DARE TO DREAM KIDS CARE CLUB OF GRINNELL SCHOOL

Dare to Dream Kids Care Club is a national, nonprofit organization out of New Canaan, Connecticut. A mother who wanted to instill charity and a volunteering spirit in her own children started Kids Care Club. It has now become a large group of 300 clubs across the country with an estimated 20,000 children participating. Local clubs can choose activities to suit their community needs with ideas and packets coming from the Kids Care Club main office.

Six years ago, Grinnell School had a dream and formed the Dare to Dream Kids Care Club. Now they are a group of 90 children ages 6 – 12 that meet every six weeks to coordinate and complete a variety of public service activities. Over the years they have supported their local community with charitable acts by replenishing the local soup kitchen with canned items and toiletries and donating numerous “Friendship Boxes” to a local battered women’s shelter. They donate money to local families whose children have battled cancer.

On the national level, they mail books to children who lost everything to flooding in Kentucky and Ohio. The Club made a school-wide “Chain For Life” to support the families in Littleton, Colorado. On the international level, Kids Care sponsored a school-wide collection of toys, socks and soap for the Kosovo refugee children. The meeting in December included a speaker from the Salvation Army. Lt. Tracy Hughes spoke to the children about their “Toy Shop”. This program is designed to assist needy families in various areas by providing Christmas gifts for their children. Families can be assured that their children will have at least two presents to open on Christmas morning. The club members sponsored a school-wide toy drive for two weeks in December and over 145 gifts were collected.

A small company in a neighboring town learned of the spirit of volunteering and charity and donated $500 to the Salvation Army’s “Kids Cafe” in the Kids Care Club name. This donation will assist the Salvation Army in providing for many low-income children who attend their after school daycare and meal program. The partnership with this organization will continue throughout the year. They are currently researching their children’s needs and asking the club members to come up with helpful, charitable ideas for the future.

The December meeting continued as the children opened their shoeboxes filled with gifts. Each member was asked to shop for small items that they would enjoy receiving at the holiday time. Many parents had their children earn their own money to purchase these gifts. Items were carefully packed in their boxes and wrapped in holiday paper that was donated by a local store. Tags identified the appropriate age and sex of the contents of the gifts. Sixty “Holiday Friendship Boxes” were delivered to “Emily’s Place,” the YWCA Crisis Service for battered families. The hands-on serving makes a difference in strengthening the existing social service organizations in their war against human suffering.

JACK SCHUH

Since May 2000 through the present, Jack Schuh has been a Volunteer Leader for the Greater St. Cloud Area Retired and Senior Volunteer Program. As a volunteer leader, Jack serves as the eyes and ears in his community letting RSVP know of emerging community needs and refers potential volunteers to RSVP. In 2000 and 2001, Jack referred twenty-eight seniors to RSVP for enrollment. Jack’s service area is St. Joseph, but his connections in the greater community have brought in volunteers from several communities.

RSVP always has more volunteer opportunities than there are volunteers. We started the Volunteer Leader program as a way for current RSVP volunteers to share the benefits of volunteering and to build our volunteer base. Jack is very connected with many musical groups, exercise groups and social organizations. As he participates in these groups, he shares his joy of volunteering with others and encourages them to get involved. The twenty-eight volunteers Jack recruited for RSVP serve in a variety of settings including nursing homes, the local food shelf, and the Salvation Army. These volunteers he helped recruit are meeting the needs of people of all ages and helping to make their life a little easier.

In June of 2000, Jack became a widower. He and his wife had been active RSVP volunteers since July 1992. When his wife passed away, Jack saw a real need to continue to be active in the community and volunteer. He also saw many other seniors who had lost their spouse and were sitting around with nothing to do. He used his experience with losing his spouse and his love of volunteering to encourage others to volunteer.

I think Jack has really used volunteerism as a way to deal with the loss of his wife. As a couple, they volunteered several days a week at various agencies. Jack knows how important volunteer activity was to his wife and is able to carry on that part of her life for her. Jack often talks about the fact that many people he refers to RSVP have recently lost a spouse. He truly believes that it is the best thing to be among other people, and he conveys to them a sense of fulfillment through volunteerism.

Jack is an active 69-year-old man who is an excellent musician and shares his musical talents with nursing home residents throughout the Greater St. Cloud Area. Jack has been a member of RSVP since July of 1992 and has been involved with a variety of volunteer assignments. These include cablecasting city council meetings for the City of Sauk Rapids; being a greeter for the American Red Cross bloodmobile; safety fair fingerprinter for children; RSVP Advisory Council; Paramount Theatre usher; Inventor’s Fair helper; carpenter for a variety of agencies, and numerous other assignments. Jack’s outstanding people skills and willingness to help, make him a real asset to our program. We are very thankful he is willing to share his experience for the benefit of others.

11-10-02 FOUNDATION

Named after the upcoming 30th birthday (11-10-02) of Greg Forbes Siegman and his belief young people can do anything, The 11-10-02 Foundation (ShakingUpChicago.com) has garnered critical acclaim for turning a lunchbag, a shoebox, some cereal boxes, a laptop computer, a Grandmother’s rocking chair and a couple milkshakes into an unwavering commitment to breaking down racial cultural and social stereotypes, assisting overlooked students with scholarships & empowering young people.

11-10-02’s overriding principle is that everything and everyone– whether it’s a scrap of aluminum, the stitches of a baseball, the splinters of a chair, a simple milkshake or a single child– can become something extraordinary if you are willing to believe in them strongly enough and invest in them deeply enough. Siegman, who was rejected from every Ivy League college he hoped to attend, said, “Everybody is good for something, and yet, people are all too often judged solely by what you can see– the shade of someone’s skin, the shape of their shadow or their score on a test. So 11-10-02 looks for students who have a desire to achieve something and refuse to give up until that thirst is satisfied. Students who are willing to do the best they can with what they have. Students whose worth cannot be measured by numbers. That is true value.”

11-10-02 fulfills its missions through its BrunchBunch.com & ShakingUpChicago.com Programs. Siegman created BrunchBunch.com after he took two of his African-American students for milkshakes & witnessed the woman sitting next to them give the boys a look of disdain & move her purse out of their reach. BrunchBunch.com brings adults & students together over brunch on a weekly basis. 10 to 20 people attend each brunch at restaurants like O’Briens and Maggiano’s & more than 700 people have attended in all. Many like Robert Jericho, Vincent Johnson & Dina Luke and students Corey, Colby, Jovan, Tiffany, Lee & Justin have come for years.

The foundation distributes a series of annual scholarships at its summertime ShakingUpChicago.com Gala. Each “type” of 11-10-02 Scholarship is named after a portion of its logo. Past recipients of 11-10-02 Grants and Scholarships now attend college all over the country including Duane Jackson (George Washington Univ), Ana Vargas & Sir Williams (Northeastern Illinois Univ), Erika King (Univ of Illinois) & Michael Johnson (Duke Univ).

The recipients for 11-10-02’s Scholarships are chosen by the foundation’s four scholarship boards, comprised of a literal Who’s Who in American Business. Samuel K. Skinner (President-Chairman-CEO of USFreightways Corporation and former Chief of Staff to President George Bush), Tonise Paul (President & CEO of BBDO Chicago), Scott Gordon (President & COO, Tokyo Mitsubishi Futures USA), Anna Eleanor Roosevelt (Director of Community & Education Relations, Boeing), Tao Huang (COO, Morningstar Inc), Pamela Forbes Lieberman (CEO, Tru Serv Corp), Dr. Surinder Kumar (CIO, William Wrigley Jr. Company) and Jacob Kiferbaum (President, Kiferbaum Construction Corp) are just a few of the Movers & Shakers who lend their name and time to 11-10-02.

The foundation funds the scholarships through its innovative “Milkshake” Campaign. For $8500, Siegman personally delivers a milkshake to its Buyer– complete with whipped cream and a straw. The Buyer’s used glass is turned into a trophy and given to the student who receives the scholarship named after the Buyer. The likes of Multiplex Clubs CEO Gale Landers, Strategos CEO Peter Skarzynski, NHL Star Chris Chelios, national television Style Correspondent Christy Ferer & LaSalle Bank Senior VP Michael W. Kiss have gulped down one of the civic shakes– a ‘sweet’ tribute to the three shakes that kicked off BrunchBunch.com years earlier. The foundation’s other supporters have included American Family Insurance, Crain’s Chicago Business, David Weinberg, Kinko’s, Brinker International, Kraft Foods, Schiff Hardin & Waite Foundation, Podolsky Northstar Realty Partners, Kane McKenna & Associates, Nordstrom, The Strategic Coach, Bruce Bachmann, Gordon & Karen Millner, AT&T Wireless Services & Peter & Elaine Gutheim.

The principle behind ’11-10-02′ that young people are as capable as anyone has been put into practice thanks to talented interns like Kate O’Donnell (Carmel HS), Matt Canfield (Latin School) and Kirin Swanson (Glenbrook South HS) as well as young adult volunteers like Michelle Meklir of Asperger Caraher LLC, Jonathan Dennis of Catellus Development & Claudia Delgado of Ultra Stores.

With ShakingUpChicago.com around the corner and the foundation’s namesake date (11-10-02) in the Fall, it appears the group is just scratching the surface of looking beyond the surface to find true value in others. For more about The 11-10-02 Foundation, go to www.ShakingUpChicago.com

ZEYAD ELSAYED

Zeyad Elsayed has been administering the College of Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies’ Learning Resource Center at the Florin Mall Shopping Center in south Sacramento, California, since 1998. The project is a unique partnership between a higher education institution (California State University, Sacramento) and a major commercial sector institution, Florin Mall. The Learning Resource Center is better known both on campus and in the community as the Mall Hall.

The purpose of the Mall Hall and, thus, Zeyad’s purpose as Director of Programming, has been to improve the level of computer literacy in south Sacramento, a low-income urban area. A substantial portion of area residents are limited English-speakers. Most have little or no access to training in the use of computer technology. The Mall Hall is a community service project entirely administered and staffed by students from California State University, Sacramento; Florin Mall donates space and utilities.

In the past two years, Zeyad has added 18 new computers to Mall Hall’s original 12-station network through fund raising and working collaboratively with the community. All computers are connected to the Internet. He also succeeded in establishing morning orientation sessions at the facility where members of the community can learn how to use computers to help them in today’s job market. The facility offers a safe and quiet environment for school children doing homework. In addition to serving junior high and high school students, the Mall Hall serves a wide range of adults, including women in welfare-to-work training programs and senior citizens.

Zeyad has met the challenge of staffing the Mall Hall with able, paid instructors recruited from the university’s student body, and successfully acquired corporate donations to fund proposed programs. In addition, he secured the resources needed to switch from a dial-up service to a faster DSL Internet service. He has been able to maintain the commitment to providing all of the services totally free, as a benefit to the public. The Mall Hall programs allow CSUS students to participate in educating others who are less fortunate in acquiring a formal education. Many high school students at the Center are empowered by Zeyad and the other student staff members. Many have eventually decided that college is the best route for them to take in making a future for themselves.

Zeyad has also played an important role in helping these high school students gather and process all the information needed to start down the higher education path. The Learning Resource Center was established to help address the “digital divide” in Sacramento. Zeyad is fulfilling this mission and helping the people of this underserved community to reach for a brighter future.

DEWAYNE HOWARD

Dewayne Howard is retiree who took the bold step of committing himself to the community. After giving several thousand hours to the communities of Bartlesville and Dewey, Oklahoma, he moved to the Claremore, Oklahoma area. Instead of relaxing, Howard sent a letter to Verdigris Middle Schools, letting them know he wanted to be of service. He does not wait for things to happen or to be asked to help on tasks. Howard offers his services.

Howard is an adult volunteer mentor with the PAL Program of Rogers County Volunteers for Youth. In this role, he spends one-on-one time weekly with four students at Verdigris Middle School in Claremore, Oklahoma. In addition, Howard freely volunteers his skills as a tutor to 16 students at the Verdigris school system. Normally, Howard spends more than 20 hours each week volunteering in various capacities at Verdigris Public Schools.

He began his work with the PAL Program after the principal received his letter offering his services. Howard began working with the children during the 200–2001 school year. The principal at Verdigris, Steve Perdue, believes the encouragement he gives to the children is priceless. He says that Howard teaches the children they are special and he believes in them and that he also wants them to believe in themselves. The children and staff look forward to seeing Howard and he is normally at one school each day in the school week.

Along with working as a volunteer, Howard understands there is a great need for more volunteers. He also spends time promoting various programs, especially the PAL Program and recruiting other adults to become volunteers. Howard has written articles for the quarterly newsletter and drafted a portion of the training materials. Moreover, Howard is involved with all the fundraising efforts of the organization.

The community of Claremore, as others, faces problems with juvenile delinquency, teen pregnancy, truancy, school dropout rates and substance abuse. The District Judge for the 12th Judicial District, Dynda Post, said she has seen the number of juvenile court filings steadily increase in their county since 1995. She believes early intervention is the key to deterring juvenile crime. Howard is early intervention. He takes the time to care for children and prove to them that they are deserving of the time he is willing to invest in them and their development. He is consistent and does not “stand them up.” Howard is providing a positive male role model for the students with whom he mentors and everyone with whom he comes into contact.

VOLUNTEER SENIOR COMPANIONS

One of the most historically significant events in the current generation of Chester County was the opening of Interstate 77 in 1981. It helped to bring industrial, commercial, and residential development. Aging parents moved there with their adult children with a desire to become close to them during their golden years. However, the demands of raising a family, working, and caring for aging parents often present problems.

Retirees from out of state are choosing South Carolina for their retirement home. U.S. Census Bureau statistics reveal that South Carolina ranks 18th in the country in the number of people over 60 moving into a state. Chester County felt the need to identify areas of concern among local mature adults and develop innovative ways to meet the needs of this growing population.

In 1989, an application for a federal grant was submitted and awarded to provide 20 Senior Companions for the county. Today, 38 income-eligible Volunteer Senior Companions of Chester County are making a great contribution to help solve serious social problems. The increase has been made possible through a PNS grant and the CLTC Medicaid Waiver Program.

Though not trained in medical or technical skills, they offer a most important requirement for being a friend. These 60+ year old, limited income seniors know just how to do that. They are a “special breed” in their field, as they become a part of a team of caregivers. The companions are proud individuals whose early years offered them few opportunities. They learned firsthand to work hard and to be alert to those who needed a helping hand. This generation has a wealth of experience, talent, with firsthand knowledge to share. They seek joy in helping others live on their own. They have a desire to get up, get dressed, and go out into the community four hours a day, five days a week to make a difference in the lives of their disabled peers.

The individuals helped by the Senior Companions receive assistance with important daily tasks, encouragement to remain active, monitoring of medicines/nutrition, a watchful eye to notice when they need extra care, a friendship that can last a lifetime, and respite for family caregivers. The Companions are reimbursed a small stipend of $2.55 per hour and $0.26 per mile travel cost. The stipend enables the volunteers to supplement some of the cost of their daily living expense and allows them to remain somewhat financially independent. The cost for each volunteer’s 1,044 hours is $4,520 (cash and in-kind). What a savings for taxpayers when this figure is compared to the average cost of Medicaid institutional care at $36,000 annually. Meanwhile, the Companions are maintaining their level of health by remaining active and helping others.

"I am quite honored to have the volunteers of the Chester County Senior Companion Program receive the Points of Light award. They are a very deserving group, as they willingly share their time, knowledge and experience to serve disabled clients," stated Frances Stephenson, SCP Project Director.

DORIS MCCANNON

A charter volunteer with Experience Corps at Scott Montgomery Elementary School in the District of Columbia, Doris E. McCannon started her work as a tutor and classroom helper in the fall of 1999. The DC Experience Corps creates volunteer opportunities in schools for senior citizens. She enthusiastically jumped in to her work, recruiting other volunteers to work with the students as well. By the fall of 2000, in addition to tutoring her own students, she became a site coordinator, leading 25 literacy and reading tutors who worked with 50 children at the school. She has continued that work through the 2001-2002 school year, making a real impact on the students at Scott Montgomery and the other volunteer tutors.

Doris, the volunteer AARP DC Executive Council Member for Community Service, has also served AARP as the Secretary of the AARP DC Community Council, a volunteer referral specialist in the National AARP volunteer center, and as President of AARP National Chapter 100. She has also served in leadership roles with several community organizations, including the Northwest Boundary Civic Association, Ward 4 Democrats, St. Gabriel Catholic Church and the Armstrong High School Alumni Association.

McCannon is a retired high school social studies teacher. She has also worked as the Assistant Director of the Emery Teen Center, a graduate instructor of sociology at Coppin State College, and a unit supervisor at the Central Intelligence Agency. She received a bachelor’s degree from Dunbarton College of Holy Cross and a Masters degree in Sociology from the Illinois Institute of Technology. She completed advanced coursework at Howard University, DC Teachers College and Goucher College.

JEAN HAND

Jean Hand has devoted nearly all of her time and energies to the youth of her area for the past eight years. She has been active in the Rivergold Elementary School PTA, and heads the Sunday School Program at the Positive Living Center of Central California. Her most outstanding contribution, though, has been as the founder and Director of the Children’s Museum of the Sierra.

When she moved to the area, she noted that there were few things for young children to do, and even fewer where families could share meaningful activities with their children. In response to this need she placed an article in the newspaper asking for volunteers to start a children’s museum. From that point, whenever she traveled she visited children’s museums getting ideas. She held the first organizational meetings in her home and has worked tirelessly for years to develop the Museum.

The Children’s Museum of the Sierra is now part of a nonprofit corporation. It is in a 4,000 square foot building with new exhibits being added regularly. The Museum serves children, families and schools in the largely rural area and has thousands of visitors from around the U.S. and the world who come to visit Yosemite National Park.

“This award is truly an honor. Creating the Children’s Museum has truly been a community effort though. We feel that providing a special place for children to go with their families and educators has been a priviledge and dream come true,” stated Hand.

Starting from scratch, Jean Hand created a nonprofit children’s museum, which has become the focal point of interactive, educational activities for families in rural central California and visitors from around the world.

HEIDI GREENE

Heidi Greene is an outstanding student and community leader who has demonstrated commitment, compassion and community responsibility. She has inspired both her peers and adults to work for neighborhood improvements. When two classmates and friends died from an automobile crash and a caving accident, Heidi campaigned and organized improved car seat and caving safety measures. She mobilized both classmates and community leaders to bring about change to help prevent future accidents. In mobilizing the community, Heidi contacted organizations to support the effort. She also helped raise funds for hospital expenses for the youth who died after several weeks in the hospital following the cave accident.

Heidi represented Anderson County at the first National Youth Summit in Orlando, in June 2000. She came home waving the flag of “dream it, plan it, do it. ” Students have followed her lead in the Second Harvest food drive, volunteering for nonprofit organizations and wrapping gifts to collect money for the “Warm Fuzzies” stocking project for less fortunate teenagers. Heidi provided leadership for a workshop at the Regional Youth Summit in Knoxville in March 2000.

During the 2000 – 2001 school term, Heidi volunteered as a reading tutor at Dutch Valley Elementary School with students who were reading below grade level. She also helped collect used books for students who did not have reading materials at home.

Heidi has continued the work she began in 2001 with Anderson County’s Promise. She helped recruit volunteers for National Youth Service Day in April 2001 and she has been successful in recruiting students for nonprofit activities during Fall 2001. She led the planning and implementation for National Youth Service Day. She also assisted with a Playground Restoration at North Clinton for “Make A Difference Day” October 27, 2001.

Because of her capacity for leadership, Heidi served as Vice President of the junior class at Clinton High School, is a member of the National Honor society, was named to the Youth Board with other representatives from East Tennessee, and she was named Miss Clinton High School. She represents her school and her classmates well at many regional events.

Heidi has applied to Berea College in Berea, Kentucky for the 2002- 2003-school term. She has chosen this college because of the institution’s commitment to academic excellence, community service, and social justice in acceptance of students without regard to social and ethnic background, the religious community and financial assistance available there. If she is accepted, she and her brother who is a sophomore at University of Tennessee will be the first members of her family to attend college. Heidi’s goal is to become a nurse. When Heidi is not at school, doing homework, pursuing community service opportunities or working, she helps her mother care for two younger siblings. Heidi has worked 20 hours per week at Wal-Mart during her junior and senior years to assist her family with their finances.

STEVE EDWARDS

Last year, the State of Georgia deregulated its natural gas industry. Significant confusion resulted; many customers did not receive bills from the gas marketers for many months. When the poorer members of our community finally received their bills, they were devastated by what they found: the unit cost of gas had tripled, and delayed billing resulted in them owing significant amounts of money to the marketers. The state government attempted to work out a means for these people to pay their bills, but many were so far behind, there was no way to catch up. As fall approached this year, nearly 1,200 families in the county faced disconnection for failure to pay last year’s gas bills. Those who faced disconnection and who lived in public housing also faced eviction due to the policies of the Rome Housing Authority. The community of Rome, Georgia faced a potential catastrophe. Hundreds of children and older adults faced a winter without any heat, and many of them faced living on the streets.

Steve Edwards is the owner of a small, local insurance company. When he read of the plight of these 1,200 families in Floyd County, he determined that he would get the heat turned on for at least one family. He and his wife made a gift to the local Salvation Army for one family’s unpaid gas bill. Upon further reflection, Steve wondered if other local families might like to do the same. With no budget and no organization, Steve began to challenge families within his congregation to pay for one family’s gas bill. The response was powerful. Next, Steve called an impromptu meeting of various helping organizations within the community.

These entities met and quickly organized a process to share resources, information, and policies in an effort to coordinate a major relief effort. Representatives from two churches, the Salvation Army, Good Neighbor Ministries, Floyd County Baptist Association, Rome Housing Authority, Community Info line, and Atlanta Gas Light Company have begun regular meetings in an effort to solve this problem. “One Family Helping One Family” serves as the name for Edwards’ ongoing project.

While the project is far from finished, the results speak for themselves. Only five families were evicted from public housing; each of these families had working adults, no children, and made no effort to address their outstanding bill. Every other family has had their bill paid in full, and now has heat. Collectively, the three agencies that provide direct assistance to the poor have received over $120,000 for this cause. This amazing effort and outpouring of care was a result of Edward’s compassion for his fellow man.

The local Chamber of Commerce has designated February 2nd as “One Family Day.” Participating merchants will receive donations from customers on that day. Though it is organized, this is not an official organization and has no budget. Even so, they have a vision and energy of one man, a responsive community, and a name now recognized by hundreds of people in Floyd County, One Family Helping One Family.