MARK MOSELEY

Mark Moseley is a volunteer in the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania area. He has worked with Rural Opportunities, the Housing and Credit Counseling Service, Consumer Credit Counseling, the Indian Center and other organizations that work to provide aid to various underserved populations. He has served on several boards dedicated to Housing Issues in Kansas including The Lawrence Housing Practitioners Panel, The Lawrence Housing Trust Fund Committee, The Topeka Homeless Task Force and The Topeka Emergency Shelter Coalition. While serving on the boards, Moseley was able to observe the changing social and political climates effecting housing.

Moseley was moved to volunteer at the Pelathe Community Resource Center in Lawrence, Kansas after watching the effects of welfare reform and high housing costs. Though he had no funding sources, no facility and no sponsors, Moseley quit his job to develop a transitional shelter. This idea later became the Transitional Center. His goal was to have this shelter meet a need for single mothers struggling with the effects of welfare reform. The shelter provides job training, GED classes, daycare and a safe living environment, which aid families in the transition off the welfare roles into the job market.

After founding the Transitional Center, Moseley saw that they were in fact meeting a need. He then moved on to what he viewed as another underserved population in our country, migrant farm workers. Moseley took a position with Rural Opportunities, which is a nonprofit organization that operates in six states along with Puerto Rico. Moseley’s first project with them was a 52-bed facility for migrant fruit pickers. Construction on this site will begin this year.

While Moseley worked with the Housing and Credit Counseling Service, he set up tenant and landlord counseling sessions to help foster better communication between the two and work with appropriate issues. He also helped with the Consumer Credit Counseling Service that works with clients and creditors to improve their financial position. Moseley also serves on the board of The Pennsylvania Low Income Coalition and the Alliance for Better Housing. He remains an advocate in the community for providing decent and affordable housing along with social services to all people who are in need.

Therese Cote

Therese Cote is a top notch volunteer. Her primary place of service is for the Hudson Seniors. Therese has been a very active president since 1998, giving more than 100 hours of volunteer time each month. She has been involved in providing many services for the elderly, including providing meals at the St. Joseph Community Service Center every Thursday, monthly visits to Home Health & Hospice Care for Foot Care, weekly line dancing, conducts a membership meeting twice a month, has various fund raisers and she plans trips for the seniors.

Because she is a good team leader she is well liked as the president of the Hudson Seniors. Therefore, she has many people who are willing to assist her in her work as president.

Additionaly, Therese is on the Sage Board for St. Joseph’s Hospital. She volunteers every Friday for the Nashua Police Department where she uses her skills in the Filing Department. She has been very active assisting with Daffodil Days for American Cancer. Therese is also on the advisory council for RSVP, giving many volunteer hours to this cause.

In the year 2001 alone, Therese has given over 1,840 hours of volunteer time. This means that she has saved the community over $27,600.00.

NOYES FREE CLINIC

Nicholas H. Noyes Memorial Hospital is a rural, 72-bed hospital, in Western New York. The hospital serves a diverse population in terms of age and income; both blue and white collar workers, fixed incomes, no insurance, government programs as well as a transient/migrant group. The challenge for Noyes is to make sure that everyone has an equal opportunity for basic health care. All too often, due to finances, insurance or locations, individuals don’t seek out medical help until “something happens”. In some cases, this could be too late and would have been avoided if the person had seen a medical professional sooner.

To address the need of easy access to basic health checks and information, Noyes Hospital started its Free Health Clinic Program. Under the direction of RN, Linda McGunnigle, this program offers different screening opportunities every month, in different areas of the county including county fairs, banks, pharmacies, and grocery stores as well as at the hospital.

This innovative program began in March 1997 and since then, has sponsored more than 20 clinics at the hospital and an additional 30 clinics throughout the area. Each clinic has a specific health theme and every clinic includes blood pressure checks, general health information and information about other hospital services, programs and physicians. Screenings offered include skin cancer, glaucoma, glucose, cholesterol and hearing. When a health concern is identified, counseling and follow-up is done.

Since its inception, more than 7, 000 individuals have attended these clinics, many without insurance, some only in the area for the season as well as permanent area residents. Many of these individuals would not have sought medical care if it had not been for these free clinics. Some stated they only see a doctor when they have to.

The health benefit to the community is enormous. As a result of the screenings, many significant health risks were caught early including: skin cancer, many with high blood pressure who did not know their pressure was up, as well as those who thought their medication was doing the job and had never gone back to the doctor. Several individuals with high cholesterol levels were referred on to physicians. The program has identified individuals with high blood sugar – most recently an individual with a level of 348 who thought she was fine. Had any of these situations been ignored until “something happened,” the outcome could be very costly both medically and financially.

The program is not only for adults. Statistics show that kids learn, when they have fun, so the program has sponsored a bike rally and summer safety program, self esteem classes and an annual asthma camp. McGunnigle is the only paid staff person who also volunteers time to the program. The core group of volunteers is retired nurses. For bigger programs, additional volunteers come from hospital staff, family and friends.

DAVE MARSHALL

Dave Marshall is such an integral part of the day-to-day life in Cleburne County, Arkansas that his work, and the work of his organization, Cleburne County Cares (CCC), is often taken for granted. The residents of this small town of about 6,000 “expect” that CCC and Marshall will be there to help those in need, and they are right to do so.

Although Marshall is not the founder of Cleburne County Cares, it has become associated with his name because of the years of service, all of it unpaid, that he has given to the people of Cleburne County and the people of the county seat that the organization calls home, Heber Springs.

Beginning as a volunteer with the organization when he retired, Marshall inherited the job of manager from the previous director, Bob Morris, in 1991. Since that time, CCC under his leadership, has grown to include not only the food pantry and thrift shop from which it began, but also to provide single parent scholarships, a homeless shelter, and a yearly Christmas program. This program does not only focus on toys for children, but serves both children and senior citizens with far more: Each child served (approximately 600 per year) receives a new set of clothing, a toy, a book based on their reading level, fruit, nuts, candy, juice, a toothbrush, toothpaste, a book telling the Christmas story and a nativity scene. Senior citizens receive sleepwear, toiletries, candy, nuts and fruit.

During 2001, 110 volunteers for Cleburne County Cares donated 34,592 hours of service to the organization, and hence, to the community which it serves. In a town of just over 6,000 residents, this in itself is phenomenal. When taking into consideration that Dave Marshall himself volunteers more than 1,000 hours during this same time, and the fact that he mobilized this army of volunteers, his contribution is even more amazing.

Marshall, 72, came to Heber Springs in 1948 to work for a retail business. He was transferred from Carlisle to the facility currently occupied by the consignment store in downtown Heber Springs. The first two years back in Heber Springs, Marshall and his wife traveled, but Marshall said he began to want to do something more productive, so the two began working as volunteers at Cleburn County Cares. Ultimately, Marshall inherited the management job from the previous director.

Much has changed at Cleburne County Cares since Marshall started his service. New programs have been added, including a delayed entry program started in 1997 that helps individuals returning to the work force as a result of layoffs, caring for incapacitated parents, or any number of emergency reasons.

Marshall’s 11+ years of service to the people of Heber Springs and the organization Cleburne County Cares should not go unrecognized.

CARL ZIMMERMAN

Carl Zimmerman is the founder of AMP which is inspired by the Adult and Child Together (ACT)/Mentor/Peer Program, Inc. He was excited to begin this organization and was inspired by Julia Goldstein, the founder of Partners for Educational Excellence Program. Zimmerman is a retired commercial artist and has devoted his time to help others.

Zimmerman has many skills and talents and uses them to help others. He has personally reached out to kindergarten children as Colorful Carl the Clown and Grandpa the Clown for many years. He has amused the children throughout the Borough of Queens with one important lesson: Learn to read. Read to learn. While working, if he finds children who need additional help, he finds them a “grandma” or “grandpa” volunteer through the ACT program.

Carl Zimmerman brought the ACT program to Queens in 1991. Since then, he has personally registered over 900 elders to serve over 42 schools in Queens. Now, Zimmerman has begun AMP@115. This is a mentoring organization that pairs elder mentors as grandparent figures to children as well as youth to youth. The initial children selected for AMP@115 are inattentive, possible at-risk first or second grade students that are paired with grandmas or grandpas. However, there is a second phase of the program where youth mentor youth. When the child reaches third grade, they get a youth mentor who is an honor student that acts as a big brother or big sister that cares.

In addition to starting AMP@115, Zimmerman has also found an appropriation from the New York City Municipal Credit Union to start a College Education Fund for AMP Student Mentors. This will enable them to receive an ongoing stipend toward a City University of New York (CUNY) higher education.

Zimmerman is also a member of the Planning Board of the Queens International Year of Volunteers (IYV) 2001 which is the United Nations worldwide project that honors volunteers. He has assumed the responsibility of chairing the Graphic Design Art Contest for High School Students of Queens to create a cover design for the Annual Journal. This results in bringing attention to the high school student as well as the community as a whole with regards to the importance of volunteerism.

Zimmerman will continue to work with AMP and dreams to have the Graduate Students of CUNY form an AMP Peer Organization to create a permanent Queens Liberty Fair Park, which would be like a World’s Fair or Epcot Center. He wants to ultimately create a tourist attraction whereby the greater community of Queens may be proud of their students.

SHANTELLE COCHRAN

The Layton Youth Court was established September 1998. Youth Courts are a diversionary juvenile program whose purpose is to provide those youth offenders, with no previous criminal history, a second chance not to receive a juvenile record. The Court adjudicates misdemeanor offenses for juveniles 12-17. Youth offenders are referred to the court by resource police officers in local schools, patrol officers, and by the schools themselves.

After agreeing to plea guilty, the youth offenders are sentenced by a panel of their peers. Youth Court members are trained to serve as judges, bailiffs, clerks, mentors, peer counselors, and all aspects of running a successful court. Many sentencing actions used by the Youth judges are programs administered locally by the town court, and some are run entirely by the youth. Among such programs are Peer Counseling and the CHOICES Class.

Youth Court is a very demanding volunteer effort for the youth to give something back to their community. Members of the Court spend the spring and summer devoted to a significant amount of time completing the training course required to serve on the Court. This is done on their own time, after school and during the evenings. Court is held every Wednesday evening at 5:00 p.m. at the Layton City Center.

Shantelle Cochran is a member of the Youth Court and serves with enthusiasm. A Utah State Youth Court Board sponsors an annual three-day Youth Court Conference every year. Shantelle attended one in June 1999, which was held in American Fork. She also attended another one in June 2000, held at USU in Logan, at which she was one of the emcees, who were in charge of the entire conference. The conference helps youth build skills in leadership, communication, and team building. A variety of other skills are also offered in workshops.

Shantelle was also able to attend a National Youth Court Conference held in New Mexico in October 2000. She is currently on the State Youth Court Board as a youth member and served on the Committee to organize and run the 2001 Conference held in June in Cedar City. Since Shantelle became a member of the Court, she has served as a senior judge, who chairs the sentencing panel, as well as a judge on other panels, bailiff, clerk, and secretary. This year Shantelle is the President of the Layton Youth Court.

As a mentor, Shantelle has exhibited genuine concern for the youth she is assigned to guide. She is a very responsible person and is dedicated to the Youth Court. She takes her tasks seriously and is extremely reliable. She has been involved in several extra activities that the Youth Court has been invited to participate in. She was chosen to be in the Youth Court Promotional Video for the state of Utah. The Layton Youth Court received the Silver Bowl award from the United Way in Apri1 1999 due to the tireless effort of Shantelle. She and other members of the Youth Court were involved in the passing of the Youth Court bill by the 1999 legislature. Shantelle received a Student Presidential Service Award for her service in 1999 and 2000. To date, Shantelle already has completed 198.75 hours of service with the Layton Youth Court this year and will receive the Presidential Student Service Award for the third year in a row.

USS SAIPAN (LHA2)

Returning to its Norfolk, Va. homeport following a five-and-half month deployment, the United States Navy general-purpose amphibious assault ship USS Saipan (LHA-2) spent 2001 assisting the local community. Upon entering the Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) in Portsmouth, Va. in mid-February for a 13-month long Complex Overhaul maintenance period, Saipan’s command leadership seized this rare opportunity to participate in community outreach. Since shipyard and civilian contractors would perform most of the work, Saipan’ s crew had more time than usual for volunteer community activities.

In March, the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice requested assistance renovating one of its private provider correctional facilities – the USS Justice (YP-678), a former U.S. Navy Yard Patrol training boat. Used by the Tidewater Environmental Program (TEP) since 1996 as an “alternative sentencing” program for non-violent male juvenile offenders ages 16-19 requiring substance abuse treatment, Justice serves as a 17-bed treatment facility and classroom for wayward teens. Along with substance abuse counseling, TEP teaches its “cadets” discipline, seamanship, first aid, CPR, marine science, and most importantly offers a chance to obtain the GED, of which 90% TEP participants attain.

Operated by Associated Marine Institutes, Justice is located in downtown Norfolk on the piers at the Nautilus National Maritime Center, a 120,000 square-foot science and technology center exploring the power of the sea. Regretfully, Justice was suffering from weather corrosion. Adding to this unsightly dilemma, the Nautilus’ pier was soon to unveil its newest tourist attraction, the battleship USS Wisconsin (BB-64). For two weeks, Sailors from Saipan’ s Deck Department, specially skilled in shipboard preservation, volunteered over 500 man-hours sanding, painting and polishing the 80-foot vessel, completing work one day before Wisconsin’s grand opening, saving TEP precious time and money.

During this same time, Saipan learned of Brighton Elementary School. Located just blocks from NNSY, the 45-year-old school had fallen into disrepair. Comprised mostly of students from low-income and minority families, the ravages of time and a 350-body student population had taken its toll. Its electrical wiring was not up to standard and the facility’s overall appearance detracted from good learning. Unfortunately, Brighton did not have funding for necessary repairs. When Saipan’ s command chaplain visited Brighton to assess the needs, he was astonished to see conditions as bad as those in poor European countries.

Immediately, Saipan sprang into action, organizing volunteers and coordinating working parties. During Brighton’s spring break, over 160 Saipan volunteers spent numerous hours making repairs using donated materials. The five-day effort resulted in renovations worth approximately $25,000. The following week, Saipan officially “adopted” Brighton and immediately established an educational partnership, with 20 crewmembers regularly serving as tutors and teacher’s aides. Over the summer, volunteers returned for more extensive renovation work. Through media coverage of Saipan’ s on-going partnership, the local community learned of Brighton’s needs, spurring additional volunteerism. For Saipan’s efforts, the City of Portsmouth designated December 2001 as “USS Saipan Month.”

MARISA FLAVIN

Marisa Flavin has been a tutor at the “Saturday School” for Eugene Myer Elementary school children in inner city Washington, DC for four years. She is the youngest tutor in the program and relates very well to the students. She recognizes needs that adults may overlook and takes initiative to enrich the students’ experience.

Marisa’s work meets the community need of “one to one” attention for gifted students in the inner city. Due to the emphasis in inner-city schools on raising average standardized test scores, gifted students are unfortunately ignored. Acknowledging and assisting these children in the inner city in the short term will encourage them to develop their gifts. Hopefully, Saturday School will encourage them to succeed and reverse the downward spiral of the inner city education program.

Marisa recognizes the need to enrich reading skills taught on Saturday. She began a “book drive” in her suburban neighborhood, collecting children’s books to bring to Myer. Her students enjoy casually borrowing these books, which are replaced by ongoing donations. Marisa also convinced her suburban neighbors to register Eugene Myer as a recipient of “grocery points” when they shopped at Giant and Safeway. These points accrue toward computer donations to Myer Elementary.

So often gifted children are the subjects of peer pressure not to use their talents. Saturday School attempts to show these kids the enjoyment and the stimulation, which comes from exercising their minds. Marisa encourages children to construct their own mathematical flash cards and rewards correct answers with hand stamps, which delights the students. She organizes holiday programs to commemorate Christmas, Thanksgiving and Martin Luther King Day. She makes these programs interactive using word games, math games and arts and crafts. She also helps to organize field trips.

Marisa has devoted hundreds of hours to improve the quality of gifted education at the Myer Saturday School and received no school credit for her participation. She recognizes the need and the unlimited potential of these inner-city children and acts to accommodate these needs and maximize their potential. Although the long-term impact of this enrichment is difficult to measure, the immediate impact is apparent in regular students attendance.

HOLLI PRUITT

Holli Pruitt is an adult volunteer at Children’s Medical Center of Dallas. As of April, she has contributed over 900 hours. Children’s Medical Center (CMC) is a 322-bed nonprofit state-of-the-art pediatric center for North Texas, a teaching hospital whose mission is making life better for children regardless of their ability to pay. Children’s treats 200,000 annually; projected 1998, Children’ s provided 27.5 million dollars in charity care.

In a true sense, Holli’s volunteering at Children’s was a “coming home” experience. She was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor at the age of three. And thus began her relationship with CMC which extends today. She still battles side effects from the medical treatment she received over 18 years ago. Before her brain tumor was diagnosed, she was bright, happy, and energetic and took great pride in memorizing Bible verses for her Sunday school class. And she still does these things today despite academic struggles due to the radiation treatment. Though she is 21, she is a freshman at Collin County Community College and has had to enroll in special education classes since 3rd grade. Holli suffers from a growth hormone deficiency so her physical appearance is much younger than her actual age.

Holli knows the fright of surgery, of painful recovery, and life changing after affects. Consequently, she received the respect of staff and volunteers as one who has earned the right to speak. Because of her relationship with Children’s, Holli decided to volunteer at the hospital. She said it was her way to “give back.” Throughout the past seven years, this self -disciplined, motivated young lady has left her friends and home during her summers, weekends, and holiday breaks, to befriend patients at Children’s, commuting over 40 miles round trip.

Holli has demonstrated flexibility and a positive attitude in working in a variety of departments in the Medical Center. She has observed many difficult situations including infants who have been abused, children with birth defects and kids recovering from serious accidents. Holli has spent many hours restocking and pricing candy in the gift shop. She has spent countless shifts filing charts and assembling patient packets. She has made flower, balloon and candy deliveries. She has helped the staff, by providing both clerical and patient support.

After working allover the hospital, she found her favorite spot to be “sitting” with patients whose parents cannot be at the hospital with their children. Sitters care for the patients by feeding them, changing diapers, bathing, and comforting them. Holli is a trusted volunteer “sitter” and has spent time with patient’s ages 3 days to 8 years old.

RITA FRANCE

Edgefield County, South Carolina receives many foreign nationals in the area to provide agriculture help to the local farmers. Often, the nationals have a language barrier, and the simple activities of daily living such as shopping, dealing with a bank, buying gas, and exchanging funds is a big problem for this diverse population. The Ridge Baptist Association through its missionary functions decided to assist with this community problem by helping the Hispanic population to function in the community. As a part of their intent, they sought volunteers to facilitate the program.

Rita France is one of those volunteers who teaches Conversational English classes at the Ridge Spring Baptist Church. She learned about the churches in Ridge Baptist Association and their initial intent to provide conversational English classes through a friend. She began to attend the meetings in September 2000. During these meetings a calendar was established, they coordinated and taught the volunteers how to teach, arranged for class registration, and distributed information to the local area regarding the classes.

The students in the program are adults from Mexico and Guatemala. There is one class for the children who range in ages from 5 to 12. The eight adults are placed in a separate classroom, which are held for one hour. Then they are placed in a group class that lasts for 15 minutes. The participants are then rewarded during a social period where refreshments are served. During these times, they encourage the students to engage in English practice sessions to improve their language skills. France is responsible for teaching an adult class, and she leads the group class and is responsible for providing the blessings prior to the social.

Since the program’s inception, the students can now greet and introduce themselves, give their address and telephone numbers, which is a great accomplishment after only two months of instruction. These same students could not answer the registration questions in English just months ago. During the social, they encourage the students to interact with the visiting association church members who provide the refreshments. This is very rewarding to the students and the teachers to watch these individuals develop and become a part of the community.

These classes are held at the Ridge Spring Baptist Church. France has worked the registration table because of her ease with both languages. She has also been instrumental in the families becoming more comfortable, which resulted in an increase in enrollment. The mission of the Church and the volunteers is to facilitate the transition of the Hispanic population in the area so that they are able to function without the language barrier. This will help them attend to daily activities of living. France travels twenty miles to volunteer for this effort. She receives no stipend or reimbursement, but she is committed and will continue the effort to aid her community.