SONJA SWANSON

Sonja has volunteered for Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) of Greater Las Vegas for the past two years as a active member of the National Honor Society (NHS) at E.W. Clark High School. Sonja first became involved with RMHC when she volunteered her NHS group to cook a meal for the families staying at the Ronald McDonald House. The House serves as a “home away from home” for families who must travel to Las Vegas to receive critical medical treatment for their children, and the dinner program helps provide these families with a hot meal and one less thing to worry about while their child recovers.

The dinner program is a valuable volunteer program. Individuals and groups can sign up to cook dinner any night of the week, and our families always look forward to coming “home” to a hot meal. Thanks to Sonja, the Clark High School NHS has been a regular on the dinner calendar for two years, and RMHC can always count on them to help with community events and holiday activities.

As part of our mission, RMHC supports organizations in Southern Nevada that benefit the health, welfare and education of children. One organization RMHC works with regularly is Nevada Children’s Center (NCC), who provides treatment services to emotionally and behaviorally challenged children between the ages of four and thirteen.

As president of the NHS this year, Sonja organized a Halloween carnival at the House for over 20 children from NCC. The group set up four trick-or-treat rooms, a haunted house in our basement, and decorated the House with spider webs, props, and music. They provided homemade treats, facilitated group games, and made sure that extra costumes were available for children who weren’t able to provide their own. Sonja came up with this idea on her own, and planned the event from start to finish with minimal help from RMHC staff or the staff of NCC.

In addition to the work she’s done with RMHC, Sonja has also been involved with volunteer projects for Habitat for Humanity, the Las Vegas Springs Preserve, University Medical Center and various senior citizen centers. She’s been on two mission trips to build homes for poor families in Mexico, and has dreams of working for Doctors Without Borders, the Red Cross, or an international organization such as the UN.

Sonja is truly dedicated and committed to helping others. She goes far beyond what’s required or expected, and her enthusiasm, maturity and work ethic inspire all who know her. At the young age of seventeen, Sonja understands what it takes to really make a difference in the lives of those she serves.

DYLAN MAHALINGAM

Dylan is nine years old. When he learned about the effects the recent tsunami had on the people living in Southeast Asia and East Africa, he decided he needed to help in some way. He organized a few fund raising dinners with the help of his parents and raised over $900 for the survivors. The money was sent to India, to help a specific disadvantaged fishermen community and specifically used to replace fishing boats and nets in affected villages near Chennai. His contribution made a significant difference to this sea-side community which did not receive any assistance prior to this help reached them. When he finished this project, he started another one – this one to last forever.

After the tsunami hit Southeast Asia, he noticed that the kids at school and outside of school had a lot of questions about the tsunami and some of the information they were hearing was frightening. There was a lot of information about the tsunamis that they did not fully understand – what generates a tsunami? Can anything be done to prevent one from happening in the future? Are there ways to minimize the impact of a tsunami? They wondered if there were ways to warn people of an impending tsunami and if they can know when the next one may occur. By asking multiple questions, Dylan learned a lot in the process. Dylan decided to create a Web site to teach children 14 and under about tsunamis, how to watch for warning signs, and how to protect themselves if they are ever in an earthquake-prone area. He decided that this cannot be a one-student job so he assembled a team of like-minded individuals and with the help of his friends and teachers, he started a website called “Killer Waves” that describes the history of tsunamis, its impact, and recovery efforts following a tsunami, precautions and safety measures. The website contains several original drawings, interactivities, maps and other visuals to help a variety of age groups benefit from a visit.

Dylan spent his entire winter vacation along with the other teammates to develop the website. The website, on average, took about 10-15 hours weekly of each kid’s time over three months. During the development of the website, they ran into several obstacles: several technical difficulties were involved in building a website. The team had a specific focus in mind, and they delegated work based on individual strengths.

Each piece they worked on was a collaborative effort; the graphics would be completed by one person and passed to another who would animate them, and so on. If any technical roadblocks were uncovered, the team would come to the coaches for advice. They helped them get past obstacles with the components they were creating and also assisted them in debugging what they had already done. The team came up with several remarkable ideas, some of which they were unfortunately unable to complete, due to time-constraints.

There is an inextricable bit of each of them within each piece of their work; their personalities mesh so seamlessly that it is nearly impossible to tell where one person’s work ends and another’s begins. In the end, though, what really matters is the final project; a culmination of the fastidiousness of five invaluably diverse, dynamic and buoyant personalities. The site gets a hit of several hundred users per day and is growing and can be viewed at http://www.ammuirivinti.com/04oct/01797.

SHAZIM UPPAL

Shaz was here on time every day. His normal time to leave at the end of his volunteer day was 1 pm we ate lunch together 12-12:30 pm. At 12:30 he came down to the clinic and tidied up the mad tables, took out trash without being asked. Shaz, without a doubt, in the two years I’ve been volunteering has been the MOST dependable volunteer from any school we had in the clinic.

The first day in the clinic, I was orientating Shaz. He noticed several empty cardboard boxes, which one of the staff had removed the contents to put on shelves. Without being asked Shaz took out a pocketknife and cut the tape on the boxes to flatten them for the dumpster. When asked, he said the family had owned a small store some time ago and he learned he was to cut the tape and put the flattened boxes in the dumpster. After Shaz’s orientation, he didn’t need my supervision much except for special projects. Daily he did the chores without being asked and helped the staff with patients, he could assemble Dolomite Swedish walkers, wheeled walkers and he knew which tasks were required to maintain good patient care with patients. He followed staff with wheelchairs in case a patient would get to tired to walk. Shaz is one of the few outstanding volunteers who once he knew what his responsibility was, required little or no supervision to accomplish the task. He enjoyed the interaction with patients many, many years older than him and the patients demonstrated their approval of Shaz’s fulfillment of his endeavors to make the patient’s stay better.

Shaz’s personality was such that when he asked them during their therapy if they needed water, snacks or coffee and tea, patients enjoyed Shaz not being told what he was to do. Shaz has an excellent rapport with staff beyond his years of age. He explained his father required him to work in his convenience store so he had to have pleasantness to customers. Shaz’s personality and pleasantness makes him an exceptional young man in his career goals. He never complained about work and his interaction was always appropriate for patients and staff, but most important he listened to what they said.

Shaz’s overall personality and the hard work he must do as a self-starter in his parent’s business probably has something to do with his overall self-reliance and self-starting. Shazim’s personality and his doing requests of the many patients in our clinic was extremely helpful to patients. Many patients seem to be looking for someone to talk to in the busy bustle of this hospital. Shazim’s ability to interact and listen to stories patients described was appreciated by the patients. Shaz’s also assisted in the Veterans Cooking Class where we helped patients who have lost coordination and need supervision. Shazim would work with one patient without being asked. This then gives the patient a sense of fulfillment, through gentle encouragement by Shazim actually accomplished a chore.

JENNIFER GRAHAM STEPHENS

Jenna volunteers on the GC&SU Campus through the Clothesline Project. The Clothesline Project is a visual display of t-shirts with graphic messages and illustrations that have been designed by women survivors of violence, by their friends or families. The Clothesline may also contain t-shirts made to honor women who have died as a result of violence. The purpose of this project is to increase awareness of the impact of violence against women, to celebrate a woman’s strength to survive, and to provide another avenue for her to courageously break the silence.

From her work with the Clothesline Project to her passion to want to help women Jenna has helped to develop a pilot program called Woman’s Resource Center on the GC&SU Campus. Jenna Worked hard to meet with the correct people to help make her dream a reality. She met with faculty and staff along with members of the Upper Administration of the college as well as the university’s president, Dr. Dorothy Leland. This past January, Jenna’s dream came true and the GC&SU Women’s Resource Center was opened. Jenna is currently working on a shoestring budget and working in the center 30 hours a week as part of an internship. Jenna is solely the staff of this office along with student volunteers and with the guidance of professional staff members. Jenna is hoping to get the numbers up of women that use the center and their programming numbers up so that hopefully a full time Women’s Resource Center director can be hired.

Jenna represents her program well; she also attends leadership workshops and meetings so that she can become the best student coordinator she can be and to make herself a better leader. The clothesline Project has received the student coordinated program of the year from The GIVE Center as well as Jenna has received the Student Coordinator of the month and semester awards from The GIVE Center. This April during volunteer appreciation month Jenna, the Clothesline Project and the Women’s Resource Center will be named volunteers of the day.

DOUGLAS ROBINSON

In 1987, Douglas designed and began “Project HELP,” through the First United Methodist Church of Bedford. This unique outreach provides food, clothing, shelter and care counseling to those in need in our community. Project HELP established full food bank operations, clothing distribution and even a group that fixed cars for those in need. It also included an effective job program to try and get people out of the system and re-enter them into the community Douglas worked as Director until 1994. It’s still considered one of the most effective outreaches of its kind in the Fort Worth Metropolis.

During the early 1980’s, Douglas also began personal donation and volunteer work with Carter BloodCare. He developed a program focused toward educating youth about the importance of blood donation. In 2002, as the chairman of the Carter BloodCare Keller Donor Council, he designed and built the first children’s play area in a donor center, “The Kids Korner”, in Carter BloodCare…only the second ever done in Texas.

In 2003, Douglas became involved with the “Leukemia and Lymphoma Societies,” Light The Night Walk, held in the Fort Worth Stockyards. He was both the captain of the Carter Blood Care/Keller Donor Center Team…and also a committee member. In 2004, he continued to work the LLS/ Light The Night Walk and was the number one fundraiser for the walk. For the 2005 walk (to be held October 16th) in Sundance Square, Douglas is the Event Chairman. When he saw those involved – the survivors of cancer and the families and loved ones of those who lost their battles with these terrible diseases, he knew could make a difference and save lives, through helping to raise funds for the patient care and research.

Douglas Robinson received the Lockheed-Martin Community service award in 2002, 2003, and 2004. He actually received two community service awards for volunteer work in 2004 with Carter Blood Care and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society…each with over 250 hours of service that year. He also has been a multiple recipient of the Presidential Volunteer Service Award.

MELISSA & JORDAN MILICH

Through VolunTeens.com and Review-a-New, Melissa and Jordan Milich hope to change the face of community service in South Florida. The Milich twins have been diligently at work expanding, enhancing and maintaining a website devoted to high school students looking for volunteer activities and creating a program devoted to recycling college test preparation material. The site, www.VolunTeens.com, meets the needs of the youth, the volunteer organizations, and the community. High school students in Broward and Palm Beach counties have community service hours to fill; yet many teens have little idea how or where to volunteer. The site promises to be a “one-stop” for students in search of age-appropriate and interesting volunteer opportunities. VolunTeens.com lists organizations seeking teen volunteers in a variety of areas including children, the elderly, the environment, animal care, government, health care, community-wide events and many others. Information is updated regularly and each posting includes a description of the group’s mission and contact information for its volunteer coordinator. The website also features details about the community service requirements for public and private schools, a calendar of upcoming events, a quarterly VolunTeen profile and other features. By posting their volunteer opportunities on VolunTeens.com, the site helps organizations attract a new market of young, energetic volunteers, promote awareness of their existence, and provide a resource to locate large numbers of volunteers.

Originally created in 2001 by their twin teen neighbors as an outlet for opportunities in south Palm Beach, Melissa and Jordan have devoted their efforts to expanding the site with hopes that it will help teens from both their home and school areas find ways to connect with their communities. They want their peers to use VolunTeens.com to find the right opportunities to match their schedules, skills, and interests in an effort to maximize their impact on, and build strong ties with their community.

This innovative website is distinguishable from other volunteer sites because it is for teens, by teens and devoted exclusively to helping teens help others through community service. In maintaining the site, the 17-year old Boca Raton twins spend hours searching for volunteer activities and events that they know teenagers would enjoy. For today’s computer savvy teens, a simple “click” on the teen-based VolunTeens.com may hold the key to unlocking a new generation of “volunteens” eager to serve.

In addition to VolunTeens.com, Melissa and Jordan created Review-A-New, an ongoing program at their Fort Lauderdale school for the collection of used review books and study guides for the standardized SAT, SATII, ACT, and AP exams. The twins noticed that most of the review books, which cost between $15-$50 each, were routinely discarded by students once the exams were taken. Through their combined efforts, these valuable college preparation review materials were donated to a community study center visited by needy high school students. The Milich twins have also tutored elementary school students at a local library, collected used sports equipment for the needy, coached a youth basketball team, and participated in other service activities.

PHI MU SORORITY

Phi Mu’s main community service area that they work with is the Children’s Miracle Network and the Children’s Medical Hospital in Macon. They also have participated in the annual Baldwin County Relay for Life for the past five years. This year not only did they have teams walking and raising money they were also in charge of the On-Site Activities, which kept everyone busy while they were not walking. Relayers participated in scavenger hunts, mini relays, a Mr. Relay contest, making friendship bracelets for sick children, and sang karaoke, watched movies, and did all kinds of fun stuff. This group has been responsible for the on-site activities for the last two years now and hopefully they will be in charge of them again next year. They did an excellent job.

One of Phi Mu’s favorite community service endeavors is working with the Children’s Medical Hospital as well as with the Children’s Miracle Network. This year they have not only gone to the Children’s Medical Hospital and visited with the sick children but they also participated in the first Dance Marathon on campus. Dance Marathon is a national fundraiser where dancers (college students) raise money by securing donations and pledges in advance. One hundred percent of those funds will stay local to benefit hospitalized kids in your community. There were at least 15-20 Phi Mu’s that raised over $100 for Dance Marathon and participated in this 12-hour event. They raised over $1700 for the Children’s Medical Hospital in Macon. They had a member of their sorority on the planning committee and with all of her hard work and dedication to the Children’s Medical Hospital and to Dance Marathon she is going to be the new Student Director for next year.

This year Phi Mu will be recognized as Volunteers for the day during Volunteer Appreciation month in April. The GIVE Center felt that this was one way to recognize this organization for their outstanding volunteer efforts. They also have students that are going to be asked to be part of the Platinum Touch, which is an Honorary Service Organization that will be started on campus this spring. This spring Phi Mu along with Ashley Hall will earn the National Presidential Volunteer Service Award. Phi Mu truly has found the perfect balance between academics, extra-curricular activities, and community service projects.

CRYSTAL SOLANO

Never missed a day. Crystal worked well past the usual working hour of 4:30 on numerous occasions and always arrived promptly at 8:00AM. She worked whatever hours it took to complete an ambitious, time-consuming project in a limited time frame. Once we had to tell her to go home at 7:00 PM.

Crystal well exceeded our expectations of what could be accomplished by a summer volunteer with limited medical knowledge or experience in healthcare. Her level of performance was equal to that of a pathology resident two years post medical school, due to her skill and tenacity in examining hundreds of medical records for numerous pieces of information. In twelve years of supervising pathology residents, who attempt similar projects, none has accomplished as much as Crystal.

Everyone on our staff who worked with Crystal loved her. She has a sweet personality and demeanor. She is modest and unassuming, perhaps even shy, but is thoughtful and extraordinarily conscientious. Her volunteer project did not require contact with patients, only with staff of the Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Service. It is unusual in a very busy service such as ours for a short-term volunteer to capture the hearts of the people she worked with as Crystal did.

Crystal showed an amazing and precocious ability to pick up complex medical concepts even though she had only one year of college. There’s no doubt that she has a sharp intellect, but one that is pleasantly softened by her modesty. She also has a well-developed sense of ‘deferred gratification’; i.e. she knows how to put her nose to the grindstone day after day knowing that the hard work will pay off in the end. Reviewing hundreds of patient’s electronic medical records is a grueling task, but she was focused, tenacious, and determined to finish – which she did. With her combination of fine intellect, character, and willingness to work hard, she is already a leader by example for her peers. She can envision her becoming a successful academic physician. We have no doubt that she will be highly successful in any field she chooses.

Crystal didn’t work directly with patients during her time with us. Since she sowed an interest in the workings of the clinical laboratory when she first visited with us, we gave her a large-scale project. This project involved analyzing physician practices with regard to how and why they order Lyme disease tests, and how the test results are used in directing patient care. She reviewed approximately 300 patient records, collecting approximately 20 pieces of data on the care of each patient. This was a daunting task. Her results have shown which clinical findings best predict which patients have Lyme disease and her work has indicated when Lyme testing is most appropriate and useful. Crystal will be first author on a manuscript we will prepare, hopefully for peer-reviewed publication. That’s quite an accomplishment for a first-year college student volunteer. Her work aimed at a wider impact than the usual one-on-one volunteer work.

REBECCA ATHA

Rebecca has donated many volunteer hours to the GC&SU Sequins and Smiles program. Sequins and Smiles is dedicated to building the self esteem of underprivileged teenage girls by providing them with beautiful formal wear for special occasions in their lives. Sequins and Smiles was created in 2003 by Rebecca to help deserving young girls look and feel like princesses by providing them with beautiful new and almost-new formal dresses, shoes, accessories and jewelry. Sequins and Smiles collects new and almost-new formal dresses and accessories as well as provides them, free of charge to Central GA high school students who are unable to purchase their own prom attire.

The idea for Sequins and Smiles came to Rebecca as she was cleaning out her closet. She had numerous beautiful bridesmaids’ gowns that she had work once and did not foresee having the occasion to wear again. The dresses were too nice to just give away – Rebecca wanted to actually see the faces of the young girls who would put them to good use. She knew many of her friends were in the same situation, and contacted friends via email with the idea, proposing that they take up a collection of dresses, shoes and other accessories. Friends forwarded on the email and before she knew it, Rebecca was receiving donations from women all across the country. Many of the women responded by telling her how nice it felt, knowing their dresses were going to be put to good use. For Rebecca, the smile on the girls’ faces makes it all worth it!

From her work with the GC&SU Sequins and Smiles Program to her passion to want to help young ladies she has helped to coordinate our Sequins and Smiles Program. She worked so hard to meet with the correct people to help make this program happen. Rebecca’s dream came true and she held the grand opening of the Sequins and Smiles closet at GC&SU. Rebecca has 5-10 student volunteers that have helped her plan this program and event.

Rebecca attends monthly meetings and represents her program well. She also attends leadership workshops and meetings so that she can become the best student coordinator she can be and to make herself and better leader. Her program has received the Student Coordinated program of the month from The GIVE Center as well as the Student Coordinator of the month. This April during volunteer appreciation month she will be named as one of the volunteers of the day.

FRANCES & WILLIAM KUNZ

What do teachers do when they retire? They volunteer to teach others!

William and Frances tutor culturally diverse students every week in the Homework In Progress Program as well as co-leading an English conversation Group every Saturday. Their contributions have been an integral part of the success of the Conversational English classes for Adults. Their tireless dedication allows adults to learn English and thereby enables them to lead a more productive life.

Mr. and Mrs. Kunz help lead an English Conversation Group on Saturday mornings. This group varies from week to week but usually consists of eight to twelve adults from various ethnic backgrounds. Conversations consist of many different topics; the goal is to increase the confidence level of these new speakers of English and to help them understand the idioms they hear but may not understand. The need for their services is great in Lakewood as the population continues to grow with many different cultures and languages. The elementary schools are now 40 percent diverse.

For over ten years Frances Kunz has volunteered for the Lakewood Branch and Point Pleasant Branches of the Ocean County Library. She has delivered materials to homebound customers, read books to people in a long-term health facility, and since the year 2000, tutored students in the Homework in Progress Program at the Lakewood Branch. Her husband, William, joined her in 2000 and also tutors students every week for a few hours. The H.I.P. program (Homework in Progress), which takes place after school hours from Monday – Friday has shown their devotion. Without their consistent and very reliable participation as tutors, certainly many of the students would not be as successful as they have become.

The unselfish commitment by these two exceptional people demonstrates volunteerism at it’s best.