NITSA GIANAKOULAS

Nitsa Gianakoulas attends Bishop Gorman High School, and up until this school year; her grandfather dropped her off at school each morning on his way to Mass. Most sixteen year olds think of school dances and high school football games; however, Nitsa uses her energy to raise public awareness about the devastating disease, ALS and to raise funds to support the patient and family programs of The ALS Association Nevada Chapter.

ALS is more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. It is a progressively paralyzing and always-fatal illness that strikes an American adult every 90 minutes. Lack of public awareness about the disease is one of its biggest obstacles. The ALS Nevada Chapter is the only resource of direct, hands-on assistance to Nevada’s ALS patients and their families. Nitsa’s grandfather was diagnosed with the illness in January 2003, and she has learned quite a lot in a short period of time.

Walk to D’Feet ALS is the annual, signature event hosted by a nationwide network of chapters of the ALS. Nitsa formed her own walk team, Fightin’4 Frank, to support her grandfather. She told her story to members of her gymnastics team and members of the Gym Cats began to donate their allowances towards the cause. Nitsa also told her grandfather’s story in a letter sent to more than 100 relatives and friends. She told of what a great role model her grandfather had been and how ALS has changed his life. He can no longer drive, so she is no longer able to ride with him to school each morning.

Nitsa sees ALS up close through her grandfather. It seems to her that something else is taken from him each week. After giving up driving he then went to using a cane. From there he had to progress to a walker, and now he must use a wheelchair. His voice is even getting weak and he has difficulty swallowing sometimes.

Nitsa’s letter was distributed and then some of those she wrote to also shared it with their friends, neighbors and co-workers to help garner more support for Fightin’4Frank. Soon she began to receive donations from total strangers.

On Walk Day, members of Nitsa’s gymnastics team joined members of her family and the other 43 members of Fightin’4Frank. Their team received the Golden Tennis Shoe Award for the largest family team, and Nitsa received the award for the most donations raised by youth. She was able to collect a little more than $5,100.

Nitsa’s thank you letter continued to paint the picture of the challenges her grandfather and other victims of ALS face day to day. She thanked all the contributors and advised them what they accomplished will help the ALS Association who will help those suffering with the disease. Her grandfather received a motorized wheelchair from the ALS Association, and now her grandmother can walk beside her husband instead of behind him.

The ALS Nevada Chapter has already utilized more than $3,000 of the funds raised by Nitsa to purchase aids for daily living (ADL’s). These items such as special eating utensils, special light switches and long-handled bath sponges will be given to other ALS patients.

GARY TURNER

Gary Turner, a network engineer for First National Bank since 1997, and his wife Penny regularly take their Bernese Mountain Dogs, Archie and Moritz, to visit the children of Spofford Home, a modern multi-service family treatment agency connecting child, family and community with foster care and child adoption programs. Spofford Home is located in Kansas City, Missouri.

The children of Spofford Home have all suffered some type of abuse. The animal-assisted therapy Mr. Turner and his wife provide during their weekly visits allows residents the opportunity to work on anger-management, sharing and socialization skills in a non-judgmental environment with the dogs. While providing comfort, the children also have the opportunity to learn the importance of caring and nurturing their animal friends.

Mr. Turner’s faithfulness to the children doesn’t stop with his visits with Archie and Moritz. He and Penny are now considered “special dorm friends” because of their unwavering commitment to the children, as well as the external support they provide.

An example of Mr. Turner’s loyalty to the Spofford residents is a one-on-one mentorship he had with a young male resident who has special needs. It was evident that this resident in particular needed not only a mentor, but also a friend who genuinely cared about him. Mr. Turner was able to form a special bond with the teen by gaining his trust and proving his reliability and affection. Mr. Turner’s attentiveness helped the adolescent’s self esteem and also helped him become more involved in activities.

In addition to volunteer activities, Mr. Turner sponsors a dorm of 10 residents. He brings in movies and endless snacks for the dorm members to enjoy. He also provides treats for all 49 Spofford residents during the holidays.

Mr. Turner, Penny, Archie and Moritz also make regular visits to Good Samaritan Home, which is a residential care facility for seniors. Good Samaritan residents include many Alzheimer’s patients. “Seeing the seniors, especially the Alzheimer’s patients, respond to the dogs is particularly gratifying,” said Mr. Turner.

Archie and Moritz are registered by Delta Society (www.deltasociety.org) and the Turners are members of Mo-Kan Pet Partners (www.mo-kanpetpartners.org).

Mr. Turner is driven by service not only to Spofford Home and Good Samaritan but also to his employer, First National Bank. The same dedication he shows to Spofford Home and Good Samaritan carries over to his work as a network engineer at the bank. He volunteers to take the early morning Help Desk pages and calls from opening tellers as early as 6:30 a.m. He is also ready and willing to be on call around the clock if there are questions or issues about the bank’s computer network. “The First National family is so supportive of our efforts. They are the best,” said Mr. Turner.

GERI MURGOLA

Mrs. Geri Murgola consistently embraces the spirit of volunteerism and selfless giving that embodies the best elements of our great nation. She has volunteered at Bering Omega Community Services for the past 11 years. During that time, Mrs. Murgola has diligently managed the volunteer schedule for Omega House, a residential hospice program that compassionately cares for those dying due to HIV/AIDS.

Mrs. Murgola goes above and beyond the call of duty to ensure that there are always caring and committed volunteers to meet the clients’ many needs. She also works tirelessly to make certain that the volunteers are not emotionally overwhelmed by their role as bedside support and caregivers to those with critical health needs.

Omega House is a residential hospice that provides housing facilities, medical care and psychological services to individuals in the terminal stages of HIV/AIDS. Volunteers perform resident care and most of the daily work of the house, from garden maintenance to bedside care. Geri Murgola, volunteer scheduler, masterfully coordinates and channels the energy of 200 volunteers into a seven day a week regimen of volunteer service. One shift of volunteers leaves as another arrives, providing seamless care to the residents, all orchestrated by Mrs. Murgola.

Mrs. Murgola goes far beyond her assigned tasks. She is an active member of the Board of Trustee level Volunteer Committee. She attends meetings, plans social events, welcomes new volunteers and stays in touch with the lives of old friends. She even carries this dedication into her personal life where she took the lead role in making sure a close family member received the support and care he needed.

What stands out most about Mrs. Murgola and her work is her concern for the volunteers. She takes to heart not only the needs of the residents for adequate staffing, but also the importance of a volunteer not being overwhelmed. She pays attention to who is a newer volunteer on the shift, matching them to a more seasoned buddy. Her mind is a library of travel habits, schedules and skills of 200 people. It is unique to find someone so dedicated to volunteer as an administrator, and work for so many hours a week, for such a long period of time.

Omega House’s record of training many longtime volunteers is due, in part, to Mrs. Murgola’s constant juggling of the needs of the residents with the needs of the volunteers. She helps maintain a balance that keeps the volunteers coming back year after year. Mrs. Murgola has volunteered for 15 hours a week, in addition to extra time during the weekend, for the past 11 years – which amounts to at least 8,580 hours. It is Mrs. Murgola’s commitment that makes the agency’s commitment a reality.

ANDREW HAYNES

Andrew Haynes is a fifth grader at Blue Lake Elementary School. Since he was enrolled in the first grade, he has been a diligent servant to the elementary school. Most children come to school to go to the morning line up; however, Drew begins his days doing a myriad of duties. He is a “Technology Assistant” and works to set up the LeapFrog and other electronic equipment in various teachers’ classrooms. He also shows some of the teachers how to work certain programs on their computers. He also aids in this aspect in the Media Center and goes into the newsroom to prepare for the Media Center’s morning broadcast where he is the announcer of the school’s news, Splash Live.

Drew has been a participant of the school’s Garden Club for two years and has been a member of Chorus and the Student Council for one year. Last school year, his peers elected him as the Secretary of the Student Council, and he was the first place winner in the school’s Science Fair. Drew is an honor roll student, and he has represented Blue Lake in the Junior Olympics.

Drew has also been trained and serves as a peer mediator to help students resolve conflicts. He cuts out letters and places them on the guidance counselor’s Word-of the-Week bulletin board, which is part of the Character Education program. Annually, the Guidance Department has a “Gift Giving” and food drive. Many faculty and staff members, business partners and some students donate toys to be given to the lower socioeconomic students before the Winter Break. During the last Thanksgiving Break, Drew purchased gifts with his personal allowance to place under the Holiday tree for students in his school. Drew also brings toys and food from home and helps to organize and box the items for the annual food drive.

Drew also serves educators during in-service, pre and post planning times. He organizes materials, sorts, counts, colors, and pastes, creates games, cuts, laminates and delivers materials. He completes these same activities for the after-school tutorial program, the summer Voyager Program and special activities throughout the school year. He also sets up and oversees booths for his class ruing Fall Festivals and organizes materials for the School Store. At the end of the school year, Drew assists with inventories of textbooks and calculators.

Drew also maintains his spiritual service in the Master’s Club and other activities in the Volusia County Baptist Church in Orange County where he is a member. Since his family’s recent move to DeBary, Drew sings to senior citizens in the Nursing Home in DeBary and he is a member of the Awana Club in First Baptist Church in DeBary.

Drew suffers with asthma frequently and has to miss days from school. His mother is a divorced, a single mom, and is raising two children on her own. In spite of all this, Drew makes the time to serve and place others first in his life.

LAURA BRADDOCK

Laura Braddock graduated from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY, and moved to New York City in the 1980’s. In stead of pursuing the more traditional corporate career path, Ms. Braddock decided to enter the volunteer sector and use the skills she acquired at Vassar to help maintain open green spaces in New York City. She has volunteered to help various groups, including the Green Guerillas, and has won an award for her work from the Manhattan Borough President.

In 2001, Ms. Braddock worked to mediate a Uniform Land Use Review Process conflict between a developer and the oldest community garden in New York City. Her participation in this process helped preserve the garden.

Ms. Braddock has been an active volunteer at the Liz Christy Bowery Houston Garden for more than 12 years. She spends an average of 20 hours per week tending the plots in the garden and is responsible for the turtle and fish pond, which is the most visited site in the garden. She shows visitors and school groups the pond and teaches them about the ecology of this freshwater oasis in the heart of the east village. She developed a guide to the turtles containing photographs of the nine turtles currently in residence. She has learned a great deal about turtle medical problems and even assisted one of the female turtles in laying her eggs.

Ms. Braddock is also a volunteer “Citizen Street Tree Pruner,” helping to keep local trees healthy. To help other gardeners and other gardens, she is a member of the “trust for Public Lands” Garden Leadership Group providing technical assistance to others.

In addition, Ms. Braddock has been active in other aspects of community gardening on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, which has a large immigrant population. She worked to design a web page that tells about community gardening and worked to ensure that the paths in the garden are wide enough to allow people in wheelchairs access through the garden. She also did the research and installed solar powered lights in a community garden to save energy costs and allow the garden to stay open at night. These lights were installed in early August 2003 and providing the only lights to be seen in the area during the Blackout of 2003.

RAYMOND UNGER

The Mid-East Area Agency On Aging (MEAAA) South County Senior Center works to serve the elderly of St. Louis and the surrounding area. Raymond Unger has been a volunteer at the Senior Center for the past 15 years.

Mr. Unger was a volunteer at the center prior to leaving the work force and has dedicated even more time to the clients since his retirement. He has not missed a day to volunteer at the center. The only times he is not there is the few days each year he takes of to visit his daughter in Connecticut.

Mr. Unger’s responsibilities include anything that is need at the Senior Center. Every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday he goes out at 5:00am to pick up donated bread and pastry from three area bakeries. He then arrives at the Senior Center by 7:30am everyday to fix coffee and set up trays to serve pastry. Mr. Unger is also available daily to deliver hot meals to the homebound senior citizens served by the Senior Center, and he even serves on Thanksgiving and Christmas day.

Mr. Unger also runs center errands, carries lunch trays for those who are unable to stand in the lunch line and carry their own tray and he helps with clean up after lunch. He also serves on the Senior Center’s Site Council and assists with fundraising. Mr. Unger provides transportation to the Senior Center as well as the bank, grocery store and other places for clients of the Senior Center.

In addition to his work with the Senior Center, Mr. Unger works at charity dinners, completes home repair and yard work for those who cannot afford to hire someone and he assists or helps people with car maintenance that they otherwise would not be able to pay for. He also makes regular clothing and toy donations to the area needy and financially helps those who are less fortunate than him.

Mr. Unger is an inspiration to those who know him and especially to the clients at the Senior Center. No matter how he feels or what is going on in his life, Unger has a smile on his face and a cheerful disposition. He works to always find the silver lining in clouds and helps others do the same. Mr. Unger is a selfless volunteer and an invaluable asset to the Senior Center and the community of St. Louis.

MUTUAL ASSISTANCE NETWORK OF DEL PASO HEIGHTS

In 1994, Del Paso Heights was showing all the signs of distress that come with isolation from the economic mainstream. The Mutual Assistance Network (MAN) came into being to support families in helping each other build back their community and their lives. Such collaboration meant bridging cultural divides among the African American families who had lived there for many, many years and Hispanic, Pacific Islander and Asian immigrants, primarily Hmong from Laos.

Jose Gutierrez might have become one more statistic contributing to a historically low graduation rate of 48 percent in the local high school during the mide-1990s. He was in ninth grade in 1997 and on the school’s list of troubled teens. MAN linked Gutierrez with one of the very first peer mentors in Operation Graduation, a program that hires junior and senior high school students to mentor younger youth. The concerns of neighborhood families watching so many of their young people drop out, prompted MAN to develop the programs. Within a year, he had improved his grades and decided to become a mentor himself. Gutierrez, whose career goal is to work with youth, is now an assistant coordinator of Operation Graduation. And at the local high school, the graduation rate has climbed to 73 percent.

MAN has established trust by taking its direction from community members acting together to their common interests. For an outreach program making home visits to families, MAN hires and trains local residents, who gain steady income for their own families as they help their neighbors. When neighborhood residents identified a lack of services for seniors, especially those rearing grandchildren, MAN developed support groups for these families to share resources and strengthen each other.

In an unusual public-private partnership, MAN works closely with Sacramento County to give families a wide array of supports. Neighborhood residents can get help finding jobs and developing careers to increase their families’ incomes. Through MAN, they can access childcare, youth programs and extensive services that help families become self-sufficient.

A non-profit community development corporation, MAN also brings jobs and services into the community. In April 2004, MAN will break ground on Neighborhood Central, a $2.6 million center for families that will house retail shops at street level and MAN and county social services above.

MAN’s approach to community building ¾ bottom-up and integrative ¾ began with its first project: a community garden created by residents in 1994. Nine years later, the garden not only provides healthy food to neighborhood families, but also has given rise to a youth garden. Community teenagers grow flowers and vegetables that they sell to Sacramento businesses. MAN has grown into one of the community’s largest private employers with an operating budget of almost $2 million.

STEPHANIE EASTER

Stephanie Easter is a Valedictorian honors student that graduated Rank One with the highest grade point average in her senior class. She is a true scholar and a youth who is genuinely interested in life and loves to learn. She sets herself apart from other students by always doing more than is required of her. Her academic achievements have earned her membership in Who’s Who Among American High School Students, Outstanding Students of America, and National Honor Society. In addition to her academic excellence, Stephanie received the prestigious Princeton University Book Award showing the highest of character, leadership, and academically proven to achieve great success in her career.

Stephanie has been volunteering since she has been in elementary school. She has served as Ambassador for Bixby’s Student Council and History Club, the President of Tri-M Music Honor Society, and President of Future Medical Careers. Stephanie is also an Oklahoma AlI-State Winner and served in the AlI-State Honor Band. She performed at the National Peach Bowl with the Bixby High School Marching Band State Champions and volunteered to play her flute in high school musicals and for those in her community in military service serving our country .

In addition, Stephanie has been a mentor/tutor and teacher’s helper. She has helped many students that would have fallen through the cracks, and instead of them giving up they now look to succeed in education. Stephanie has not only helped as a mentor and tutor, but she has also helped bring culture to her classmates. Stephanie sang and acted on stage with Tulsa Opera’ s LaBoheme at the Chapman Music Theater Performing Arts Center and in Brundibar with Tulsa Youth Opera. . Brundibar was a way of educating the community and performances were at Holland Hall Theater . Stephanie has also served as a mentor for ” Annie” a broadway musical performed at Tulsa Community College Performing Arts Center for Education.

Throughout her high school career, Stephanie has been an active tutor in math, science, and other classes. She has also been Editor of the Band Yearbook, and served as Public Relations/ Ambassador for the German Club with the German Society of Tulsa in addition to other extra-curricular activities. Due to Stephanie’s dedication to her classmates and community, Tulsa is a better place. She has received the RED CROSS EVERYDAY HERO award from the Tulsa Area Chapter for her acts of courage, kindness and noble character .

Stephanie uses her knowledge, talents, and abilities to help others grow. She has been innovative in thinking up new ways to help others learn and exposing students to new cultures. Stephanie sees the need to help students learn and understand the global world we live in today. As a result of her service, she has also been honored with the highest leadership award that only one senior can receive, The Principal’s Leadership Award. She was also awarded the President’s Education Award for Outstanding Academic Excellence signed by President George Bush.

WOBURN YOUTH COUNCIL

The Woburn Youth Council has been a driving force for promoting service in Woburn, Massachusetts. Working with adult advisors and community partners, this group of middle and high school students has made tremendous contributions to Social Capital Inc.’s (SCI) efforts to increase youth civic engagement in Woburn.

SCI was created in response to evidence that civic engagement and social capital have declined precipitously over the past 30 years. In 2002, SCI facilitated a series of community meetings attended by more than 100 residents and organizations that led to the establishment of the initial SCI priorities. The need to provide young people with hands-on opportunities to develop civic leadership skills was considered by many to be a real community need, and the Youth Council is an important strategy for achieving that goal.

A partnership was established between the Youth Council and the Boys & Girls Club of Woburn in 2002 to provide Council members an opportunity to directly engage youth in the community in service-learning activities. In bridging the gap between youth and service, the Youth Council has teamed up with youth from a local church to plan a Martin Luther King Day Project. This captures the adults’ recollections about Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement. They also brought together some 60 youth and adults to discuss community issues and strategies in the Youth Adult Connections (YAC). The Youth Council also partnered with a local environmental group and the Woburn Senior Center in organizing a community-wide beautification project that drew in excess of 50 volunteers for National Youth Service Day.

Since the Youth Council’s inception in 2002, Council members have devoted more than 3,000 volunteer hours in community service projects. Now in its second year of programming, the Council has grown to 22 members. They expect a strong membership interest expected for the 2004-2005 year also.

The Woburn Youth Council has reached more than 1,000 community residents in its first two years of programming. Additional Council-led projects include a Mayoral Debate and Mini – grants. Council members coordinated a very successful debate between the two Mayoral candidates and more than 400 high school students attended it. Students in civics classes generated the questions from the debate. The Council also funded nine youth-initiated projects for a total grant amount of $10,000. The projects funded are expected to engage more than 500 youth in about 2,000 hours of service-learning and social capital building activities.

CIERRA JOHNSON

Cierra Johnson was born and raised in Sylacauga, Alabama. She is a twenty-three year old senior at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama and for the past several years she has been an outstanding role model, volunteer and citizen. She competes in the Miss America Scholarship program and is the reigning Miss Sylacauga. Her platform is entitled “Dare to Be Different,” and Cierra has made a dramatic difference not only in Sylacauga but also for the entire state of Alabama.

Cierra’s choice to commit herself to a rather touchy subject has made an impact in her home state. She has implemented the Teaching Tolerance program in more than 2,000 schools throughout Alabama. She has traveled to endless arenas informing and training educators on the importance of having a tolerance based environment in the classroom. Each week, she travels to Sylacauga to teach diversity to the children that participate in an after school program called BRIDGES. In addition, Cierra has been given a $2,000 grant for the program to use towards the purchase of materials for a multicultural library. She has donated in excess of 500 books and has started a multicultural video library at the B.B. Comer Memorial Library.

Her love for children and her community can be seen in so many places across the state. In Montgomery, Cierra teaches a diversity class at Maxwell Air Force Base to the community and the incoming chaplains. Cierra is the founder, director and coordinator of “Diversity Week” at Huntingdon College. During this week, students, faculty and the community come together for a weeklong celebration of diversity, life and freedom. Due to her tireless efforts to promote diversity, Cierra’s name will appear on the “Wall of Tolerance” in 2005 at the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Civil Rights Memorial Center. She is presently working as an intern for the Teaching Tolerance program and hopes to one day become the Director at the Center.

Cierra’s recent capture of the Miss Sylacauga title was exciting for her town. It is the longest running preliminary in the state of Alabama, and in its 68th year, Johnson is the first African-American to hold the title. Her win is an inspiration to many young girls in Sylacauga and has inspired both the young and old to never give up. Cierra will continue to be dedicated to her platform of tolerance for life and far beyond her crown. She says,” I promoted tolerance yesterday, I promote tolerance today and I will promote tolerance tomorrow and forever.”