MEALS ON WHEELS VOLUNTEERS

Meals On Wheels (MOW) volunteers deliver hot, nutritious meals to homebound seniors in Kalamazoo County. They enable homebound seniors the opportunity to live in their own home and eat nutritious meals seven days a week. Last year, 175 volunteers delivered 206,019 meals to 1,082 individuals.

Of course, volunteers provide much more than a meal. They provide the frail elderly with a link to the outside world and companionship to seniors who may have few friends or social contacts left. They provide peace of mind not only for the seniors, but also for their families who may live in other towns or states.

MOW volunteers’ impact on the community is substantial. Seniors who are unable to cook for themselves often have to be institutionalized, which is more costly to tax payers than if they are able to remain in their own home. It is difficult to estimate the impact that a face-to-face encounter has on a lonely man or woman, sitting at home waiting for someone to bring them a cooked meal. In a mundane environment, a smiling face and a hot meal are eagerly awaited.

MOW volunteers, young and old alike, are the unsung heroes of Kalamazoo County. Their dedication and selflessness enables frail, homebound seniors to stay in their home surrounded by their pets, possessions and a lifetime of memories. Volunteers donate not only their time, but also their own money for gas. Kalamazoo is very fortunate to have a large number of MOW volunteers who deliver meals for free. Because of this, there is no waiting list here, unlike other cities. In addition, because of this free delivery service, grant money for the program can be applied to producing a larger number of meals than would be possible if drivers had to be paid for their 17,578 hours of service last year. When calculated at a value of $16.05 per volunteer hour, MOW drivers of Kalamazoo donated $282,127 dollars worth of free service to their community last year.

Aside from providing nourishment, volunteers have also saved lives. Volunteers have discovered clients who fell and could not get up, they rescued a client from a burning trailer, and they have stayed with individuals until the ambulance arrived. Volunteers have gone above and beyond the call of duty by bringing dog biscuits to pets on their route, shoveling around the mailbox so that mail can be delivered, and bringing mail and newspapers into the house. They have taken out the garbage, walked dogs, changed light bulbs, connected answering machines, and hunted for glasses and hearing aids. On more than one occasion, they have alerted caseworkers to potential problems.

For many individuals, Meals On Wheels is a very positive experience that sparks interests in other volunteer opportunities. Each story is unique, each volunteer is a real treasure. The MOW volunteers deliver much more than a meal; they deliver peace of mind, a sense of hope, and the knowledge that someone cares.

DEE MIRELES

As a volunteer for the GIVE Program, which provides in home support to frail homebound seniors and the disabled, Dee Mireles contributed nearly 400 hours last year alone. She provided transportation, which enabled clients to shop for groceries, go to medical appointments and run routine errands. She volunteered as a “friendly visitor” for a woman who was homebound because she couldn’t walk. She visited with residents of an assisted living facility “because they get so lonely.” She also took six residents of a foster care home out to eat on a regular basis, making “care packages” as a treat for each lady.

Mireles is an inspiration for all around her. Although she works full-time, she looks forward to helping others during her “time off.” Because of her efforts, 80 people are given a hot breakfast several times a month, are served Thanksgiving dinner, and others are provided with coats, boots, socks and toiletry items. She enlists the help of the members of her church for such things as making, serving and cleaning up the meals, providing them with the opportunity to serve. She is a very dedicated, caring individual who is willing to help out at the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission, her church, assisted-living facilities and the Food Clinic whenever needed. Imagine the impact Mireles had on the woman whose leg was amputated due to diabetes, but who wanted to go to the movies like she did years ago. She accompanied her twice a month, creating a very special and eagerly anticipated event in the woman’s life.

As a full time employee, the greatest obstacle Mireles has to overcome is the time and energy to keep going after her “normal” workday is through. But her love for people and her feeling that “if you supply the will, God will do the rest” keeps her motivated and focused on making a difference in someone’s life. She not only gives of her time, but also has to spend her own money for the gas to transport clients, and for the crafts projects she makes as gifts for clients. Having legally adopted her grandson a few years ago, she faces the obstacle of dividing her time between her job, her grandson and her volunteer work. Although anyone of those jobs would constitute a full-time position, Mireles manages all with a sense of duty and responsibility.

Her lifetime has been one of giving and expecting nothing in return. She took care of her husband who had diabetes until his death, looked after her aunt in a foster care home, and assisted her grandmother when she was ill. Her life is one of dedication and service without reward.

CARLA KNOROWSKI

In 2001, Carla Knorowski, Ph.D., an Associate Dean for Development and External Affairs and Director of Advancement at the University of Illinois at Chicago, founded and provided the major underwriting for the Thirteen-Fifty Foundation. She serves on a volunteer basis as its Executive Director. The foundation is dedicated to the celebration of America and the American flag by encouraging active and purposeful citizenship.

Through the Thirteen-Fifty Foundation, Dr. Knorowski developed the Reaffirmation of Citizenship Oath, which seeks to encourage American citizens to ponder what it means to be a citizen of the United States, and calls them to serve as more engaged, purposeful members of society. Last September 11th, more than 1,000 elementary students, their parents and teachers took the oath, which has been administered at other civic gatherings as well.

The foundation also has developed recognition programs to recognize Americans who have served America and the American flag well through service within the communities in which they live. The Patriot Prize Essay Contest, which the foundation launched this past year, engaged more than 650 high school juniors from the state of Illinois in writing about what the American flag means to them. Awards given through the contest and also through other foundation programs provide partial scholarships to students who are sound academically and at the same time, serve their local communities.

Also launched in the past year is the foundation’s Ideas Abroad program that sends English language books to countries of need, such as Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Thailand. New projects are currently underway in both Haiti and Jamaica. Additionally, the foundation established the Thirteen-Fifty’s Third Fold Veterans Honor Roll, which honors veterans (living and deceased) who have served America in the highest traditions of public service. The Third Fold Veterans Honor Roll members are announced and remembered at special foundation events.

Dr. Carla Knorowski has a well-documented history of service not just at the local and national level, but globally as well. Some of her noteworthy service abroad has been working over and above the duties at the University of Illinois to attract more than $230,000 in seed funding over a five year period to underwrite 30 exchanges between American and Polish doctors to reduce infant and maternal mortality in Poland. The project saved more 10,000 lives lowering the infant and maternal mortality rates 8% and 5% respectively.

She also coordinated a project between Shriners Hospital and a young victim of a marketplace bombing in Sarajevo in the 1990s, which brought the young lady to the U.S. free-of-charge to be fitted for prostheses enabling her to walk. She also co-directed for a three-year period, the Chicago Distance Classic race that raised more than $200,000 for the American Lung Association. The money went towards research and the treatment of lung-related illnesses. Over the course of her career as a fundraiser, she has raised approximately $17 million in private support for education, specifically more than $3 million for scholarships for students so that they may attain an education. She also served on the Illinois Fatherhood Initiative board as well as board of local-area high schools.

TONY RACKAUCKAS

District Attorney Tony Rackauckas has established an innovative, volunteer-driven initiative to address the public safety needs of Orange County’s rapidly growing immigrant community. The outreach initiative connects more than 55 volunteer criminal justice professionals, community leaders and activists with the District Attorney’s Office in order to provide culturally relevant information and education to the immigrant community about the services available to victims and witnesses of crime.

Upon taking office in 1999, Rackauckas set out to increase communication between the District Attorney’s Office and the immigrant community. He recognized that many immigrants had difficulty understanding the criminal justice system because of language and cultural barriers.

To address these issues, Rackauckas established the Community Education Services Program. The program is currently focused on the Hispanic and Vietnamese communities, the county’s two largest and fastest growing immigrant groups. Under his leadership, bilingual Hispanic and Vietnamese outreach workers have mobilized the efforts of more than 65 volunteers who help in a variety of ways to reach out to these communities. Both the Hispanic and Vietnamese components have established volunteer advisory commissions comprised of public officials, law enforcement, attorneys, religious leaders and community activists. The 26-member Hispanic Advisory Commission and 30-member Vietnamese Advisory Commission provide invaluable assistance and direction in identifying key barriers to resident participation in and cooperation with the various arms of the criminal justice system and developing culturally responsive solutions to address those problems. Both Commissions have successfully launched bilingual media campaigns and created bilingual resource booklets to help their communities understand how to access the criminal justice system.

In addition, a volunteer outreach corps, which includes college interns, employees of the District Attorney’s Office and others, help with the program’s numerous outreach events, such as staffing outreach booths at cultural festivals, conducting criminal justice workshops and town hall meetings, and speaking to children at career days. Not only does this group do much of the “grunt work” involved with a project (e.g., publicity, staffing the booths, organizing events, etc.), but group members also have tremendous outreach capabilities through their connections to the community. Because they are immersed in their respective cultures, these volunteers help to ensure that the project is culturally relevant, credible to the community, and accepted by community leaders and elders.

The active involvement of District Attorney Rackauckas with the volunteer efforts greatly enhances the program’s credibility and effectiveness by allowing the community to be “heard.” He consistently participates in the evening meetings and weekend cultural events, such as the Cinco de Mayo Festival, Mexican Independence Day and the Vietnamese Tet Festival, that attract large immigrant populations. Most importantly, through his hands-on leadership, Rackauckas effectively communicates the message that the criminal justice system can work for everyone.

THE GRANDFATHERS GROUP

A report of the Morehouse Research Institute and the Institute for American Values states: "At least 80% of all Black children today can expect that a significant part of their childhood will be spent apart from their fathers. " The Grandfathers Group Mentoring Program sees itself as one local solution to this national problem.

The Grandfathers Group recruits and trains African American men (age 50+) to serve as volunteer "Grandfather" mentors for African American boys, ages 6 – 12, whose fathers are not available to them for support and guidance. Since its inception in 1998, 21 "Grandfather" mentors have worked in creative ways with their "Grandsons" to provide a supportive framework of empowerment, encouragement and esteem-building activities focused on character, education and life skills.

James I. Chatman, a successful African American businessman in Northern Virginia, together with his wife Lavern, envisioned, created and endowed The Grandfathers Group Mentoring Program. Through their grant, a mentoring partnership was initiated with The Campagna Center in Alexandria, Virginia, whose programs strengthen families and create safe havens where children can flourish, through its Retired & Senior Volunteer Program.

After five years of mentoring, boys in the program have demonstrated less confrontational behavior, more confident communication skills and easy affection for their mentors. Several have achieved Honor Roll status. In addition to volunteering more than 1,600 hours, the "Grandfathers" have become enthusiastic spokesmen in the community encouraging other senior men to become mentors.

To increase the impact of The Grandfathers Group in the community and to broaden the mentoring reach of the gentlemen who have so generously given of their time and spirit, The Grandfathers Group introduced, in November 2002, a new team-mentoring focus, the Second Saturday Club. "Grandfather" mentors meet as a group with a larger group of boys once each month to do hands-on projects and activities teaching citizenship, honesty, responsibility, fairness, cooperation, community service and other positive values. In its first six months, the Second Saturday Club has seen exciting results as eleven men have enthusiastically embraced the team approach.

Though they may come from many backgrounds, the men of the Grandfathers Group share the same purpose, to offer their life experiences, their knowledge, instincts and abilities to help rewrite the future for these young boys. These volunteer grandfathers do not see themselves as miracle workers. They have stepped up to the plate not for fame but from the inner urging of their faith and a sincere hope of making a difference. They are an excellent example of the challenge extended to each of us, by the times in which we live, to work together toward lifting up every child to realize their full potential. The impact of this unique program is best expressed in the words of "Grandfather" mentor George Ferguson: "I have volunteered as a Grandfather mentor with The Grandfathers Group at The Campagna Center in Alexandria, VA for the past three years. It has been one of the most rewarding jobs I have ever undertaken. Perhaps the most significant benefit for my 10-year-old mentee is that he knows that there is someone in his life who has the time and interest in listening to what he has to say. The principal benefit to me personally has been the satisfaction of seeing the excitement on his face when I pick him up to take him out and seeing the pride with which he introduces me as his mentor to his friends as we walk together in his neighborhood."

SCOTT MONSON

Scott Monson has been volunteering tirelessly in his community for more than 35 years. At least 600 parents have shared with the principal that their son or daughter may not have made it through school without his help. Monson tutors before and after school, listens to youth and works to relate to them at their level.

Monson takes a personal interest in the youth of Brigham City. He gives them hours of personal attention to make them feel important and especially reaches out to “hard to reach” kids, helping them with their self-image. He has even visited parents to help them understand what their child is going through and help them both find common ground. He has written hundreds of letters of recommendations, earning kids jobs and college admittance.

Monson introduced a program to a local school called the Summer Science Trips, which he managed for 15 years. He took groups of kids, ages 12-17, on weeklong trips in the summer helping them see the “fun” side of learning. He teaches them that education can be fun and a career in science can be exciting.

In addition to his work at the schools, Monson has helped more than 300 boys and men with Eagle Scout Projects with the Boy Scouts of America. Most young men between the ages of 10 and 38 know Monson and received help to earn their badges from him. His specialty is swimming, life saving and citizenship merit badges. While he works with the scouts, he teaches the young men about citizenship as well as volunteering and giving back to the community. He has been known to go to the pool in the early hours of the morning or late hours at night to help one young man or another fulfill his merit badge in order to get his Eagle Scout honor.

Monson also works with the disabled adults in the community. He helps them find jobs, often going to job sites as a job coach with these adults to make the employer feel more at ease. He currently takes many of these adults to movies, shopping at the mall or fun events on the weekends. Monson works with other Mental Health and community agencies that work with kids on a regular basis. He also works with the Boys & Girls Clubs.

Monson sits as a volunteer on the School District Comprehensive Guidance Board made up of Civic and Education leaders to review programs and policies. He is also on the Crisis Team for the School District where he solves gang related and drug problems.

RACHAEL WALKER

Rachael Walker has been volunteering for Hospice of Volusia/Flagler for more than a year. She spends 20 hours a month volunteering during her school year, and 40 hours during her summer vacation. Rachael, at only 13 years old, has proven to be one of the finest customer-service oriented volunteers working at Treasures of the Heart Resale Shop in Orange City, the Hospice of Volusia/Flagler resale store.

From helping at the register, assisting in bagging and wrapping purchases, to answering customer questions, Rachel performs each task with a smile and a kind heart. Customers have often commented on Rachael’s maturity and professional manner. When hospice caregivers or any customer who has had a Hospice experience comes into the store, Rachael conscientiously extends the Hospice spirit to them, by taking the time to listen to their experiences and empathizing with their loss. She receives donated items with care and respect, making sure that the donor realizes how much their gift is appreciated by the Hospice organization. Rachael also makes certain that the store is a neat, attractive place to shop and is never idle. She always fills her time with extra projects, such as weeding out the older merchandise or straightening racks and shelves.

Although Rachael at 13 is a very young volunteer, she has made a very mature statement in volunteering for Hospice of Volusia/Flagler. Rachael loves the resale shop, but is also interested in volunteering in the care center, working with patients and their families. She hopes to one day be able to volunteer in the care center of West Volusia and has already made the commitment to volunteer in the Port Orange facility over her summer break.

Rachael has a positive outlook and a desire to serve her community. She is a determined young woman who humbly believes that goodness is meant to be shared. She could easily have let personal circumstances keep her from being positive. She has seen, firsthand, the effects of drug addiction. Her mother is incarcerated at this time for drug use. Her 4-year-old brother was born addicted to drugs due to his mother’s drug abuse during pregnancy. Rachael lives with her father and grandmother and helps them as best as she is able.

With wisdom far beyond her years and a kind, gentle, loving heart, Rachael Walker has already triumphed over adversity and with her determination, will continue to grow and achieve her goals. She has the fortitude to excel and is a gift to her community. She is a shining example of showing courage and conviction through volunteer service.

KAREN GREER

Karen Ann Greer has a sincere dedication to helping “at-risk” youth through the implementation of several programs, activities and events. She has made invaluable contributions to the Oak Hill Community during her time with the Oak Hill Boys & Girls Club. Her involvement with the community’s youth and her willingness to always go above and beyond her call of volunteering has allowed Karen to become a true role model and mentor to these “at-risk” children. She throws herself wholeheartedly into her work with these children whether it’s playing sports, making up innovative games, talking about resisting drugs, tutoring, or just listening to their problems.

Karen has truly impacted the lives of many children. Though the challenges she has had to face, both personal and as a volunteer, seemed insurmountable, her positive attitude is refreshing and her ability to turn a potentially negative situation into a positive one is a gift. Oak Hill has traditionally had a reputation that its children were unable to be productive citizens. Karen has the ability to reach these children and make them understand that their lives are what they make of them; that no stereotype, no one person, has the right to make them feel inferior.

In early 2001, Karen first participated in the Boys & Girls Club to complete a high school service project. Once she completed the necessary hours, she arranged to meet with the Unit Director to speak about additional volunteer opportunities. She requested permission to create programs to help with the younger children and their anger problems. She believed that allowing them to do various sports activities would help them to learn teamwork and allow an opportunity to vent some of their anger. With some training and self-guidance, Karen adopted several components from the National Sports Programs and put them to work. Some of her programs include; Drug free Rallies, Community Service Youth Group, Fitness Authority Sponsored Athletics Program, Kids Night, and the Peer Tutoring Program.

Karen’s ability to connect with youth in the area has been a blessing to her small town. She has truly been a driving force that has kept many of these kids off the street and in her programs. At the young age of 17, Karen is respected, even by her peers and the many parents of children she works with, for her ability to handle such profound relationships with children of all ages. Her sincere love and dedication for these children has brought the Oak Hill Boys & Girls Club to a new level of awareness; an awareness that has these children believing in themselves once again.

Karen has accumulated approximately 2,000 hours of volunteer service to the Oak Hill Boys & Girls Club and continues to serve. She is an asset to the organization and her colleagues feel eternally grateful for her abilities and talents that she chooses to share with the youth of Oak Hill, the Oak Hill Community, and the Boys & Girls Club of Volusia/Flagler Counties.

DANCE EMPOWERMENT

DANCE Empowerment is a collaborative community-based youth program designed to use the current popularity of Hip-Hop music and the fascination with cultural arts and dance among youth to educate and teach them important life skills, as well as discipline while providing an important outlet for social expression. Dance, Hip-Hop music and sports is the lynchpin to developing important family and community values for at-risk youth of the community. The ultimate goal is to take a non-traditional approach to improve education, family and community commitment. DANCE Empowerment serves as a unique vehicle to accomplish that ideal through its motto of “Stay Drug Free, Stay in School and Stay Away From Gangs and Violence.”

DANCE Empowerment gained nationwide attention in Fresno, California; and this program is a replica of that successful program. They are providing the same positive educational and recreations outlet for the youth in Southern Maryland. They seek to empower youth through the innovative integration of performing arts (dance and music), and the improvement of academic skills, leadership skills, civic responsibility, creative energy, cultural arts and the development of coping strategies.

DANCE Empowerment accepts participants in its youth program from ages 5-18 from the general area of Southern Maryland. The program is systematically designed to serve youth who are idle or in need of activities to keep them on the right track to success. The program does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed or color. The goal is to provide every eligible young person in the targeted community with an opportunity to develop and express their God-given talent in a wholesome, safe, supervised and structured environment.

For the past three years, the Southern Maryland program has been operating efficiently on a grassroots level without the benefit of major funding. Youth throughout the Southern Maryland counties have been enlightened and empowered. The program in Maryland started with a small group of community youth; however, it now numbers in excess of 50 children during any given session. Program activities are closely supervised and monitored by a professional staff. Parents are also invited to participate and experience just what their children are learning first hand.

The youth currently meet three days a week after school at various sites. This summer, it will be a full-time program. The dance troupe uses music and its dance routines to deliver the message that there are always good alternatives to bad choices. Participants are actively learning dance routines and life skills training in areas such as academic enrichment, alcohol and drug prevention, character building, conflict resolution, cultural enrichment, gang intervention, mentoring, sports and tutoring. To date, the DANCE Empowerment dance troupe has provided entertainment for several local groups with more performances planned for churches, community groups, schools and special events like the Southern Maryland Fair.

KIDS INCLUDED TOGETHER

Kids Included Together (KIT) focuses on including children with disabilities in existing after school recreational and childcare programs so that children with special needs can reap the many benefits of socialization, friendship building and participation that typically developing children have always enjoyed. By working side-by-side with providers of after-school care, KIT acts as a change agent to expand their organizational culture and empower these caring programs to include children with special needs not just today but for years to come. KIT relies on a proven model for inclusion based on best-practices research, and then provides the tools and support to successfully implement that best-practices model in each organization’s unique setting.

KIT’s mission is to support recreational and youth programs that include children with and without disabilities so that inclusion becomes a sustainable aspect of the organizations culture. KIT’s goal is to enrich the lives of all who participate and to increase understanding and acceptance of disabilities as a natural part of life.

KIT is the only organization of its kind in the state of California and quite possibly the nation. Through partnerships, KIT brings expertise and experience to struggling community-based nonprofit youth organizations and instills in them best practices and proven methods for inclusion that allow their programs to become accessible to all children, regardless of their abilities. With hands-on training, staff support, child-specific or site-specific consultations, and incentive awards to increase staff ratios, KIT increases an organizations’ capacity to include children with a wide variety of disabilities in programs where they play side-by-side with typically developing children of their own age.

Since its inception in 1997, KIT has facilitated the inclusion of more than 1,830 children with disabilities who have participated with more than 15,000 typically developing children in recreational programs throughout San Diego County. This has been accomplished through a small but fast-growing network of 24 partner organizations representing 43 site locations throughout San Diego County. KIT has facilitated the inclusion of more than 1,830 children with disabilities who have participated with more than 15,000 typically developing children in recreational programs throughout San Diego County.

Considering that there are more than 90,000 children with disabilities or special needs in San Diego County alone, KIT considers this an exciting start, but still sees much work to be done. KIT is committed to finding community partners in every neighborhood in San Diego County and beyond so that parents of children with disabilities across the nation can access safe, enriching after school youth facilities close to their homes.

The majority of individuals with disabilities in the U.S. encounter social, psychological, economic, and political barriers. Isolation and loneliness characterize their lives. There has been too little effort to include them in the day-to-day life and work of communities. It is not because people are uncaring; it is because it is easier NOT to include them. Kids Included Together has found a way to effect change.