KATHRYN DONOHUE
Appointed by Commissioner Howard Safir and sworn in by Mayor Giuliani as an Honorary New York City Fire Commissioner, Kathryn Donohue served as the chair and the Executive Director of the FDNY Fire Safety Education Fund, Inc., Assistant Director of the Fire Department Institute, Inc., and Fire Department Museum Board of Trustees member. She works closely with Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen, promoting fire safety education programs in an effort to reduce the number of fire related injuries and fatalities in New York City. Donohue is the only civilian ever to be inducted into the Fire Department Honor Legion – an honor reserved for firefighters who have saved a life in the line of duty.
Donohue has produced the Fire Commissioner’s Humanitarian Awards Dinner since 1995. The proceeds of these charitable events benefit fire safety education programs within the New York City fire department. Her most recent accomplishment is the FDNY Fire Zone, an interactive fire safety learning center for children and adults located in Rockefeller Center. It opened during Fire Prevention Week 2000. Donohue spearheaded the drive to raise $2.5 million from private donors.
Donohue has been recognized for her production of the 1996 FDNY Firefighters Calendar on local TV channels 1, 5, 7, 9, 11 and nationally on the Today Show and Montel Williams Show. The proceeds from these projects benefit the FDNY Fire Safety Education Fund, Inc., the New York Firefighter’s Burn Center Foundation, the Uniformed Firefighter’s Association Widow’s and Children’s Fund, and the Fire Department Institute, Inc.
Recently appointed to the board of the New York City Police Museum, Donohue is responsible for procuring capital requirements, and developing and implementing the marketing and management plan. A life member of the Benefit Committee of the Intrepid Museum Foundation, Donohue served as an Honorary Vice-Chairman of the 1996 Intrepid Salute to Freedom Award Dinner honoring General Colin L. Powell, and in 1993 honoring President Ronald Reagan.
Donohue also serves as Honorary Trustee on the boards of the Friends of the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island Foundation and the Federal Drug Agents Foundation. Donohue is member of the Sheriff’s Jury, the Sky Club, and the Friar’s Club, and was recently honored with the Mayor’s Award for Volunteers to City Agencies.
SANDY WIMSATT
How can a 100% volunteer organization raise more than $8 million dollars for research? Not without the unfailing help of a dedicated volunteer. Sandy Wimsatt has served as Families of SMA’s fundraising chairman for more than four years. She has brought creative energy to a position that is critical to the success of the organization.
Families of SMA is comprised of 18 national chapters, three international affiliates and more than 4000 member families. It is the only organization that funds research, provides patient and family support and information, loans equipment to patients, and sponsor educational conferences and support groups.
SMA, Spinal Muscular Atrophy, is the leading genetic killer of children under the age of two. It is a group of inherited diseases that destroy the nerves controlling voluntary movement such as crawling, walking, head and neck control, and swallowing. Wimsatt’s five-year-old son, Michael, has SMA.
Earlier this year Families of SMA contracted with Aurora Bioscience, a private Biotech Company, to find as drug compound, which will help treat SMA. This is a $2.6 million commitment. This step would not have been financially possible without the fundraising leadership of Sandy Wimsatt. Since she began volunteering in this position, fundraising has increased more than three-fold.
Most of the funds raised for Families of SMA do not come from large grants and donations; most come from grassroots efforts by individuals around the world. Wimsatt guides volunteers and encourages fundraising events ranging from golf outings to a coloring contest held by a 10-year-old boy. There is no project too large or too small, as long as the goal is raising money to find a cure for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA).
Wimsatt has also added a level of professionalism to the fundraising efforts. Because Families of SMA is a 100% volunteer group, details were slipping through the cracks. Wimsatt developed a system that guarantees that every donor is recognized and entered into a database of supporters, she tracks where the dollars are coming from and where they go, so that $.80 of every dollar is spent on research and less than $.10 of every dollar donated to Families of SMA is spent on administrative costs.
Wimsatt tries to stay out of the spotlight, preferring that the focus go to the hundreds of volunteers who bring in the funds that will lead to a cure for this disease. However, she is THE motivator that has helped this organization grow from one that raised approximately $300,000 a year to one that raises between $2-$3 million a year.
LINDA WHITE EPPS
People take a calendar for granted. For most, it is merely an instrument to look at the dates for the days as they pass or to zero in on plans for future days. For Linda White Epps, the production of “Sisters’ Journeys – 2001” is a mechanism to tell the world that she and the stars of the pages are looking forward to many more cancer-free years. Each turn of a page provides a look at another month, more stories from “sisters” and words of encouragement to women. Each page says examine your breasts and have regular mammograms.
Epps has demonstrated the many benefits of early detection, including breast cancer survival. It was nearly nine years ago when she discovered the lump, oh so tiny, and courageously accepted each bit of medical advice. Epps and her sisters highlighted in the calendar, are now winning the fight and spreading the word among a population, African-American women, who have traditionally waited too late to see a doctor about an often treatable disease. They have banded together to tell their stories so that others can live long and fruitful lives. They are pulling many into the inner circle of good health care.
Epps faced breast cancer in such a quiet way that many around her did not even imagine the gravity of her health problem. They did not understand what her emotions might have been when the doctors used to words and she made the decisions. However, through her efforts, we thoroughly understand her message. Her long list of achievements and awards clearly tell the message that she wants African-American women to heed. She tells it in print and she witnesses to many other “sisters” in groups across the state of Connecticut. Her calendar and her group activity encourage other African-American women to become “witnesses” themselves.
Over the years, Epps has worked closely with the Connecticut Chapter of the American Cancer Society. Among the lists of awards, citations from this organization and the African-American community.
Epps has never asked for or received a penny for her chosen work. In fact, she puts more of her own money and time into these projects than can be imagined. In addition, she actually discounts the recognition and awards. But, she goes on, courageously and without hesitation, to plan the next calendar, reaching still greater numbers of women each year.
AMANDA NEVERS
Ophelia’s House is a non-profit organization for and about young women in Washington DC. She has always had a desire to aid young women in the Nation’s Capital. So Nevers, along with her ideas and energy, recruited other women interested in the plight of young women in the Metropolitan area.
Nevers was a full-time volunteer in Costa Rica. While there, she worked in the women’s prison for six months. She specialized in teaching parenting and life skills to the women. After coming back to the States, Nevers was employed as a caseworker for adolescents at a health clinic in DC that serves the city’s Latino population.
Nevers became attached to the young women she worked with. In addition to her job, she volunteered her time to the young ladies by teaching SAT prep classes as well as tutoring some of the ladies for the GED. She also spent times assisting the women filling out the lengthy scholarship forms. While doing this community service, Nevers became familiar with the social service system in the District of Columbia. While working with the women, she began to see “gaps” in many of the programs. She saw where she could make a difference.
Nevers began a list of things the women needed based on her observations and discussions with the girls she served. That list became the framework for Ophelia’s House. At the age of 24, Nevers partnered with Leslie Sargent and recruited three of the teen moms to help her with the mission and program ideas. After a pro bono donation of legal services from Arnold and Porter, Ophelia’s House was officially born.
Nevers is always excited to share the vision of Ophelia’s House to gain publicity and support. Under the leadership of Nevers, Ophelia’s House is a reality. They have filed their articles of incorporation and have their non-profit status. In addition to that, they have a bank account, collaboration with local schools and agencies, and on-going programs. Today, only 14 months after she put the idea on paper, the organization is a reality. They have served over 30 teenage girls, many of whom are teen moms and minorities.
In addition to working with Ophelia’s House, Nevers service to her community also spans to other areas. She has worked and volunteered in five non-profits, volunteered as a tutor in local schools, and for over five months was a foster mom to a 14-year old girl.
CARRIE HAMERSLAG
Carrie Hamerslag has been an advocate of Dr. Inder Verma, a professor in the Laboratory of Genetics at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California, where he specialized in gene therapy research since January 2000. Carrie is presently initiating and implementing her own program to raise dollars for the Salk Institute. Responding to the threat of cancer in her immediate family, this remarkable 15-year old was determined to make something positive out of a negative when her mother was initially misdiagnosed with ovarian cancer.
Carrie took on the enormous task of researching and raising funds to assist in cancer research through an event she created, “Art for a Cure”, where the art of her mother created during her distressing time was auctioned off in November of last year. This fundraising took months to plan and orchestrate, which was apparent from the incredible success of the event. Her efforts raised more than $60,000 to date. The Salk set up a Carrie Hamerslag Research Fund in her honor. The current funds raised which enabled the Salk Institute to hire 2 postdoctoral fellows to work on gene therapy research as it relates to cancer with Dr. Verma.
As if this single endeavor was not enough for this young lady, she currently also volunteers 70 to 100 hours per summer at the Helen Woodward Animal Shelter in Rancho Santa Fe, California. She volunteers her time at the Door of Hope (Salvation Army), which is a community of unwed teenage mothers where she cares for the children. She is also currently implementing a program for teenage suicide prevention week seeking dollars from local businesses to support the cause. Last year Carrie won the Mission Bell Award for her work at the Helen Woodward Center and is eligible again this year. She has received no stipends or salary for her efforts in promoting a cure for cancer through the Salk Institute.
As a sophomore in high school, her schedule consists of two advanced placement classes and two honors program courses. Carrie is a Peer Assistant Listener (PAL) at her school, counseling peers that have problems. She is a member of the Key Club, an international community service club. Carrie was awarded the local television Channel 10’s Leadership Award on January 31, 2001.
When Carrie was 12, she saved up her allowances for a year to donate to the Make A Wish Foundation. This contribution was used to give a dying girl with leukemia her dream to visit Disneyland.
GOODFELLOW SHOE FUND
On December 15, 1947, representatives of the American Legion Auxiliary, PTA Council, Girl Scouts, Campfire Girls and the American Red Cross held a meeting in order to organize the Goodfellow Shoe Fund. The purpose and goal of the group in 1947 continues to be the same in the year 2001: to provide preschool and school-aged children in North Platte, Nebraska, who are in need, with good, sturdy shoes. The group originated with eight individuals. On January 7, 1948, they had received $731.05 in donations and their expenditures were $301.57. They had purchased 47 pairs of shoes. The average cost for a pair of shoes at this time was $4.90.
Throughout the years, the Goodfellow Shoe Fund has achieved great things. The annual drive is held from Thanksgiving to Christmas. Special efforts are made in fundraising and reminding the community of the importance of giving to help fellow mankind. They keep the community well informed by printing contributions in the local newspaper. Donations and memorials are accepted throughout the year. Due to their volunteering efforts and the community’s generosity, more than 15,000 pairs of shoes have been given to children in North Platte.
The Goodfellows take an innovative approach toward solving one of the community’s needs. Families are able to fill out an application at Health and Human Services. The president or representative picks up and screens the applicants for financial need. The president then contacts a buyer who makes contact with the family and meets the family at the designated store.
Store employees know the purchasing restrictions and bring out a selection of shoes that the child may try on and choose from. The buyer fills out the designated paperwork and the child leaves the store wearing a new pair of leather tennis shoes. There is no monetary transaction at the time of the purchase. The child must leave the store wearing the shoes so that there is no possibility of returning the shoes for cash. The treasurer then receives the sales slips from the stores so that the accounts may be paid. The president and treasurer keep a running file of the families assisted. The 2000 Annual Drive raised $20,165.92. The current average price for a pair of shoes is $43.57, which allows for approximately 462 pairs of shoes to be purchased.
The Goodfellow Shoe Fund is currently comprised of 40 members. They are a Volunteer Station for the community’s Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) and work with RSVP to promote volunteering through adults among the community, including the retired and senior population in North Platte. The publicity of the annual drive and the impact of the organization keep the volunteers and community motivated. The volunteers comment on how grateful and happy the children act when they walk out of the store with a brand new pair of shoes. The program is structured with tact and compassion and does not degrade the individuals in need in any way, but offers kindness and generosity to those who may otherwise have to go without.
RON PATCHETT
Many frail, homebound seniors and the disabled have benefited from the services provided by Ron Patchett, an 88-year-old retiree. Although Patchett has volunteered in various capacities during the last 30 years, he joined RSVP (Retired and Senior Volunteer Program) in May 1994, when he returned to Kalamazoo from Florida following his wife’s death. Since then, he has been a role model and stellar example of unselfish dedication to those in need.
Patchett is an In-Home Support program volunteer who provides basic, free assistance to frail seniors so that they can remain independent and in their own homes for as long as possible. It was his initial experience delivering Meals on Wheels to homebound seniors that made him aware of many other needs that were not being met. Through RSVP, Patchett provides escort transportation, shopping assistance, friendly visiting, and telephone reassurance, which has more than once alerted a family member to potential problems. Patchett is often the sole link homebound seniors have with the outside world. His work is vital to the community because of the growing trend among the elderly to remain in their own homes, as evident by the client waiting list compiled by RSVP.
Patchett’s contribution of 674 hours last year, when calculated by the Points of Light Foundation value of $14.83 per hour, comes to $9,995.42. But his service is really priceless because it benefits many who could not afford to pay for such assistance. Last year Patchett was matched with seven clients, but also asked to be placed on the emergency transportation and shopping list so that “no one will fall through the cracks.” Since he is usually away from home during the day, he purchased an answering machine so he would not miss an unscheduled request. He continues to refuse the limited reimbursement that is offered to volunteers through RSVP.
Patchett also donated his time to Community Access by taking photos and writing summaries of show personalities who highlight service organizations in Kalamazoo County. He is a member of RSVP’s Peer Prevention Players, a group which provides information, often in a lighthearted manner, on such senior topics as substance abuse, telephone fraud, and scams. He is an avid supporter and recruiter for the RSVP program who once called from his doctor’s office, having recruited the receptionist while waiting to be seen by the doctor.
Patchett takes clients to get their hair done because, as he says, “if you look good, you feel good, too,” provides courier service and sorts and delivers food from his church’s pantry. He even takes leftover bread and feeds it to the birds on his way home through the park.
When someone once marveled at all that he does, he shrugged and said, “Oh, there are so many things I could be doing, I wish I had more time.”
CARL AND NORMA MILLER
Carl and Norma Miller have been involved in making the world a better place in many ways. Mr. Miller founded and grew his own business – Concrete General – and has been using profits from it to provide others with the funding to meet their dreams. Mrs. Miller saw a need to treat terminally ill and severely handicapped children and their families to a day of fun at the local county fair and has worked with a dedicated group of volunteers to make that happen for 30-35 children annually at the Montgomery County Agricultural Fair.
The couple has also founded a child care center at a local community college so that child care is not an issue for those wishing to attend college. Mrs. Miller has also made countless dolls for her church and garden club to sell at their bazaars.
With the VIP Children’s Day Program at the Fair, Mrs. Miller has chaired the volunteer committee that has planned and carried out the program since it was organized 12 years ago. Part of the committee’s mission has been to raise money to underwrite the expenses associated with the program; giant murals have been painted on the side of a warehouse adjacent to the fairgrounds. The original painting of the artwork used on the mural has been sold for $10,000 each year of the nine years there has been a mural. This money plus other donations totals nearly $165,000. The interest from this money covers the expenses of the day.
Each VIP family has a trained youth host (one or two 4-H members) to escort them around the fair. The carnival company provides free rised there and the fair provides free ice cream and sodas. Program expenses cover their food for the day. A local cab company donates transportation home for anyone needing help in this area. It is Mrs. Miller’s hope, once the seed money has grown enough that the interest will entirely cover all VIP Day expenses, to expand the program into a more year-round opportunity for the fair to help these children. Since the program’s inception, more than 330 children and their families have been assisted.
Although Mr. Miller could never afford to go to college in his younger years, 40 years later he decided he wanted students to have the opportunities he never had. Mr. and Mrs. Miller now help four students each year by paying for their full tuition and books. The Millers have given hundreds of thousands of dollars to Frederick Community College (FCC) over the years and were instrumental in the construction – and soon to be expansion – of the Children’s Center. Because of the couple’s generosity, FCC’s Board of Trustees voted to rename the center the “Carl and Norma Miller Children’s Center.”
Besides their work with these two projects, the Millers have bought countless 4-H steers and pigs to underwrite college expenses for many 4-H youth selling their project animals at the fairs. They have also opened their home for many dinner meetings, and Mr. Miller cooks a country breakfast for his workmen once a week at Concrete General.
RICK ROLLINS
Rick Rollins, an Account Manager for KPMG, has been a star volunteer for the Dallas County Juvenile Department’s Youth Village for three years. In 2000, Rollins donated more than 200 hours serving as an initiator of new programs, recruiter for financial and volunteer support, Steering Committee chairman, friend and role model to the youth and staff, and public relations person for the Youth Village and residents.
Youth Village is the Juvenile Department’s long-term residential facility for 88 male offenders. The juvenile judge places the youth who are on probation at Youth Village because they have not done well living at home. The program goals are to meet the educational, spiritual, physical, psychological and emotional needs of the children in their care so the youth will not re-enter the juvenile system or advance into the adult detention system. Rollins has been instrumental and highly successful in meeting not only the basic needs of the young men at Youth Village, but also has gone the extra mile to create new opportunities and options for 88 young males.
Rollins, in addition to being actively involved in the church, parenting four children, and serving as a leader in the Dallas Boy Scouts program, finds time in his schedule to make a difference in the lives of youth who may term as “throw aways.” Rollins first became involved when KPMG came to Youth Village for their “World of Spirit” workday. Soon after, Rollins volunteered to assist with holiday gifts for the residents of the village. In the spring of 1999, the Youth Village superintendent was searching for a person to chair a Steering Committee for a new, exciting event that would educate the public regarding Youth Village, recruit volunteers, solicit college/vocational scholarship funding and recruit possible work sites for the residents after they have been discharged. Rollins stepped forward and agreed to take on the responsibility as chairman of the “Jubilee Celebration 2000.”
Rollins has been able to effectively deal with an abundance of personality issues and numerous problems that seemed insurmountable for a first time event. He donated hundreds of hours meeting with the community leaders, corporations, small and large businesses to gain financial support for the Jubilee. When it appeared that there was no way the committee could be ready for the Jubilee by June of 2000, Rollins forged ahead with leadership and faith.
Throughout the time from the spring of 1999 to the present when Rick has been planning, soliciting, meeting and working, he was enduring dozens of special surgeries for severe skin cancer. He stated that a higher power led him to this volunteer role to help him through this difficult period in his life. He looks upon his many volunteer job challenges as a gift. As a result of his leadership, belief in the potential of the youth, and long hours of problem-solving, the “Jubilee Celebration 2000” was a success.
While juggling many tasks for work, family, medical needs, and the Jubilee, Rollins managed to assist in forming the first Boy Scout Troop at Youth Village. He was instrumental in securing $10,000 in donations to support the Boy Scout program. Currently, Rollins is assisting Youth Village in becoming its own 501(c)(3) organization.
MARIO MONTEJO
The Dallas Home for Jewish Aged/Golden Acres Campus is a 31- acre facility that is celebrating their 45th birthday this year. They have a 265-bed nursing home and a 40-unit apartment complex for independent and assisted living residents in addition to a 200-unit mini high rise for low-income housing. One of the most important areas that volunteers serve is their Rehab Services Department. The Home provides occupational therapy, rehabilitation therapy, and speech and hearing in this department. Most of the residents need some assistance getting from their room into the Rehab department for their treatments, and those volunteers are called Rehab aides.
Mario Montejo is the “official” Rehab aid for the Rehab Services department. He is a learning disabled man who has volunteered on the campus since 1970. As a teenager he came with his mom to inquire about volunteer opportunities a little over 30 years ago, and he has been a fixture at the Home ever since.
Montejo knows every resident, their room number, and what services they require. He is responsible for training all new volunteers to the Rehab Services department and arrives daily at 8:00 am. His training ranges from proper wheelchair training to etiquette with the patients. Montejo stays at the Home in the evenings until all “his” residents have returned to their rooms.
Montejo works with the Rehab department four days a week, and also works on Sundays. He assists with transport aid for programming on the weekends. Montejo is loyal to the residents and believes they depend on him. That is why he walks to work not matter the weather forecast or conditions. He lives nearby and averages 80 hours per month in his volunteer efforts for the Home.
This Home would not be able to provide the gamut of services they do without the assistance of volunteers. Their dedication and commitment help with the success of the entire program and the wellness of the clients. The average age of the residents is 88, and many of them look to Montejo as a reason to get up in the morning. He pays attention to each and every one of them, and they feel special with that tender care.
Montejo is learning disabled, but that is strictly a label. He sets goals and just as other men his age do, he works and takes care of himself. Though he cannot drive and has some difficulties with multi-tasking, Montejo has compensated by walking to work and breaking his duties into steps. In addition to his service at The Home, Montejo also serves at his church, Central Lutheran, in the vacation Bible school program, Families United for Nurture and the Men’s Club.
