year, an additional 6,000 school packs are distributed to other needy children.

Children in foreign countries benefit from World Care’s school supply efforts, too. Volunteers prepared 600 individual school packs for the Nicaraguan children attending school in open-air tent schools due to the devastation of their school buildings by Hurricane Mitch. Each summer, World Care sends a large shipment of school and medical supplies to Guatemala for distribution to poor children. World Care also mobilized the donation of 2,000 teddy bears and 5,000 Pro-Yo yo-yos to children in Kosovo whose lives have been destroyed by the war there.

World Care obtains medical supplies through donations and auctions for needy clinics. Recently, World care gave the Clinica Santa Maria in Monterrey, Mexico a tractor-trailer load of medical resources. A deluxe motor coach donated by Motor Coach Industries was converted into a mobile medical clinic for preventative services, immunizations, wellness checkups, and emergency aid in Tucson’s sister city, Hermosillo, Mexico. Five additional coaches are being converted into mobile clinics that will provide urgently needed health care services in rural China and elsewhere.

Volunteers from all walks of life offer their services to World Care. Hopper has worked without salary for five years. High-risk youth and adult offenders can perform court-ordered community service at World Care and receive life skills and mentoring projects to aid them in their return to society. Lisa Hopper, through World Care, has inspired citizens to think beyond their city and serve disadvantaged people around the globe.

DR. ANN MERLINO

Dr. Ann Merlino has been a valued volunteer for the Staten Island area for more than 20 years and has proven her commitment to the ideals and goals of the American Cancer Society through her education and advocacy activities.

Dr. Merlino is currently the chairwoman of the Executive Board as well as the chairwoman of the Comprehensive School Health Education/Tobacco Control team of the Staten Island Regional office of the American Cancer Society. She oversees all the school-based cancer control programs. Her active involvement and her exemplary leadership abilities have enabled the Staten Island Region of the American Cancer Society to coordinate four Great American Smokeout student letter-writing contests in which an excess of 6000 letters were submitted. In addition to that, she piloted the annual Bumper Sticker/ Change the Tobacco Ad contest in 1997 – a project that educated the children of Staten Island on healthy living and the dangers of smoking.

Dr. Merlino was instrumental in the implementation of the American Cancer Society’s Multicultural Inter-Generation Health Awareness Fairs held at Sea View Hospital in 1996, 1997 and 1998. Dr. Merlino also conceived and implemented the Staten Island Health & Safety Alliance, which is a coalition of the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association and the American Red Cross that provides a comprehensive approach for grade-appropriate health and safety programs.

Prior to spearheading the Comprehensive School Health Education Committee, Dr. Merlino successfully chaired the Public Education Committee for the American Cancer Society, and as such, received the prestigious National American Cancer Society Lifesaver Award for her work with breast cancer awareness programs, tobacco control programs and the presentation of innovative teen health fairs and teen cancer control programs. She has recruited volunteers to assist with the programming of the Great American Smokeout, as well as participate in numerous health fairs.

The Staten Island Breast Health Partnership, which offers no-cost mammography, clinical breast exams and self-exams to eligible women, has also benefited from Dr. Merlino’s commitment to helping women receive the proper cancer screenings.

Furthermore, Dr. Merlino coordinated a Legislative Breakfast in 1998 and 1999. The theme was “Women United: Speaking Out Against Tobacco III.” This event garnered awareness for every woman who has ever felt targeted by tobacco advertising. In 1999, she also testified before the New York City’s Council’s Consumer Affairs Committee, on Intro 468-A regarding a strengthened law for tobacco sales to minors. This bill recently passed and became a law in April 2000.

Dr. Ann Merlino’s commitment to the cause of education about cancer is tremendous. Her work with the American Cancer Society has proved to be invaluable to the mission of the group as well as all the women and children she reaches.