BARBARA MARKER

Barbara Marker is a very active woman at Northwood Presbyterian Church and in her community of Silver Spring, Maryland. In spite of such a busy schedule, she still allotted time to tutor a student at Northwood Pathways School from October 2004 through June 2005, for one hour per week. She had no prior experience teaching or tutoring, but pulled upon the experiences of mothering and nurturing her own children.

The Principal, Laurie Mical, assigned Marker to tutor an at risk student one-on-one in reading. Though this student may have difficulties stringing enough words together in order to form a sentence, Marker believed she could reach this student anyhow. Marker believes you should bloom where you are planted, which means to make the best of a situation. Her mothering skills and sense of presence connected with the student, who in turn felt cared for. As a result, the student shared feelings of hurt and frustrations with Marker. The tutoring sessions almost developed into counseling sessions and formed a relationship of trust. The student’s self-esteem and self-worth grew.

Marker worked one-on-one with a student unable to read. She developed a trusting rapport with the student and got a good understanding of the complexity that special education can bring. Marker was willing to try a variety of approaches and techniques in order to best reach the student and meet her needs. In addition, Marker consulted with the speech therapist for suggestions and materials. This was extremely valuable and supplemented the speech goals well. Marker interacted professionally with all other staff and students that were in the building.

An opportunity for the relationship between Marker and the student grew out of a vision many years ago, and her interface with the student lived out that vision. In 1982, through relationship with a small school for children with emotional disabilities housed in their building, members of Northwood Presbyterian Church responded to a need and sought to develop a school that would meet not only the academic goals of these children, but would also provide a therapeutic environment in which they would grow and learn. Thus was born the Pathways Center, which later became The Pathways Schools as more and diverse needs were identified which required the varied programming that characterizes Pathways today.

The Pathways Schools, a nonpublic, nonprofit institution, is sponsored by Northwood Presbyterian Church and is supported by Luther Rice Memorial Baptist Church. Students with emotional disabilities, regardless of gender, race or religious affiliation, may attend The Pathways Schools. Having grown from 80 to 150 students, Pathways now operates six school programs in Maryland’s Prince George’s, Montgomery, and Anne Arundel Counties. The programs are tailored to meet the specific needs of each child, whether those are challenging academics, vocational preparation, life skills instruction, or support facilitating a transition into public school. The schools are small, success-oriented settings staffed by an array of highly qualified professionals.

NATALIE JOLLY

Natalie Jolly has been exceptionally successful in paring University students with local community organizations through her multiple service learning educational endeavors. Over the course of the past year, she has worked tirelessly to see that the numerous resources attached to the University meet local community needs. In the past, there had been little transfer between the University and the community, particularly in the nonprofit sector. Jolly has done quite a bit to address this gap and inspire other faculty to follow her lead.

Her students have come to the project initially hesitant to engage issues of poverty, HIV/AIDS and women health, but become inspired to make changes in there community and build a better world. Moreover, her work has inspired a number of reticent students to take up the mantle of service work even after their assignment has concluded. In fact, several students have joined the ranks of volunteer staff after enjoying their service assignment. Jolly’s desire to facilitate this bridge between youth and community sets a foundation for future service work that is invaluable.

In addition to bringing new students into the community, Jolly’s commitment to service learning and community activism has created a network of various local agencies that do work on women’s issues in the community. In organizing a variety of projects for her classes, Jolly has stayed attentive to the surprising lack of connection between local groups doing similar work, and encourages others to become more connected. These new relationships have become an important community resource and have provided new opportunities for outreach and general support. This community network has become quite valuable, and is a wonderful byproduct of the service projects that grew out of Jolly’s vision for bridging the gap between University and community.

BECKI FORSELL

Disability has never been a stumbling block for Becki Forsell, despite the fact that she lost her sight some years ago. In fact, she makes a point of stating exactly the opposite. Forsell believes people with disabilities are not a problem to be fixed but that they want to be part of the solution. Forsell embodies this as founder and Executive Director of YES! of America United, Inc. She spends her days encouraging volunteer service and community outreach to those with disabilities . Her work also promotes mentoring, tutoring, peer supports and activities, in which she takes great pleasure.

In addition to this, Forsell served as the Chair of Grassroots of Hillsborough County. In this capacity, Forsell networked citizens for volunteer opportunities, among other things. As a member of the real Choice Partnership, a program in the Governor’s Americans with Disability Act Working Group, she follows her passion and dedication all the way to the state legislature. There, she impacts decisions made for those living with disabilities statewide. The Tampa Mayor’s Alliance , the Hillsborough county Alliance for Citizens with Disabilities and the Task Force for the Church and Disability all claim Forsell as an active member that continues to give back not only with her time at conferences, lectures, and volunteer projects, but also with her positive attitude, her leadership capability, and her unrivalled example of survival. She is effective as a volunteer and comes to serve with a smile and an infectious laugh.

Forsell’s work helps to fill a large gap in her community. Before Forsell and YES! there were limited opportunities for those with disabilities to help give back to their communities. This not only shut off an extremely valuable recourse, but it kept those who were disabled as victims and beneficiaries of other’s charity. Forsell helps everyone realize that this is not the way to look at things. She strongly advocates independence and empowerment for those who have had rare opportunities to cultivate these characteristics. Those involved in YES! and other projects with Becki are also united by a common bond and become a part of a large network of people all communicating and working together thanks to Forsell. Her methods are unique, her time commitment enormous and the outreach beneficial for everyone involved. This past year she is honored to have been recognized by her community and now the federal government for her volunteering, but she cherishes her award of the Alan P. Wesley Award, during her graduation from the Developmental Disability Partner’s in Policy Making program. This award is presented to the class member exemplifying leadership and partnership, which is award to her by her peers.

UNITED WAY OF PALM BEACH COUNTY

The United Way of Palm Beach County is an integral part of the Boynton Beach, Florida community. In collaboration with numerous organizations the United Way developed the Prosperity Campaign of Palm Beach County in June of 2003 to help low-income working residents move toward greater economic stability. The first initiative was to educate the public on the Earned Income Tax Credit (EIC) and open over 30 Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA) sites in the county. The response was incredible, and they recruited in excess of 100 volunteers and prepared more than 4,000 returns. This was a definite increase in the 660 returns that had been prepared the year prior. In 2005, 40 VITA sites were operational with more than 240 volunteers and 6,500 returns prepared. This effort in 2005 has entitled low-income workers to 11 million in tax refunds with approximately 5 million from the EIC.

In January 2005, the Prosperity Campaign expanded their services and opened three year round Prosperity Center to offer residents one-stop services. These services include a matched-savings program for homeownership called the Individual Development Accounts (IDA), help in resolving credit problems, money management assistance, benefits assistance and access, and education and job assistance. Each of the three Prosperity Centers offer year round free tax preparation.

Since the Prosperity Center opened in January 2005, 96 households have opened IDA savings accounts for homeownership, 211 have received credit counseling services, 185 have attended money management workshops and 428 have been counseled on an educational/vocational plan, and received assistance with financial aid forms. The first IDA home has already gone to closing for the Prosperity Center.

The dedication and commitment to low-income families in Palm Beach County and the hundreds of volunteers who have made the Prosperity Campaign a huge success is because of the United Way of Palm Beach County and their collaborative approach they adopted. The United Way is actively aiding families so they can achieve greater economic stability, higher earnings and home ownership.

LISA J. GOEHLE

Lisa J. Goehle founded L.A. Social Service Center, Inc. on February 6, 1996. Lisa Goehle saw a vision of a full-service social service agency, and that vision became a reality. Goehle’s mission was to provide a place where anyone – regardless of age, religion, race, or income- within the community in need of information about various services could have a place to contact. The agency was designed to act as an advocate for those who could not speak for themselves. The agency believes in not only providing information to its clients but also in assisting clients by assessing their needs and finding programs to assist them. L.A. Social Services currently represents clients in their dealings with the Department of Children and Families, the Social Security Administration, the Lee County Courts for Guardianship Hearings and other agencies.

Goehle worked for years in social services, notably with Presbyterian Homes and Housing in Lehigh (Sunshine Villas) from 1988 to 1995, where she served as the facility’s Director of Social Services. At Sunshine, Goehle realized that many seniors carried not only their own problems but also those of other family members. One particular life-changing encounter was with a seventy-two year old female who lived in Sunshine Villas. Goehle frequently provided special counseling for the woman. For example, when Goehle asked the woman why she had left New Jersey, where all her family lived, the woman replied that she just could not take her family’s problems any longer. She stated that she did not understand ‘the way young people lived’ and why they thought it was OK for her to have to take care of her daughter, the daughter’s boyfriend and their two teenage girls. She further stated that she did not appreciate their language or their lifestyles. The woman ended up sending most of her money to New Jersey and she was having difficulty paying her own bills. Goehle suggested the woman see a counselor at the Ruth Cooper Center. The woman agreed, and after counseling, the woman learned it was acceptable to say ‘no’ to her overly dependent family and that she needed a life of her own. The following year, Goehle went to see the woman to assist her in re-certification for Food Stamps. Reflecting on the visit, Goehle says proudly, “She seemed so very happy. She said the best thing she ever did was say ‘no’ to her family and stay in Florida.” Not only did the woman’s choice to stay in Florida help her but it also helped her family learn to stand on their own.

When Goehle started L.A. Social Services, her intentions were to develop a safe place for people to come to ask questions, get some direction, find resources and get needed answers. Goehle knew how frustrating it was to need assistance and have to deal with a phone service or voice mail system. Older adults find it even more frustrating and do not know where to turn when people take messages and do not follow through to aid them. When she interviews clients, Goehle checks into all possible programs that might aid the client so they can be as self-sufficient as possible. Goehle, through the L.A. Social Services Center, gives assistance to those in need by acting as a middleman.

TUCSON ELECTRIC POWER COMPANY “COMMUNITY ACTION TEAM”

TEP is very concerned about the critical health and safety needs of the community. Volunteer activities, are encouraged for employees, their families and friends, and are completed on personal time, without pay. Several projects focus on assistance for homeless and near homeless teens, a much underserved population. Since 2004, Community Action Team (CAT) volunteers have volunteered extensively with five nonprofits serving at-risk teens and contributing nearly 1,000 volunteer hours.

The Tucson Planning Council for the Homeless estimates 4,336 people are homeless per night, with 40 percent being families with children. And the younger homeless are less likely to receive government aid. All agencies have waiting lists for services or are unable to meet program needs due to budget shortages.

In October 2004, TEP’s Community Relations staff invited executive directors from five organizations serving 624 at-risk teens – Intermountain Centers for Human Development, La Paloma Family Services, Open Inn, Our Town Family Center and Youth On Their Own – to describe their situations with the CAT Steering Committee. The facts were compelling. One story told was about a 17 year old homeless girl who had given birth at a Tucson hospital. Late in the day, a nurse leaving the hospital noticed the young mother and newborn sitting outside the hospital. She had been there all day and had no way back to the car she had been living in. Fortunately the new family was referred to Our Town and the story had a happy ending.

For the past four years, a TEP employee who serves on the board of Our Town, has led clothing and toy drives and shelter improvement projects for a unique transitional housing program for homeless teen moms and their children. The 2004 Holiday Season had company wide support with approximately 500 gifts donated to all five organizations and valued at $4,622. The Corporate Accounting Department has adopted an Intermountain group home for volunteers to do quarterly cleanup, repairs and donating of furniture. The Information Services Department donated two computers, a desk and printer to maintain the home’s study center. Information Services also coordinated a “Back-to-School Backpack Drive” and filled all 74 backpacks with school supplies and hygiene products, again for all five organizations.

Grants totaling $20,000 have funded everything from CPR training for the youth to monthly stipends for homeless teens determined to graduate from high school.

From volunteer opportunities to providing team-building opportunities, TEP work groups and individual volunteers have been serving as mentors along the way. TEP’s grants have provided matching funds for other grants and linked nonprofits for common training, i.e. CPR and emergency response.

ALEXANDRA ANN BUGA

Alexandra (Alex) Buga has volunteered over the past two years organizing and managing a tremendous book drive project. As a result more than 5,000 books have been donated to the Paterson Family Center. With these books the center established a pre-school lending library that has served several hundred families. In addition, the center is able to encourage reading as a family activity by giving books to children who do not have books at home.

The Paterson Family Center is part of the New Jersey Community Development Corporation (NJCDC), a nonprofit social service agency based in Paterson (NJ). NJCDC also operates housing for the developmentally disabled and youth aging out of foster care, a high school, a Youthbuild program and an extensive Americorps program.

After learning that the new center was in need of books, Alex came up with the idea of giving away her old preschool books. She visited the center and met the preschoolers. After seeing the children’s reactions to the gifts, and learning that one national study stated that 60% of low income families had no books at home for their pre-schoolers, she decided to do more. She approached her neighbors and friends, and then submitted letters to local schools, churches and nonprofit organizations in the area asking for books. The project has collected and distributed over 5,000 books thus far.

Alex credits a supportive family, friends in Chatham, and the close-knit environment at her high school, Villa Walsh Academy in Morristown, with instilling her with a strong desire to make a difference. Alex intends to continue her work in service to others as she heads off to college next year.

LEARNING ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES PROGRAM

In the fall of 2004, the Minnesota Correctional Facility-Red Wing (MCF-RW) was awarded a grant to implement an after-school program that would enhance and enrich the lives of the residents incarcerated at the correctional facility. The program was titled Learning Enrichment Activities Program (LEAP). In addition to academic classes, residents were given an opportunity to participate in community service components.

Since early 2005, residents involved in the LEAP community service activity have been meeting weekly with residents from the Vasa Children’s Home, a residential facility for children who are mentally and physically challenged. The juvenile offenders who participate in the community service activities are classified as serious and chronic offenders, individuals who one would not normally expect to be doing volunteer work. They participate voluntarily, during their unscheduled time, and they receive no monetary reward for their participation. The non-tangible rewards they receive and the contributions they make are immeasurable. Residents experience the good feelings that result from helping others; they understand the importance of giving back to the community; they feel a sense of value and importance while helping other feel the same. In addition, they challenge their own thoughts and beliefs about respecting themselves and others.

Although the two groups of individuals may seem very different; they are really very much alike. Both groups of individuals are living away from home, do not have many visits from family or friends, are often lonely, and most of all, they want someone to care about them and make them feel accepted and special. During the weekly visits, the residents play board games, do art and craft activities, participate in athletic competitions, and most importantly, become friends. They provide each other with a sense of belonging and the feeling the someone cares about them. They give each other a sense of purpose and worth. Each group of individuals knows that the other accepts them unconditionally, which is something they do not always receive from others.

Chronic and serious juvenile offenders making the lives of children with mental and physical challenges happier may not be solving the problems of the world, but they are making the lives of two groups of individuals so much better. If volunteering with the children helps just one juvenile offender see the impact of his behavior on others, a big step has been made towards rehabilitation. If volunteering with the children helps just one challenged child feel accepted, a big step has been made towards creating a better community. If both groups of individuals feel better about themselves because someone cared, then the world is a better place.

RONALD STRICKLAND

Ronald Strickland is the spouse of the Volunteer Coordinator in the Army Community Service Center (ACS) and volunteers for almost all events in the Directorate of Community & Family Activities. These include but are not limited to the Installation Family Day 5-K Run, the Army Emergency Relief Golf Funding Raising, and Thanksgiving and Christmas Feed the Soldiers Efforts, where he helps to prepare, serve the soldiers and clean-up after the event.

Strickland has also joined the ACS team members to serve as the volunteer driver for short and long-distance trips to Military Deployment Units within the community so that the ACS staff can conduct briefings for military troops -National Guards and Reserves- and their families. One night the staff got back from a long-distance trip with him at about 11:30 p.m. and staff members did not get home until about 12mid-night, having to return to work the following day at 6 a.m. Strickland has also been observed providing volunteer time in the Army Community Service office to move, install and organize file cabinets. There is no job too hard or too small that he has not been willing to provide assistance with in order to make a contribution to helping soldiers and their families.

In addition, Strickland does not limit his volunteer services to the military. He also consistently provides volunteer help to the general community through Anniston Army Depot Day of Caring program to help community providers such as the American Red Cross. Strickland has also provided volunteer assistance to the Anniston Army Depot/Morale Welfare & Recreation Program Annual Table Tennis Tournaments. Since he has been serving as a volunteer, Strickland has donated approximately 500 hours of volunteer time.

DIANE “DEE” BERKELEY

A retired teacher, Dee Berkeley has always helped community youth. As a ten-year Piedmont CASA volunteer, she sets the standard for other volunteers. Piedmont CASA trains volunteers to advocate for the best interests of abused and neglected children before local courts. CASA volunteers work with these children and assist the courts in determining how to ensure each child’s safety and well-being.

Ten years ago, Piedmont CASA received Berkeley’s application. Recently retired, she stated that she was looking for a challenging volunteer job where she could utilize her strong interest in problems of child abuse and neglect and her organizational skills and experience gathering information and writing reports. She became a volunteer with CASA and has served more than 25 children.

Berkeley routinely volunteers 25-50 hours each month. She works equally well with babies as with adolescents, with boys as well as girls. She also attends to children with special needs with as much dedication as she does those without learning challenges. Berkeley’s dedication is easily revealed by a case she was assigned in February 2003. Three siblings, all under age eight, were removed from their mother due to her inability to address her mental health issues while properly caring for her children. The children, described as being “out of control” and “dirty,” were noted as presenting with both behavioral and psychological problems. Their father was living at a local shelter. Berkeley dove into this case with her mind and heart trained on the children. She monitored their foster placement, education and health; she supervised parent-child visits; she promoted meetings and information sharing between service provider; and she spent hours getting to know the children. She was an important voice for these children in court, presenting meaningful facts and recommendations to the judge. Ultimately, Berkeley helped them find a safe, stable home with their father, while maintaining a strong and constant connection to their mother.

Berkeley’s service meets a critical community need. Hundreds of local children are subject to abuse and neglect each year, and their voices would go largely unheard with volunteers like her. In addition, Berkeley aids communication between service providers who are often overworked. The impact of her volunteer work is significant and measurable; in this particular case three siblings were able to remain together, residing now in the safe, stable, and nurturing home of their father.

Berkeley’s success as a volunteer is admirable and unique because of her tirelessness, her ability to think creatively and her long-term commitment. Volunteers remain with Piedmont CASA for an average of 22 months. Berkeley’s ten-year – and ongoing – commitment to the program is truly exemplary. She is a part of Piedmont CASA and the community at large and works each day to make life better for the community, one case at a time.