MARY LOU DUNCAN

Ms. Duncan began volunteering at Palmetto Health Baptist in the role of Personal Touch Volunteer upon her retirement in July of 1992 and since that time has accumulated 3395.2 service hours. An exemplary volunteer, Ms. Duncan upholds the value of extended dedication to volunteer service as well as excellence in delivery of service.

As a Personal Touch Volunteer, Ms. Duncan works directly with patients, offering practical assistance, meaningful emotional support and compassion to the lonely and suffering. She volunteers on Family Place, the unit which combines services for mothers recovering from delivery and for women recovering from gynecologic surgery. Ms. Duncan reinforces instructions about baby care and breast-feeding, which studies show directly with adoptions. She works with anxious first time or unwed moms who are often disconnected from the larger community. In addition, she answers bedside and bathroom call lights, packs and transports patient’s belongings, transports patients, offers the old-fashioned “nursing back rub” for relaxation and healing, and meets a multitude of other performance criteria.

Ms. Duncan has exceeded her responsibilities as a Personal Touch Volunteer by participating on our Steering Committee on the issue of PTV Retention, by interviewing prospective volunteers and by training new volunteers.

As a member of The Blythewood Church of God of Prophecy, Ms. Duncan once again contributes hard work and dedicated volunteer hours. She writes and designs a weekly newsletter that serves as a church bulletin. In addition, she sings in the church choir, works in the nursery, and teaches the adult Sunday school class.

Ms. Duncan is a kind and caring person who enjoys helping others. When told that she was being nominated, she responded, “There are so many people who do so much! Why me?” Her response confirmed that she is humble in her giving and truly a valued and well-deserved nominee.

JULIE MILLER

Growing up as a young girl, bearing witness to her beloved, deaf older sister’s anguished from being prejudiced against, and excluded by many hearing peers. Julie transformed her grief into a hopeful, life long commitment to help deaf youngsters of all ages become a welcomed, vital part of their larger community.

At age sixteen, as a high school sophomore, the petite, yet powerful activist for inclusion and diversity founded an exceptional community/school based Children’s Theatre Performing Arts group she called Hand-In Hand, exemplifying her life long commitment to connect thousands of deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing youth in her community, previously segregated for over eight decades. Selecting multi-cultural children’s scripts, Julie helps bridge the gap between diverse groups of high school teenagers, teaching them to respect and embrace each other’s culture through the simultaneous use of acting, dance, sign, and spoken language when performing together for elementary and middle school audiences.

The American School of the Deaf, the first residential school for Deaf youth in the United States, established in 1921, is located in the center of West Hartford, Connecticut. It’s Deaf and hard of hearing youngsters have been segregated from the surrounding, hearing youth and schools in the community since that time. Julie Miller demonstrates an extraordinary, long standing commitment to break down barriers of prejudice, advocate for diversity, and promote inclusion of deaf youth of all ages into the mainstream of society.

Julie fills many roles, but first and foremost, she has acquired leadership skills that will serve her the rest of her life. A fluent signer and actress herself, she is the founder, director, producer, choreographer, scenic and costume designer and builder, treasurer, and is responsible for funding and maintaining a budget. Julie teaches hearing actors to sign, works with school principles to arrange performances in elementary and middle school, creates and displays advertisements, and handles press engagement, while still maintaining outstanding grades at school. In attempting to solve a community problem of segregation between deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing youngsters, Julie has spent hundreds of volunteer service hours by creating this outstanding program, which involves, as well as benefits youth.

Hand-In-Hand provides a tremendous service by bringing together youth from different backgrounds, as well as parents, teachers, and other adult members of the community as well.

Now in its second year, Hand-In-hand can be replicated elsewhere in the country, and sustained in the future with new teams of directors, actors, and participating schools who can be taught the skills and tools needed to maintain and continue the program in their own unique way.

Last year alone, Hand-In-Hand has performed for well over two thousand youngsters, elementary, middle, high schools and even college age students, as well as scores of teachers and parents in Connecticut schools thus far. Julie was determined to create a unique, pleasurable, long term solution to bridge together diverse communities utilizing her knowledge, compassion and caring for children, as well as her skills in the performing arts, the latter that she has stayed committed to study and practice for well over ten years.

OWNLY WILLIAMS

Ownly is the Pastor and CEO of Harvest Deliverance Center that operates a Food and Clothing pantry that is opened once a weeks as well as a soup kitchen that is also open once a week. There is no charge for the food, the clothes or the meals.

Many people coming for food have need for guidance or someone to listen to them. Quite often they come to the Pastor during the pantry times. It is because they recognize the love that he has for the people. He is willing to use his own time to help others. He does not hesitate to try and find agencies to help someone if it is outside the organization’s means to help. Many times he gives to people from his own packet when he has need of the money for himself.

At one time the homeless shelter was full almost all the time. Because of legal issues, the church attorney recommended to close the facility until such times we could do renovations to the building as well as hire people to be on site 24 hours a day. This is a project that has the pastor’s heart, and there are so many people coming to the Center for a place to stay. It was decided to get the program up and running again. This will be another project that will help people in the Carrier Mills area. May of those people have small children and they are sleeping in cars. Pastor Williams’ comment was, “we can’t allow this situation to continue without offering shelters. We must get the shelter open again.”

The Center gives toys away to the children that come through the food pantry and soup kitchen each Christmas. Usually there are around 300 new gifts given away. Many people contribute to this outreach program so the children have at least one gift.

He has personal relationship with the Lord and wants everyone to know it. He is not ashamed. He is the same every time you see him. He sees no color, he does not notice whether or not you are in a higher class of people than others. Unless he does not see you, he will never fail to greet you with excitement and gladness.

The youth of the surrounding area like to be with him and usually when school is out, as he is out and about doing whatever needs to be done; you will see his truck loaded with young people. Pastor Williams meets them where they are; he does not look or talk down to them. He talks to them and gives them his attention just as he does adults. He has a unique rapport with them.

CASA OF THE EASTERN PANHANDLE VOLUNTEERS

CASA stands for Court Appointed Special Advocate. CASAs are trained volunteers who are appointed by a judge to investigate cases in which a child has been removed from his or her home because of abuse or neglect. CASA is a non-profit nationwide program, and there are currently ten other CASA organizations in West Virginia.

The children the volunteers advocate for have experienced sexual abuse, physical abuse, and physical neglect in their own homes. Often, the children are moved around between foster homes, shelters, and relatives’ homes. They have been hurt, they are scared, they feel isolated, and they don’t know if or when they will see their parents again. They need a friend. They need a CASA volunteer.

The volunteers are a variety of community members who are assigned to represent abused and neglected children in Circuit Court proceedings. They are often the “eyes and ears” of the court: interviewing family members, digging up records, finding much needed services for the children. The volunteers submit a monthly report to all participants in the hearings updating them on what has been happening with the child and the family, as most lawyers and social workers do not have the time to do the kind of detailed investigation the CASAs perform. The court proceedings usually go on for months, and many times last for longer than one year.

Most importantly, the CASA volunteers meet with the children frequently, offering them a familiar face out of the shuffle of case workers and lawyers. If the children need counseling, medication, special education, glasses, or any other service, the CASA volunteer finds the service for the child and brings it to the attention of the court. Moreover, the volunteers assess the needs of the parents in order to give them a chance to get their lives in order and their children home. These needs are often met with parenting classes, drug rehabilitation programs, budgeting, and counseling. The CASAs find safe, loving, permanent homes for every abused and neglected child they advocate for.

TAMARA GREET

Tamara Greet continuously exhibits a strong degree of responsibility to her community through her many ongoing volunteer activities and accomplishments in both the public and private sector by:

Volunteering as the Publicity Chair for the American Cancer Society’s “Relay of Life” event in 2003. This annual activity meets a real community need and concern and leads to a long-term solution in the area of cancer research and education by raising thousands of dollars for researching, treating, and educating the public concerning that disease. The event builds a connection between those afflicted by cancer and those in the community desiring to help find a cure. Tamara also developed a relay team for the 2004 (and future) event(s), creating a partnership and ongoing involvement between the Long Beach Junior Chamber (Jaycees) and the American Cancer Society in Long Beach, California that will continue in the coming years.

Receiving State re-certification and serving as a volunteer S.A.C.A. Crisis Hotline Counselor and Sexual Assault Response Team Advocate in Los Angeles County since 2003. Through this ongoing, voluntary activity, Tamara provides the sort of hands-on service that builds connections between the community and those in crisis or who have been victimized by sexual assault-related crimes.

Serving as a Commissioner on the City of Long Beach Board of Health and Human Services since 2003 (Nominated by former Council Member Robert M. Webb and appointed, twice now, by Mayor Beverly O’Neill with the approval of the full Long Beach City Council). In this voluntary capacity, Tamara helps to establish public policy in the City of Long Beach that directly and positively impacts homeless children and families in our community.

Serving as the Vice President of Marketing for the Long Beach Junior Chamber for 2003 and 2004 (Tamara has also recently been elected to serve as the Vice President of Membership for this organization in 2005). In this voluntary role, Tamara develops and implements marketing strategies for the Long Beach Junior Chamber, a community involved leadership training organization. As a Board Member, Tamara also participates regularly in most of this organization’s community development and charitable fund-raising activities. Such activities and partnerships have directly assisted such well-known charitable organizations as Habitat for Humanity and the Family Aids Network with their local charitable goals.

Currently serving on the Site Council for Bryant Elementary School (Long Beach, CA). Volunteering to serve with this organization allows Tamara to assist the Long Beach Board of Education with developing, implementing and supporting policies that directly affect Bryant Elementary School in Long Beach, California.

Currently serving on the Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA’s) of two Long Beach Schools. Tamar’s voluntary membership on these two local PTSA’s allows Tamara to support and assist with policies that directly effect Bryant Elementary and Hill Classical Middle Schools in Long Beach, California.

Each of the enumerated activities and affiliations is current, voluntary and ongoing. Tamara is actively involved in each of the organizations and activities listed. Tamara receives neither salary nor stipend for any of the activities and affiliations listed.

SUN WEST BANK

Sun West Bank was founded in 1998 with a true commitment to the community. Over the years this commitment has grown in size and stature. The bank institutes a variety of giving programs for its employees and plays an important role within the community through support of a wide range of community organizations.

Sun West Bank has been nationally recognized for its dedication to America’s Promise, the charitable initiatives centered on the “five promises” of former Secretary of State Colin Powell’s America’s Promise Initiative. It has also been honored by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Nevada for its continued support of their mentoring program. The bank raises donations and funds for organizations and programs such as the Boys & Girls Clubs, Classroom on wheels, The Shade Tree Shelter for Women & Children, YMCA youth programs, Project Literacy and Teach Children to Save.

Each winter Sun West Bank assists with the Magical Forest at Opportunity Village, and every Christmas participates in the Adopt-A-Family program of HELP of Southern Nevada. The bank’s involvement in the program allows them to “adopt” nine children for the holidays, providing them with gifts and other elements of a happy holiday that they would otherwise have to go without.

Going beyond holiday gifts and food, Sun West Bank’s charity programs also take into account the educational needs of at-risk children. The Bank Day Program, an expansion of the annual Teach Children to Save Day, allows Sun West employees to mentor local elementary school students and endeavors to teach kids basic Bank Skills.

Each Halloween Sun West Bank gets involved with Classrooms on Wheels, a program through the Clark County Schools which sends special school buses, painted like cows and outfitted inside like a preschool classroom, to neighborhoods where children otherwise can’t access preschool services.

With more than 550 children enrolled throughout Las Vegas Sun West Bank has helped out the last five years by packaging Halloween bags with coloring books, toothbrushes, toothpaste, toys, candy and bi-lingual reading materials for at-risk children who use Classroom on Wheels.

A long-standing program Sun West Bank developed for employees is Cool and Casual Days, which allows any employee the option to dress down for work as they wish, simply by making a small donation of a non-perishable household or food item which is then given to HELP of Southern Nevada or The Shade Tree Shelter as part of their “wish list” of supplies.

Another fundraiser at Sun West Bank is the semi-annual in-house silent auctions held during one week each spring and fall. Employee’s auction homemade dinners and other food items prepared by employees and on average, raised more than $450 for American’s Promise and other causes.

HARRIET CUMMINGS

Mrs. Harriet Cummings has been a volunteer at Northern Metropolitan nursing home for ten years. She began while her husband was a resident here. Her volunteer work continued after her husband passed away 3 years ago.

Mrs. Cummings’ compassion and love for our residents comes from her deep faith. She is guided by the principle that it is our duty to help and cherish our fellow man.

Her gentle nature, beautiful smile and warm personality make her a natural with our residents. Every Wednesday, Harriet takes her keyboard and goes through the halls, day rooms and resident’s rooms, playing lively tunes for all to hear. She is always encouraging residents to sing along even if they are not sure of the words. “Humming counts just as much as singing”, she says.

There is no task too large or too small for Harriett to undertake, from stuffing envelopes, to wrapping gifts, to serving lunch. Harriet is always there to give of herself.

On the rare occasion that she is not here on Wednesdays, it sis because she is a volunteer at a local elementary school where she reads to and works with children who are having some difficulty with reading.

Harriet’s other love and devotion is to her family. She has family across the country – Maryland, Louisiana, and California.

Harriet Cummings is a true asset to the facility and the tasks she performs are a vital part of our program. Her devotion and unwavering support of our residents is truly inspirational.

BEACHES COUNCIL ON AGING, INC./DIAL-A-RIDE PROGRAM

Founded in 1975, the Beaches Council on Aging formed the Dial-A-Ride program to provide transportation to senior citizens and/or handicapped persons for attendance of medical appointments and completion of such necessary tasks as grocery shopping, personal grooming and any other required transportation needs.

The Beaches Council on Aging serves to assist those residents of the Beaches communities who are incapable of providing their own transportation, in maintaining their independence and dignity, by providing reliable, personalized transportation services through the Dial A Ride Program.

The Dial A Ride program needed transportation to individuals, who otherwise would be homebound. The program participants either lack transportation or are limited in some way (i.e. medical limitations) form providing their own transportation. The Dial A Ride program bus operates out of the Beaches Senior Center in Jacksonville Beach, Florida.

A volunteer Board of Directors oversees the program. Two dedicated senior volunteers perform day-to-day administration of the program: Bennie Furlong and Gail Ennis. Grant funding from the City of Jacksonville pays for a part-time dispatcher who works in tandem with the bus driver. The Bus is in service five days per week.

In 1999, beaches Dial a Ride provided approximately 3,000 round trips to approximately 200 unduplicated clients in Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Beach and Neptune Beach. As of year-end 2004, through the efforts of the all-volunteer professional staff, rider ship has increased to nearly 7,500 round trips and over 300 unduplicated clients.

Three years ago, funding was obtained from the City of Jacksonville in the form of a Public Service Grant, which has provided the stability needed to expand their services to five days per week.

One of their most recent innovations has been the addition of Pharmacy pick-up and delivery, where Dial A Ride will pick-up prescriptions and provide home delivery to heir clients. This of course does not involve any narcotic drugs, only other medications such as high blood pressure medications.

CRAIG DOUGLASS

Psychologists and counselors across the state were beginning to note; primarily, that before 1970, there was virtually no help for battered women and their children in the Pittsburgh community or in Pennsylvania.

Legal Advocate Volunteer, Craig Douglass, pondered the same situation. His outstanding history with Crisis Center North (CCN) for the past 1 ½ years, has been through his enthusiastic work….quality of time overshadows quality of time. Increased legal services, increased education and ultimately, the tool of empowerment, for victims of domestic violence in the communities have definitely made a positive impact.

Crisis Center North’s mission is to serve victims of domestic and relationship violence and to eliminate the community held beliefs and behaviors, which perpetuate it.

Craig is an extraordinary young man with an extraordinary mission. Without expectation of reward or recognition, his solution to further benefit the immediate, and lead to the permanent, needs of victimized individuals was to initiate the opportunity for personal assistance and Night Court on Friday evenings.

When contacted for the Spring 2003 Training Class, Craig was required to complete the Volunteer Survey and Data Forms. Craig mailed those forms back and more. Attached were his thoughts and feelings, down in black and white, about the crime of domestic violence, the vital need for empowerment and the vision of connecting the isolated crime victims with the appropriate legal referrals. Craig focuses and believes that all human beings are created equal and deserve to be treated as equals without regard to their race, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic class.

A nervous victim stands alone in the hallway…who can help with what’s going on in her life? Who would believe the terrorism she and her children have faced…in their own home?

This is the situation volunteer Craig Douglass witnessed when observing an Emergency PFA procedure at Allegheny County Night Court.

CCN has always required “on-the-job” training for new volunteers at the New Family Court Facility to witness the PFA (Protection From Abuse) process; but the procedure at Night Court was not required. Night Court allows victims an avenue to obtain and Emergency PFA, offering a small sense of security from their abusers. Obtaining their Preliminary and Final PFA’s at the Family Court in the ensuing days, assure a longer-term solution and safety period.

Armed with this protection and knowledge…tools received from the Courts and CCN, victims and their families can feel safe for possibly the first time in a long time.

The Judges at the Night Court are also aware of Craig’s initiative and are tremendously impressed with his determination to supply a vitally needed service that was never offered in the past. As of now, Craig, representing CCN, is the only Legal Advocate volunteer making this innovative commitment to these crime victims. In the past seven months, 56 victims have received overdue personalized advocacy.

Besides holding down a full-time job, each month Craig typically volunteers 1-20 hours a month at Night Court. Those hours added to his volunteer Hotline Hours total approximately 50 hours a month.

MAURA MCGLYNN

Two years ago, Maura, an honor roll student and star athlete at Althoff Catholic High School, was lost and happened upon the Don Bosco Children’s Center. Intrigued, she walked into the center and learned that their mission was to care for neglected and abused children. Maura, who had worked with children in a variety of capacities, asked if she could volunteer there. The staff was a little surprised, and replied that no one had ever volunteered there before but that they would welcome a qualified volunteer.

Maura soon became the first volunteer at the Don Bosco Children’s center and has worked at the center ever since. There after, the Diocese of Belleville instituted a formal volunteer program at the Don Bosco Children’s center as a direct result of Maura’s efforts. There are now over 20 young persons volunteering at the center as a consequence of Maura’s first efforts there and her leadership.

However, the remarkable thing about Maura’s decision to volunteer at the Don Bosco center is how un-remarkable it is for Maura. Maura is a young practicing Catholic who seeks to live out the faith she has learned form her parents. Maura’s way of life has as its consistent theme respect for all human life. This respect for human life is what has lead her to help care for the abused children at the Don Bosco Children’s center and her many other charitable activities.

At the Don Bosco Children’s center Maura helps the children in a variety of ways through tutoring them in reading, coaching them in Athletics and simply being a friend to those most in need of love. Maura’s influence over the lives of the children she know, both at the Don Bosco Children’s center and elsewhere, is profound. Recently, she saw a young boy that she had worked with for years ago when she was a freshman and a camp counselor, the boy told Maura that he would never forget her.

On another occasion, Maura came across information that the Smith Lake Elementary School in New Mexico, far away form her home in the mid-west, was in desperate need of school books. This school, located on a Native American reservation, had fewer than ten books for each classroom. Maura, on her own initiative, organized a book drive for the school, collected over 2,000 books and then obtained a donation of over $300 form local businesses to ship the books to New Mexico. Maura did all this for people that she has never seen, but whose urgent need came to her attention.

Maura’s service to the community has inspired not only her sister Margaret but her other classmates to devote their time and effort to the service of others. In an era defined by selfishness, Maura is a selfless leader who leads by the hard sweat of service while remaining a well rounded young adult. In fact, it is hard to convince Maura to talk about her service to others; she simply takes that service as something required of all of us as a normal part of our lives.

In addition to the Don Bosco Children’s center, she has found time to regularly volunteer at the Belleville Area Humane society, the Red Cross, her Parish and as a Camp Counselor at the St Louis Zoo where she now works to save money for college. Considering that Maura is a honors student and an athlete with letters in both Varsity track and cross country, her consistent commitment to those in need is all the more remarkable.