ELIZABETH SIMS

Senator Elizabeth “Betty” Sims has been a member of the Junior League of St. Louis, MO for more than 48 years and has contributed to the St. Louis community as a volunteer, businesswoman, and state legislator. As the longest standing Board member of the Junior League of St. Louis, she has had an enormous impact on the organization. During her presidential term, the St. Louis League celebrated its 60th Anniversary and expanded its impact through initiatives such as the Mobile Hearing and Speech Unit and the Junior Kindergarten, which served as a model for the national Head Start program. Today, she continues to be a vital force in the League working tirelessly to train new members, inspire the League’s Public Affairs Committee and raise funds.

As a State Senator, she has consistently championed initiatives in support of women’s health and well-being, including the Governor’s Women’s Health Initiative, the creation of the Office on Women’s Health, and the MC+ for Kids Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). She is the Assistant Majority Floor Leader and Chairman of the Aging, Families and Mental Health Committee. She also serves as Co-Chairman of the Senate Committee on Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence. She is a member of the Senate Committees on Public Health and Welfare, Transportation and Appropriations. She was appointed Chairman of the Joint Legislative Committee on Health Care in September 2001

Throughout her career, Senator Sims has lent her expertise to numerous organizations, including the nation’s largest Girl Scout Council, the local United Way, the Salvation Army, the Arts and Education Council, the Missouri Botanical Gardens, and the Repertory Theater, among others. She was President and founder of the St. Louis unit of Girls’ Inc., the first woman Vice-President of the local United Way and has been recognized with numerous accolades for her volunteer and public service.

Senator Sims will be honored with the Association of Junior Leagues International Inc.’s prestigious Mary Harriman Community Leadership Award on Friday April 23, 2004 – the highest honor bestowed on an individual Junior League member for continuing the legacy of the Junior League Movement’s founder.

KATHERINE LEE

Katherine began working at ABC Radio Networks in October 2001 and was immediately drawn to the Company-wide Disney VoluntEAR program. She started attending meetings and events to get a sense of where her skills could be put to best use. She soon realized that she wanted to focus her attention on children and learning. Katherine says: “It’s so important to start children with an early education and to inspire and foster their imagination – I couldn’t imagine a life without our hopes and dreams.”

The Disney Reading Together Program – Uptown became the project for her. She has been the catalyst behind the effort to bring this reading program to Uptown Disney and ABC employees. In this program, employees read and deliver books to pre-school age children before work, during lunch and after work at the Bloomingdale Family Center. This program allows more children the opportunity to jumpstart their education and helps level the playing field for poor children in New York City. Katherine coordinates the VoluntEARS and works directly with the directors of the Bloomingdale Family Program and Jumpstart, an organization that gives pre-school children in underserved neighborhoods individualized attention from an AmeriCorps college student. These pre-school children are given the chance to get a head start at entering school with all the necessary skills to succeed in life.

After only the first week of reading to the pre-school children in the program, the impact was vividly evident. “The children’s faces lit up when we entered the room and I immediately knew this is where I could make the most difference. When I see the smiles on the children’s faces that we serve, it makes me feel good to know that I have made a difference in their lives.” Katherine has been the project leader and driving force for this program since its inception which currently services over 200 students at the Bloomingdale Family Center.

Katherine says: “The Disney VoluntEAR program has opened the gates for me and I hope to continue my career of service to the community to make a lasting difference.” She is one of the most gifted, kind and warm human beings you will ever meet. She is Katherine Lee — the Disney VoluntEAR of the Year from the ABC Radio Network Group.

MAUREEN NIPAR

Maureen Nipar, Director of Business Development, National Initiatives, Citigroup, serves as a volunteer/coordinator in the Sunday Soup Kitchen at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Ms. Nipar assists with coordinating and serving meals at the soup kitchen that serves hundreds of homeless men, women and children per week. She also assists with the “to go” lunch program which is offered to clients of the homeless outreach center.

Ms. Nipar believes in promoting urban environmental awareness and is currently serving on the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine Guild Board of Directors, which preserves the public spaces and gardens on the Cathedral grounds. The Cathedrals greenhouse provides thousands of vegetables, plants and flowers for local community gardens and schools in the vicinity.

Ms. Nipar has served as a former board member and current volunteer at the West Side Community Garden (WSCG) located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. She serves on the Community Outreach and Development/Fundraising Committees to ensure that all members of the community have access to the garden and that the garden will thrive for years to come.

She coordinates “grass roots” volunteers on the Upper West Side Community as part of Riverside Park’s Partnership for Parks Program. Ms. Nipar adopts a section of Riverside Park and volunteers her time to maintain gardens within the Park. This unique partnership between the Parks Department and grass roots community volunteers such as Maureen Nipar has been very successful in maintaining New York City Parks and open spaces while creating a strong sense of community.

FRANK KNITTEL

Frank Knittel has been working with the Disney VoluntEARS since the program began 12 years ago. He serves on the VoluntEARS Leadership Council and has been for several years. Mr. Knittel is also on the Development Committee for Project Angel Food in Los Angeles which delivers meals to people living with HIV or AIDS and other life threatening diseases.

Mr. Knittel was introduced to Camp Ronald McDonald for Goodtimes around 1991. After working their Christmas party and after making a visit to their Camp for a summer session, he decided to start volunteering on a regular basis. Camp Ronald McDonald for Goodtimes is a camp for children with cancer. Mr. Knittel became a Camp Counselor for several summer and winter sessions and still continues to have a relationship with this non-profit today. He helps at their Christmas Party and Halloween Fund raising events.

Mr. Knittel had no idea that this experience of volunteering would have such a great impact on his life. As a matter of fact, he became so passionate about volunteering that in 1996 he was named “Disney VoluntEARS of the Year” because of his community outreach efforts. In 2003, Mr. Knittel logged in more than 100 volunteer hours, working through the Disney VoluntEARS program and several non-profit agencies on his own.

When you ask him why he volunteers, it’s sometimes hard for him to answer. He replies “because I can! It gets you out of yourself when you realize that you really can make a difference in the lives of people less fortunate then yourself. I have seen the smiles on faces of the elderly when I have the opportunity to deliver their meals through our St. Vincent’s Meals on Wheels program, I might be the only person they see all day. It’s the same with delivering meals for Project Angel Food.”

Mr. Knittel has seen children and their parents being so appreciative to the VoluntEARS for coming out to Red Cross Shelters after the recent fires in California and to see the children at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles during a recent visit after the holidays, light up when they walk in to spend time with the children and bring along some of our favorite characters.

Mr. Knittel has worked many events over the years and has seen how volunteering really does impact other people’s lives, especially around the holidays when you are out there feeding people, it really does make a difference. In 1995 Mr. Knittel worked with Frontline, an organization that delivers meals to the homeless. He and some of the other VoluntEARS would go to Hollywood Blvd. every Sunday with bag lunches they had made for more than 100 homeless people, which was really something special for him.

Mr. Knittel has been a Disney Team Leader for AIDS Walk Los Angeles for several years signing people up to participate in their fundraising program. He’s also been a Revlon Run/Walk for Women Disney Team Leader for several years, too. This event takes place every year in May the day before Mother’s Day. This event raises funds to fight against breast and ovarian cancer. When asked why he participates with the Revlon Run/Walk event, he replies: “I have a mother, aunts, two sisters, nieces and cousins who are all very special to me and each one in their own way have been very influential in my life. So, if any one of them was every stricken with this disease, I would hope there were men and women out there volunteering their time to help with raising funds in order to help beat this disease.”

AMALIA BETANZOS

Amalia Betanzos is President of Wildcat Service Corporation, a non-profit multi-million dollar employment program. Founded in 1972, Wildcat’s goal is to bring the chronically unemployed – ex-offenders, public assistance recipients, former alcohol and substance abusers, high school drop-outs, youth involved with the criminal justice system and persons with limited English language proficiency into the regular labor force, thus breaking their cycle of welfare dependency, addiction and crime.

Ms. Betanzos is the founder of the John V. Linday Wildcat Academy, a charter high school program funded by the New York City Board of Education. The Academy, founded in 1992, is presently one of the most successful high school programs in the country. Today, its students’ levels of achievement, measured by the classic standards of attendance, graduation rate, college enrollment and SAT and RCT scores, well exceed the performance of New York City’s other high schools.

A native of New York, Ms. Betanzos was born, raised and educated in the South Bronx. She is a graduate of New York University, and has extensive experience in the public and private nonprofit sectors. Mayor Rudolph Giuliani appointed her Chair of the New York City Commission on the Status of Women in May of 1995, and she served until June of 2002. She has been a member of the Temporary New York State Commission on Constitutional Revision and the New York City Commission on the Redevelopment of Naval Station New York.

Ms. Betanzos has also served as a member of the Citizens Commission on AIDS, as a member of the NYC Board of Education and is a trustee of Catholic Charities. In addition, she has been elected Chairperson of the National Puerto Rican Coalition on several occasions. She has been appointed by the past five NYC Mayors to a number of important positions, including the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Police Management and Personnel Policy and as Chairperson of the Rent Guidelines Board. Ms. Betanzos also served on the Sovereign Commission on Integrity in Government, a joint appointment by Governor Cuomo and and Mayor Koch.

Prior to Wildcat, she served in a variety of positions in the Lindsay, Beame and Koch Administrations. As Commissioner of the Youth Services Agency, she was charged with the destinies of the more than one and one-half million New York youth under 21. She gained a reputation for being an outstanding administrator with an untiring capacity to meet new challenges. Ms. Betanzos was Executive Secretary to Mayor John Lindsay, in charge of programs for the underprivileged and physically and mentally handicapped. Before that time, she was Commissioner of Relocation and Management Services in the Housing and Development Administration. In this post, she was directly in charge of coordinating relocation services to families in conjunction with the City’s Urban Renewal programs and emergency housing. She also served as a member of the NYC Housing Authority for five years. Before joining the City Administration, she was Executive Director of the Puerto Rican Community Development Project and President of the National Association for Puerto Rican Civil Rights.

LYNDSEY MILLS

Lyndsey Mills, “Miss Henry County 2003,” has long been involved with persons of special needs throughout her community. She has worked with Special Olympics, Circle of Friends, the Sunshine League, and public schools through Partners Clubs. In 2003, she also represented Henry County and participated in “Miss Georgia,” the official “Miss America” franchise.

Previously many young adults with special needs wished to participate in a pageant to demonstrate their social skills and be a part of the community. Lyndsey’s sister, Kristi, has been her inspiration for eighteen years, having been born with Downs Syndrome. Lyndsey demonstrated her love for her sister by holding a special needs pageant that led to increased public awareness of special needs persons while giving the participants self-esteem, confidence, and recognition.

The special needs pageant, held in July 2003, was attended by more than 200 people and the attendees were both humbled and surprised by what they saw that evening. It was a very moving and emotional experience for all. This pageant will be held yearly in Henry County and to my knowledge there is not another event like this anywhere in Georgia. Lyndsey Mills’ goal is to promote it statewide.

DONALD SPRINGER

Donald Springer was inspired to volunteer at the age of ten. He and his mother were the first on the scene when a small plane crashed in Wappingers Falls, New York in 1968. His mother began administering first aid to the victims while he stood watching in his Cub Scout uniform. He decided after that experience that he wanted to always be prepared to help in case of an emergency.

Mr. Springer took the Standard First Aid Instructor course through the American Red Cross at the age of 12. He became the youngest instructor ever to be certified to teach. He then joined the Civil Air Patrol and attended “Ranger” training camp two years later at the age of 14 to begin a career in Land/Air Search and Rescue.

In 1975, Mr. Springer enlisted early in the New York Guard and became a New York EMT. One year later he joined the Sloper-Willen Volunteer Ambulance Service and the Dutchess County Ambulance Service. He then became certified as a dispatcher, driver and eventually an attendant.

Mr. Springer moved west to Utah in 1978 and continued his work. He began teaching classes for the Red Cross there and was able to help the Salt Lake Public Works with sand-bagging the Jordan River in 1982. During the floods of 1983, he served as Shelter Manger for the Farmington Shelter and Murray Armory Shelter. Mr. Springer served on the Disaster Action Teams until 1987, and he continued to teach First Aid and CPR classes. He also developed a communications plan for the Salt Lake Chapter of the Red Cross and received the “Volunteer of the Year” award for 1987 from the Salt Lake Chapter of the American Red Cross.

Mr. Springer took a break from his volunteer service to attend college; however, in 1995, he took a Citizen Emergency Response Team (CERT) course and became involved with the newly formed citizen advisory board called the Association of Valley Emergency Response Teams (AVERT). He joined AVERT in 1998 as a Director of Team Support and was elected as Chair of AVERT in 2001.

Since that time, Mr. Springer has reorganized AVERT. He has planned and implemented CERT drills and emergency preparedness fairs, developed the National Pharmaceutical Stockpile Non-medical Volunteer program for the Utah Department of Health and worked countless hours promoting the CERT program throughout the world. Since 1996, he has also maintained AVERT’s web site and has helped in the formation of new CERT groups and helped arrange advanced training in their areas.

DANIEL KENT

The Indianapolis Children’s Museum together with The Indianapolis Star developed a weekly community outreach program for youths to write articles that are especially relevant to youth. Ranging from teenage pregnancy to drug abuse to youth heroes, their columns focus on both difficult and uplifting topics. Peer pressure has always been a factor for teenagers, and Y-Press is an independent news bureau and is a long-term valuable source of information and opinions for both youths and parents alike. In fact, it is used as a tool to broach a difficult issue by parents to youths and youths with their parents, helping foster stronger communications. Also, it sometimes is provides youths information on issues that hey may not feel yet comfortable discussing with others.

Some youth have more difficulty adjusting to the pressures inherent in growing into adulthood, and become disenfranchised from their parents, teachers, or even peers. Y-Press is a vehicle for youths to address issues with others about how they are feeling, or as a request for help. In the same way, Y-Press articles are used by parents as a non-confrontational starting point to initiate a discussion about a sensitive or controversial topic. Sometimes, articles are written about youth heroes, as one Daniel both suggested as a story idea and recently edited, dealing with a disable Indiana youth that served as an inspiration and hero for all youths by organizing and building a playground especially designed for disabled youths.

Y-Press began serving the Indianapolis community in 1990, and Daniel’s participating began in August of 2001. In 2002, Daniel was subsequently elected to the Youth Advisory Counsel of the Indianapolis Children’s Museum. Daniel plans to work at Y-Press through high school, and his term on the Youth Advisory Counsel concludes when he graduates from high school.

Y-Press weekly columns have impacted thousands of youths and their families within the Indiana area. The column has facilitated awareness and family discussions of difficult youth oriented subjects, and it has highlighted youth heroes that are inspirational. Daniel was named Reporter of the Month on three occasions, and he has recently completed training as an Editor, having edited several stories in the last few months. Based upon Daniel’s performance and the community impact he helped facilitate, he was named the 2003 Outstanding Middle School Volunteer by the Prudential Spirit of the Community Committee, and received a cash award and a trip for him and his family to Washington DC. He has also received the Outstanding Citizens Award by the City of Carmel, and was recognized by the Indiana State Legislature.

Sometimes the most innovative solution to offering insights or resolving difficult youth issues can be innovated by the youths themselves. Dan has proposed, reported on, and edited numerous stories that have helped foster communications and problem resolution for Indiana’s youth.

SABINE COUNTY VFW POST 10351

Sabine County VFW Post 10351 & Ladies Auxiliary members and local entities provided meals for more than 1,000 volunteers and supported NASA’s search and recovery efforts in the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster.

On February 1, 2003 the Sheriff of Sabine County called Post 10351 and requested the VFW be used as a Staging Center for the Shuttle Recovery Mission of Volunteers. The VFW of Sabine County met the challenge and opened their facilities without any reservations for what needed to be done and for the duration of the mission. Members of the Post along with hundreds of volunteers dedicated many hours and thousands of dollars worth of donations to make the Staging Center a success.

The Post fed an estimated 3,000 meals per day for 15 days. They received 85% of their donations for individuals, churches, businesses and nonprofit organizations like the Chamber of Commerce. The American Red Cross and the Salvation Army gave the remaining 15% of donations. The approximate cost of the food donations was about $92,800. The Post members and the Ladies Auxiliary served 11,415 hours for this mission.

The Post Commander and Ladies Auxiliary President were responsible for the organizing the endeavor. With a project so large and so many individuals willing to help, being organized was a key factor. They were responsible for establishing a workable schedule and creating a menu as well as coordinating all the volunteers. They worked around the clock, sleeping whenever they could find a few spare moments.

Because of the dedication of all the Post members, this project went smoothly and ran efficiently. VFW Post 10351 proudly served in this mission and were able to assist the more than 70 agencies which include but are not limited to the Texas National Guard, Department of Public Safety officers, fire fighters, NASA EPA employees, FBI agents, FEMA personnel, Sheriff officers, US Forest Service and Texas Forest Service personnel.

When it was time for a new recovery team to come in, the volunteer services and donations were no longer needed. However, the Post had enough food donations to continue feeding for approximately one week. The remaining food was donated to the United Christian Services, Baptist Encampment, several local fire departments and the Sabine Senior Citizen Center.