MARILYN WEAVER
Marilyn Weaver has been a school volunteer in West Irondequiot for 10 years. She began her service as a classroom mother, then a block parent, cultural arts organizer, third grade graduation coordinator, and finally co-chair of a two-day Outdoor Education Experience. In addition, she developed and coordinated the Reading At Home Program.
Weaver saw a need in 1995 that sparked her interest. One of the second grade teachers at Colebrook School felt that her students could benefit from being challenged beyond the regular curriculum in mathematics, but she did not know how to manage this by herself. She offered to take half of the class and provide enrichment exercises in mathematics. The teacher took on the other half and began remediation work leading to enrichment.
Through a variety of math activities and custom made exercises, students began to see that math could be fun and interesting. They discovered they could take a problem that looks hard on the surface and stretch enough in their skills to accomplish solving the problem. Weaver worked with this class for three years. Today this program is still in existence and has expanded to include another second grade class. This in-class activity has become known as the Challenger Club, and it was even extended to the third grade classes when the former second-graders expressed so much interest in it.
About a year ago, Weaver accepted the challenge of reinventing the abandoned Math Lab at Colebrook School. The students, parents, and teachers are very enthusiastic about turning it around. Once the renovation was completed, the Math Lab was a success. That resulted in more students, parents and teachers becoming interested in being involved.
What began as one volunteer helping 10 students for about 45 minutes per week has grown to include 15 parent volunteers helping about 30 students from kindergarten to third grade. Computers have been introduced to the program for students who need a faster pace to maintain their interest. Weaver has also taken on the responsibility of training the volunteers so they have an understanding of the goals, tools, and methodology of the lab.
Marilyn Weaver’s innovative spirit is evident in the materials and activities she has conceived. She has developed creative concepts to address specific instructional goals. Some of her more famous inventions are laminate, color-coded personal and class-size number lines. She designs them to help children visualize, through spatial relationships, the interrelatedness of numbers in addition, subtraction, and multiplication. The strongest indicator of the Lab’s success is the impact is has had on the student’s scores in standardized testing. Weaver’s support and efforts have resulted in the children earning better scores and doing well in other areas of study.
JAVIER SANTIAGO
Learning Leaders, previously known as the New York City School Volunteer Program, was the first program of its kind in the county and has been a national leader for more than four decades in using trained volunteers to help meet the educational needs of students in public schools. The goal of Learning Leaders is to aid New York City public school students in gaining the educational skills and self-esteem necessary to become successful learners and productive community members. Last year, 150,000 New York City public school students in 747 school received aid from more than 9,300 volunteers. In essence, one of every seven children enrolled in the public school system received instruction from a Learning Leader.
Each of the volunteers give at least two hours of their time per work to a school near their work or home. All of the volunteers are screened and trained, and they have ongoing support from professional field-based Training Specialist. Learning Leaders was incorporated in 1970 as a nonprofit organization, and about $2.5 million is raised annually to support the program.
Javier Santiago is a Learning Leader. Santiago never thought that doing public service in an elementary school would become an integral part of his life. However, his young daughter asked him to read the Learning Leader recruitment flier to her. When he read it and explained to her what it meant, she asked him to become a part of it. He committed to being a Learning Leader and tutors children in reading, spelling, and math. Being a Learning Leader is a priority for Santiago. He has adopted an entire class of children who will stay together through elementary school. Santiago began with them in second grade and will be with them until graduation. He works with children one-on-one who are in need of help. He is consistent with his visits and dedicated to the learning process. Throughout his time of service, he has impacted approximately 30 to 40 children.
Because of his volunteer work, Santiago is considering a career in teaching. Santiago is a Learning Leader and has affected the children attending New York City’s public schools. An Educational Testing Service Study showed that one-third of the students who received volunteer assistance because of academic difficulties achieved or exceeded grade-level requirements in reading or math within one year of participation in the program.
Javier Santiago just wanted to be more active with his children’s educational process. That has resulted in numerous hours of volunteer service along with a possible change of career into the education field. His giving heart and encouraging words have changed the lives of young children and in turn has changed his life also. He sees that just being there for a child and being a constant influence in their life can change their behavior and attitude towards school. Many children are looked at as having behavioral problems or learning difficulties, but most of them just need encouragement and special attention. They need to feel valued and special, and he is happy to be a part of that process.
REGINA DAYTON
Regina Dayton has created a community service program that has touched the hearts of so many students and parents. Her efforts have resulted in community leaders and parents working together to expand her program citywide and make it available to all youth. Maria Moser, one of Dayton’s students, described what Dayton does best when she says, “There is a revolution taking place in the Strongsville High School. It is not the result of television or music, or students who are desensitized. It is a result of teachers who care; of students who want to make a difference; and a school that is changing the way it treats one another. It is a revolution of kindness.”
SHINE (Students Helping In Neighborhoods Everywhere) started in 1998 with just 20 students. Many believed that it would not succeed. Their activities began small with coat drives, flowers to Columbine High School and planting flowers at hospice. The program grew to include more than 300 students and their activities now range from AIDS walks to food drives; from Special Olympics to leaf raking for the elderly.
One of the most important projects that Dayton and her students did was to reintroduce the Pledge of Allegiance to the high school. Many of the parents felt that in today’s times it was really important to find a way to remind all of the kids that despite our differences, we are one nation-one people. Dayton and her group did a veteran’s day program in which they presented a flag to each veteran and led the school for the first time in many years in the Pledge of Allegiance. Since then, the Pledge is recited every week. For this work, Dayton and her students received a commendation from the Ohio Senate, the Strongsville city council and a note of congratulations from George W. Bush.
Dayton has drawn the entire community together. Whether it is working on specific service projects or working to expand the program to a citywide program, she has spread the spirit of volunteerism and community involvement through the city. She has helped the community to refocus its priorities on youth and helping neighbors. She has been so successful in leading the community because she lets the kids lead her. She started with allowing them to select projects. What makes her unique is her ability to bring different types and ages together and get them to not only work together, but to love working together.
The city is now in the process of creating a citywide Youth Council that will provide ongoing opportunities for community service and civic involvement. Dayton, Mayor Ehrnfelt, Councilman Mike Gallagher, members of the School Board and many parents are working together to raise the funds that will be necessary to maintain a permanent and ongoing support system for youth. The school intends to implement a mandatory community service requirement. Regina Dayton has worked to awaken the city of Strongsville as to how rewarding service to others can be and how important it is to focus time and resources on bringing those opportunities to youth.
IMPACT PARTNERS OF R.G. COLE HIGH SCHOOL
The Cole High School IMPACT (Inspiring Miracles: Parents and Children Together) Partners have set the standard for inclusion programs for those with special needs. This organization was started in 1999, by a senior who was troubled by the isolation of the special needs students on campus. The original program allowed six IMPACT Partners to visit special needs students in the self-contained classroom once a week. Currently the program has 95 members, with 90 juniors and seniors, which represents 71% of the upper-class population at Cole High School. Their actual accomplishments are reflected in three ways: on campus, in the community and through the promotion of inclusion.
On campus, the Partners operate a wide variety of innovative “stations” throughout the week that introduce new concepts, provide academic support, or support social interaction and inclusion. Junior High and Elementary Reading provides reading assistance and mentorship to 7th graders and elementary students with autism. Music Partners features an “instrument of the week,” guest student musician and hands-on sessions. Audio Recording provided recorded books for students with reading issues and the visually impaired. Other “stations” include Braille Training, Enrichment Partners, Lunch Partners, Vocational Classroom, Sign Language Training, Visual Assistance and Work Site Partners.
As a part of the IMPACT organization, the Partners meet the needs of the community by coaching basketball, baseball and bowling for special needs children. They participate and assist with the community Easter Egg Hunt, the Mini Marathon for children, the annual IMPACT Olympics and the Annual Christmas Party. Since their support is so critical to the success of every activity, the IMPACT Partners ongoing involvement has resulted in the establishment of a year-round schedule of activities, either directly for, or including divisions for special needs children.
The mobilization for volunteer service to this student volunteer organization is reflected in its own growth. Additionally, IMPACT Partners have helped recruit other organizations to participate in activities with the special needs youth in the community. Cole High School JROTC Cougar Battalion will assist IMPACT Olympics in March. The San Antonio Raiders AAU National Basketball Team will participate in the baseball program. Members of the 1999 NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs will play ball with the IMPACT Spurs in February.
CARROLL HENDERSON
Carroll Henderson’s accomplishments are many, from his years on the hospital board, as a Red Cross volunteer and eventually Montana State Red Cross Chairman, member of the Methodist Church Board, to member of the Boys and Girls Club of Southwest Montana. He has spent 17 years on the Bozeman City Planning Commission as a volunteer and was instrumental in the present layout of the city of Bozeman, including road design and the trail system that will run from mountain range to mountain range.
He has served on the Cemetery Board and was elected to the Bozeman City Study Commission to study the city government and give recommendations back to the voters. He was cofounder of the Gallatin Association of Realtors, SCORE (Senior Core of Retired Executives of the United States Small Business Administration), Montana chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, and the Montana chapter of the Huguenot Society.
Henderson purchased, in his own name, 417 acres on what was then the outskirts of Bozeman with the vision of a new, larger hospital complex for the growing community. The proposal was met with skepticism and derision. The hospital board eventually purchased the property from Bozeman, and they are now financially well off because of this decision. This has happened time and time again in the city of Bozeman, with his finding land for the Methodist Church, Christus Collegium (the university campus interfaith center) and the Boys and Girls Club.
Bozeman and his wife come from a long line of people who struggled to find this country as a place where the community worked together to solve problems. One particular story typifies the actions that Carroll Henderson would take for others. In the mid-fifties, when the small town of Bozeman had no African-Americans, the Army sent an African-American recruiter to work at Montana State University. The young family, with a baby, could find no one who would rent to them and found themselves with no place to live. Henderson found out about this and, as a member of the hospital board, persuaded the board to rent them a home that the hospital owned.
In another instance, Henderson attempted to rescue two small girls who had fallen into a river. While spectators watched, he jumped in not once, but twice, to bring the girls safely to the shore. Unfortunately, the girls lost their lives, and Henderson suffered a permanent hearing loss. Stories of kindness and compassion of Carroll Henderson could fill a book.
Henderson lifelong list of achievements include helping develop the Bozeman Deaconess Hospital and its foundation, volunteering as Bozeman’s first city planner, and volunteering service to the Gallatin County Commissioners in planning for a new county jail. The creation of “Safe Havens’ is his mandate.
CORAL SPRINGS POLICE DEPARTMENT YOUTH MENTORING PROGRAM
The Coral Springs Police Department’s Youth Mentoring Program was established in 1996 as part of a three-year grant with a partnership between the Department of Juvenile Justice, the City of Coral Springs Police Department and the School Board of Broward County. The goals and objectives of the program are to improve school attendance and classroom behavior, improve academic performance, establish an ongoing relationship with an adult, develop decision-making skills and develop career interests. In 1999, after the grant expired, the program was incorporated into the Police Department’s budget while expanding services.
The three program services include:
- Business mentoring: A middle school student is matched with a Business Mentor/volunteer to establish a relationship at the work site. The student has the opportunity to learn and apply work skills. The student and mentor work together for a nine-week mentoring term, approximately two hours per week.
- The Mentor Speakers Bureau: This is a membership for mentors/volunteers to participate in Youth Mentoring Workshops offered to elementary, middle and high school students. The speakers select a topic according to his/her experience.
- TAG (Together Achieving Goals) Girls Program: This unique program was designed to reinforce the potential that girls have to achieve personal and professional success through mentoring and community involvement supported by a female role model.
The Youth Mentoring Program has served a total of 378 students and has a total of 162 mentors. The Speakers Bureau has 20 members and served 219 students in the 2000-2001 school year. Mentors include police officers, city employees, residents, fire department staff and business owners and staff.
The success of this program has made a positive impact, not only on the students, but also to the City of Coral Springs. Mentor Coordinator Jenny Rebour has agreed to work with other law-enforcement agencies in Broward County and Volunteer Broward to duplicate this program and impact even more youth in the community.
PAUL AND ALCINA DADURIAN
Paul and Alcina Dadurian run Floyd’s Christian Restaurant in Corpus Christi, Texas. Most people only make helping someone or giving to the needy a holiday effort or a New Year’s resolution, but the Dadurians give as a way of life. Their restaurant is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week; the Dadurians load up their vehicles with meals and distribute them to the poor on the back streets in several cities four to five evenings a week. They have been feeding the homeless and helping the needy everyday since 1989 with no federal, state, or city funds.
During the holidays, the Dadurians were able to deliver more than 300 turkeys for families in need in December. They had previously given in excess of 280 turkeys during that same November. They also added bread, clothing and other necessities to the holiday baskets of cheer. They also delivered more than $3,000 worth of toys to children who otherwise would not have had any gifts. They also sponsor an Easter egg hunt held on the 5-acre tract of land next to their restaurant. They give away as many as 400 baskets to needy children at that time.
After the holidays have passed the Dadurians drive through the streets of Corpus Christi, Orange Grove, Sandia, Alice and Mathis passing out food and bags of groceries to the needy. They believe it is their responsibility to help others who are in need, and they know that others need to start realizing what is going on in their own backyard and make a difference. It saddens them to know that some families live in one-room shacks with no doors or windows and dirt floors. They refuse to put people through an application process that may hinder direct relief because they know the people are hungry now.
The Dadurians help some directly and others indirectly. They work with Victory Life Ministries, which is a Christian Recovery Home that houses about 20 people who are seeking spiritual recovery from addictions. The Dadurians weekly donations of food and clothes allow the staff and residents to focus on their recovery. They also employ needy people at their restaurant even if they are not in need of help. The couple believes that giving is a calling, and it is their calling.
The Dadurians’ crusade has been largely a personal one. They have received little help from other people or organizations; the money used to help those in need comes from the profits of their restaurant. They have come to a crossroad, and they have to decide whether to continue or stop because of their personal finances. Because they believe, again, that this is their calling, the Dadurians opted to sell investments to continue to feed people. Some of the greatest testaments from the Dadurians work come from home. They have witnessed their mother giving away her personal coat to someone who did not have adequate clothing. They have also seen their parents buy meals for the hungry ever since they could remember.
GEORGE HALLETT
Seniors, 60 years of age and over, are trained and placed as Senior Companions to homebound, frail, and other seniors, to enable independent living or to provide respite for the caretaker of a senior. George Hallett has volunteered in the Senior Companions Program since 1984. He has provided respite, companionship, and support to the families of more than 90 hospice and Alzheimer patients, four hours per day, five days per week. He develops a bond with his patients, and the support he provides does not stop when their life ends. Then, Hallett continues to provide strength and love for the surviving spouse or family members.
As our population ages, there is the definite problem of isolation. This is especially traumatic when one outlives a spouse and friends. In addition, in our mobile society, the older person will often face death alone in a hospital. They may also have one family member helping, but that is a duty so heavy it requires the community’s caring involvement. Hallett used to be a pastry chef on the Queen Mary ocean liner, and in addition to his companionship and respite, he creates special desserts to encourage a patient’s almost non-existent appetite.
The Senior Companion program is innovative in that it recreates the community web of support that used to be the norm. When someone is facing death, they do not look to technological advances or modern electronics; they desire a caring human person. This program taps into the skills, experiences, and wishes of senior citizens to safely help each other. Hallett goes above and beyond his duties. It is especially evident when he was able to reunite a couple. They simultaneously needed hospice care, and because of bureaucratic oversight, they had been separated. He was concerned with their emotional well being and spoke with the director of the hospice. His efforts resulted in them getting adjoining quarters.
The Senior Companion Program is recognized each year at various ceremonies, which give publicity to the program. Hallett willingly speaks at each banquet, and his story serves as an inspiration to others. His wife is totally bedridden, and he is able to provide assistance to others while her caretaker is in their home. Though he is challenged with the care of his wife, he still gives to others who are in need just as they are. Many other seniors have applied to serve in the program due to the example of Mr. Hallett.
In addition to working as a Companion since September of 1984, Hallett also has served on the Fresno/Madera Senior Companion Advisory Board.
HECTOR CASADO
A Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) volunteer is a trained member of the community, appointed by a judge to speak for the best interest of children brought into the judicial system. These volunteers participate in training where they learn about courtroom procedures, effective advocacy techniques, drug and alcohol issues, how to spot abuse, and a number of other topics that might relate to their cases. GALs are in contact with child welfare agency personnel as well as school staff, medical and mental health agencies, foster families, and anyone else who can speak to the parent/child relationship. They may attend staffings or meet with attorneys, but most importantly, GALs get to know the needs of their assigned children.
Hector Casado has been a GAL volunteer since 1997. He serves a minimum of 30 hours per month helping to represent abused and neglected children in the court system. Because he is bilingual, Casado has been especially effective in helping Hispanic children. Most of the children have been placed in foster or group homes, and Casado makes them feel comfortable and establishes their trust by speaking a familiar language when they are not always in a familiar setting. This is very important at a time when they are confused with what is going on around them.
Casado has gone a step further and is currently in the process of establishing parenting and anger management classes tailored specifically for the Hispanic population. It is targeted at those families whose children are involved in court proceedings. He has been effective in locating individualized services for Hispanic families and children in the Ocala area. This results in parents regaining custody of their children and families staying together.
In addition to volunteering as a GAL volunteer, Casado is attending seminars and conferences. He is constantly working to increase his knowledge of the system and of new services available for his guardian children. He searches out educational opportunities and then shares his knowledge with other guardian volunteers. He serves as a mentor and coach for many other volunteers and is always willing to listen and encourage them. He does all of this even though he is disabled. He has not allowed his limited mobility to hinder his efforts to serve those who need him in the community.
THE COMMUNITY DROP-IN CENTER
The Community Drop-In Center (CDIC) of Lawrence was founded by a handful of Lawrence residents in 1995. During the prior year, the Lawrence Housing & Neighborhood Development Department estimated that almost 280 Lawrence residents were homeless. Because Lawrence is a college town, the rents have consistently increased, which has forced many families into the streets and the Salvation Army for shelter. Many strain to live in their own homes and take care of their families, as the minimum wage has not been considered livable.
The CDIC was founded because some of the residents believed the lack of services to those who were homeless was intolerable. During their first winter, the CDIC was housed in the Second Christian Church, and they continued to operate from various churches until the fall of 1996. In September of that year, Saunny Scott made a request that the DCIC operate temporarily for the Quaker Friends Meeting House. They stayed there for four years until moving to its current location. In 1999, CDIC saw that the need for varied types of services for the homeless was increasing. People needed help getting jobs, housing, drug and alcohol counseling, HIV/AIDS prevention, clothing, and other items. The need for a full-time staff and more volunteers was now a focus.
Funding was a concern, and it was essential that CDIC have a strong board of directors as well as a strong grant writer to ensure this. Both desires were fulfilled and helped the program grow stronger consistently with new and innovative ideas. The CDIC now serves about 40 people a warm breakfast, a place to shower, laundry facilities, a resting room, a reading room, a computer, and telephone services each day. They also daily help to pay for bus tickets, shoes, glasses, networking with employers for short and long term employment, drug and alcohol prevention, AIDS/HIV counseling, mental illness resources, housing applications, disability applications, and much more.
The most important aspect of the center is a safe, homelike atmosphere where people who are homeless or low-income can fulfill basic human needs with access to social services without judgment. The environment is a home setting with couches and furnishings, a dining room, laundry room, lockers, kitchen, pantry, two offices, the quiet room, a reading room, and a handicap-accessible bathroom.
CDIC receives funds from various sources. They received an Art Commission Grant as a result of their clients taking pictures for an exhibit at the Lawrence Public Library entitled “Through the Eyes of the Homeless, Down and Out in Lawrence, Kansas.” They receive funding from FEMA to help pay for food and a CDBG grant to pay for salaries, rent, utilities, and operating costs. They were also awarded an ESG grant to help pay for other essential services of the center, and all other expenses are managed through fundraising and private donors.
