Alyce Kaehler

Steppin’ Out, Inc., founded by Alyce Kaehler and two other women is an outgrowth from a church community group focused on foster care children in Larimer County. Steppin’ Out provides support to 18-21 year olds who have “aged out” of foster care in Larimer County, CO. Youth must be taking active steps to seek employment, further their education, and working toward self-sufficiency and independent living. Each youth participant is honored with a party that includes their friends, teachers and other interested professionals, and members of Steppin’ Out. They also receive a variety of gifts, including a bicycle, helmet, and lock, a savings account certificate, food, clothing, and other gift cards, a memory book, camera, flowers and greeting cards. Steppin’ Out attempts to continue support through age twenty-one with an emergency fund. Another goal is to provide help with health insurance and routine medical care such as well woman care, dental cleanings and immunizations that may be unobtainable without financial assistance.

Before the first Steppin’ Out event ever took place, developing and creating Steppin’ Out, Inc. took four years with Alyce serving as tireless chair of the organizing group. Today, she continues to serve as President of the Board of Directors. To date, 13 youth have been honored at a ‘graduation party,’ leading to the current goal of honoring one or more youth recipient each month beginning in June 2006. Funding comes from Steppin’ Out volunteers, donations from friends, churches, one small donation from a foundation, and in-kind donations from community businesses, all coordinated and/or obtained personally by Alyce.

In addition to Steppin’ Out, Alyce is a driving force behind a group that provides birthday and holiday presents for all ages of foster kids in the county, has served for over 20 years as the senior counselor for a Young Mom’s group at her church, volunteers regularly in public schools, and has served in all kinds of positions at her church and in American Mothers. On top of all that, at age 72, she went back to college to finish her ‘interrupted’ college degree, graduating Magna Cum Laude from the University of Denver in Women’s’ Studies. Alyce’s efforts are extraordinary because she does what she does just because it needs to be done and she has enough breath in her body and energy in her muscles and spirit in her soul to keep on doing it. She knows no other life than serving children, whether they are part of the large family that has grown up under her amazing guidance, or the community that needs her spunk and dedication.

Students at Eagle Rock School

Service-learning is recognized by Eagle Rock as an effective, experiential means of preparing young people to make a difference in the world. From the school’s inception, service has figured strongly in its values, expectations and commitments. Students are expected to serve Eagle Rock and other communities as an ongoing part of their learning experience and knowledge acquisition at the school. The service-learning instructor and fellow coordinate service-learning experiences and partnerships, providing many direct and indirect community service opportunities for students through a variety of short and long-term activities.

Opportunities include Service Specials—a hands on service-learning course that meets four times a week each trimester and engages students in on- and off campus community service as well as regular opportunities to think, discuss and write reflectively about their service experiences and viewpoints; Chores—a community-wide work program where students and staff participate in campus maintenance; EagleServe—two to three days of community service each trimester provided at Eagle Rock and to the wider community; Service-Learning Advisory Council—where students have a voice in planning, action and decision-making around service-learning; Independent Service Projects—students develop a proposal to integrate a service-learning opportunity into their coursework or personal time; and Classroom Service-Learning Projects—coordinated through different instructors and courses. Service-learning appears in courses like Soccer and Service; For the Birds; Service, Spanish and Culture in Guatemala; Four-Corners of Service and Culture; Wilderness; Math and Cooking; Reduce, Reuse, Recycle; Sacred Benches; and Sustainable Resources. These courses are found across the curriculum in art, math, world languages, science, societies and cultures, music and human performance.

Service partnerships are maintained in collaboration with local organizations and agencies. These include Rocky Mountain National Park, MacGregor Ranch, the Prospect Park Living Center, Park School District, the Town of Estes Park, the University of Colorado, Rocky Ridge Music Camp, Sunrise Rotary and many more.

Travel and off-campus experience in the wilderness program and in various courses provide service-learning opportunities in both local and distant communities. Students may experience anything from trail work to cross-cultural dialogue, from tutoring at an elementary school to renovating a home on the Navajo Reservation, from picking up trash to organizing a PeaceJam project on global peacemaking, from working with Latino children in Estes Parks Roundhouse program to teaching English classes in a rural Guatemalan community school.

Jennifer Luttrell

In 1993, Jenny Luttrell’s younger brother, Jeff, was diagnosed with leukemia when he was 5 years old. He received many rounds of chemotherapy, radiation and finally a bone marrow transplant over the next 7 years. One night when Jenny was visiting her brother in the hospital during his bone marrow transplant, the little girl in the next room passed away. Jenny realized the little girl’s family did not have enough money for gas to get home to Phoenix. Jenny, a high school freshman at the time was shocked to find this out. It did not seem fair that a family grieving for the loss of their daughter also had to worry about finding money to get home to Phoenix. Jenny’s vision of Children’s Cancer Network was born that day.

She decided to organize a fashion show featuring children dealing with cancer and their siblings. The event’s goal was to raise money to contribute to the emergency fund for families undergoing bone marrow transplants. The first fashion show, silent auction and luncheon was held in 2004 and was both fun and successful. Funds raised were donated to the Pediatric Bone Marrow Emergency Funds at Phoenix Children’s Hospital and University Medical Center. After the event, a family decision was made to build on its success by forming a nonprofit organization with a mission to provide financial, psychosocial and educational support to families fighting childhood cancer.

Over the past three years, this has become an annual event, steadily growing in size of attendees and the amount of dollars raised.

Jenny currently attends the University of San Diego and remains actively involved in her fundraiser. In addition to her volunteer work with the Children’s Cancer Network, she is Vice President of Community Services at San Diego University where she organizes five sorority houses to participate in Walk of Hope Breast Cancer. This summer when she is home from college she has accepted an internship at the Phoenix Children’s Hospital.

Mary McHale

Mary McHale is extraordinary for her character, personality and wide range of services to the community where she has lived for most of her 76 years. In 1971, she co-founded Sancta Maria and volunteered at the shelter at least two nights a week (in addition to working at her job full-time) and for over twenty years, while continuing to work, Mary has been the volunteer “housemother.” In this position she has many duties: Mary spends each night at the shelter, recruits and supervises the volunteers, greets and supervises the guests, provides snacks and breakfast, shops for supplies, makes the beds, does the laundry, cleans the house and overseas the many repairs needed for this old building.

Mary remembers each guest and their particular needs and preferences, keeping their clothes at the shelter when they have nowhere else to keep them, visiting them at the hospital when they are sick, attending their funerals, praying for them, listening to their stories. She remembers everything and buys clothes and special gifts for the guests when they have special events in their lives, especially when they find a place to live, when she buys them things for their new places. This has been for 35 years, meaning that she has known and helped thousands of women.

Many women, unfortunate to remain homeless, return to the shelter each month for years for their week at the “bed and breakfast”, to be with Mary, a welcome relief from the more impersonal shelters and from the street. They regard Mary as their best and kindest friend, who will always remember just how they like their coffee, what are their special snacks, and will keep them and their things safe at night.

Carla Jackson

The M.A.P.S. Program is a nonprofit organization developed to provide salient mentoring relationships with local high school students, while offering scholarship opportunities for students who intend to further their education by attending college. Carla Jackson’s students are exposed to job-shadowing opportunities, cultural activities, and educational enlightening activities. Carla strategically plans the mentoring sessions and she involves community leaders and stakeholders to make certain the sessions are meaningful and effective. Her program also includes multiple sessions with information on colleges, scholarship research/preparation, careers, resume building, professional speaking, essay writing, interviewing skills, job search preparation, financial planning and time management. In June 2005, over $30,000 in scholarships were awarded to students. Carla believes all students can excel, regardless of race, creed, or color.

Carla often utilizes her own financial resources to make the program run efficiently. Additionally, she has been known to provide the students transportation needs, as well as food, clothes, and shelters. The role of Founder for the M.A.P.S. Program involves all elements of collaboration, time management, leadership development, and organizational skills. Not only does Carla create the annual mentoring agenda, but she also attends every session. She works collaboratively and cordially with carious organizations throughout the community.

The Bloomington/Normal community has a minority population of only seven percent. Carla creates relationships with everyone she meets. She has managed to positively transform the Bloomington/Normal community by implementing this mentoring program, as well as other community outreach efforts. Several other people from various cities are interested in the design of the program.

In addition to being the Founder of the M.A.P.S. Program, Carla is also involved in many community outreach efforts including Motivational Speaker at the Lincoln, Illinois and Dwight, Illinois Correctional Centers; Board of Directors the YWCA for Central Illinois; Board of Directors for the Girl Scouts for Centralia, Illinois; Vice-President of the local NAACP; Vice-President of the local chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority; Deaconess at local church; and Volunteer at the local Heritage Nursing Home.

Carolyn Gable

Motivated by the struggles that she endured as a single parent, Carolyn Gable started Expect a Miracle Foundation to offer assistance to the working poor. Many single parents struggle to provide for their family and are left without finances to give them the opportunity to play organized sports, and special tutoring, etc.

Through the Expect a Miracle Foundation, Carolyn promotes volunteerism by first encouraging employees, family, friends, colleagues and customers to join her in doing something for others, and then by creating an environment which acknowledges the inspiration of that shared service.

Carolyn is its ultimate volunteer, spending countless hours as coach, cheerleader and ‘foundation mom.’ No task is too small—the daily opening of mail, answering a ringing phone or making room on a busy calendar to greet grant recipients if they drop by to say “thanks.” No task is too time consuming—attending committee meetings, assuming a leadership role in fundraising activities, reading grant submissions and sitting for media interviews.

The foundation began fundraising efforts in 2001 and 2002 with one event per year. In 2003, Expect a Miracle stepped up its efforts by sponsoring two events each year: a spring walkathon and a summer bowl-a-thon.

Yudith Vargas

Yudith has been a volunteer at the Southwest Community Health Center since the summer of 2002, putting in over 500 hours of service. She began by volunteering in the medical records department, but later took on much more responsibility, such as becoming a member of the clinic's TAG team. The TAG team consisted of a group of teenagers willing to go out into the community and let the people in this mostly impoverished area know what medical services were available to them. The Southwest part of Santa Rosa has a large Latino population with few families having medical or dental insurance. This group of youngsters also provided this needed information at health fairs and in the schools in the area.

Yudith became full Director on the Board of Directors at Southwest Community Health Center five years ago, the youngest member ever voted on this board. Yudith has been a volunteer at Memorial Hospital in the Post-Partum and Nursery Departments from 2003 until the Present day. In this capacity she has already volunteered over 250 hours. Yudith was a member of the Key Club from 2002-2004, spending countless hours promoting youth participation in community service activities.

She is also a member of the Elsie Allen Health Center Advisory Committee where she volunteered to make bilingual presentations to parents of students at EAHS. Her subject was to address the importance of Protecting Yourself: Birth Control and Safer Sex for those teens that chose to be sexually active. An especially large number of very young girls were becoming pregnant at this high school. After intervening with information and providing birth control means to those requesting it, the pregnancy rate dropped over 40%.

Yudith belonged to the Interact Club sponsored by Rotary International for three years, from 2001-2004. She was elected President her last year and guided her fellow volunteers in the numerous community projects they pursued. There is a possibility that upon completion of her college years that she may travel to other countries representing Rotary. She has already been approached.

While attending Sonoma State University, Yudith has been secretary of the SSU Pre-health club. She has also been a member of the SSU Student Health Advisory Committee since the fall of 2004. No matter where she goes, she immediately volunteers in an attempt to help others. This is one of the reasons she was given the Sonoma County Youth Award in May of 2005, the one young person chosen for the entire county.

Yudith's work with the Teen Advisory Group at Elsie Allen High School produced a powerful, portable mural. The mural consists of several students and focuses on the message "To thine own self be true". It silently asks youths to not give in to teen pressure and to find their own true internal voice. Yudith Vargas has found her internal voice and has found a way to encourage and help others of all ages to find theirs and to give them the strength and hope they need in finding it.

Romi Barta

Romi Barta founded Kid Flicks with her sisters in Spring 2002 when her family was doing some “spring cleaning” and we realized that they had a large collection of videos and DVDs that they had either outgrown or no longer watched.

One of her younger sisters had a friend, Alex, who was diagnosed with Leukemia when she was in first grade. We knew that when Alex was in the hospital receiving her chemotherapy treatments, she watched movies to pass the time, so we donated movies to the hospital where Alex had been treated.

The Child Life Specialist at the hospital was so appreciative and told us that, “movies are the first things children ask for when they are in the hospital.” That day, we decided to collect as many videos and DVD’s as possible to donate to other hospitals.

Romi wrote letters to friends asking them for video and DVD donations and also organized collection drives at her high school and had her sisters do the same at their elementary school. Romi also solicited movie studios and home entertainment production companies. Additionally, she asked her doctor to advertise for donations for Kid Flicks through her weekly on-line newsletter that gets sent to the 2,000 families in her practice. Donations poured in from the start.

In the last four years, hardly a week has gone by that Kid Flicks hasn’t received donations of videos and DVDs. Some donations are small while others are large. Students and parents from other schools have organized annual Kid Flicks Collection drives which usually yield between 500-800 movies. After reading about Kid Flicks in various publications and websites, people have shipped donations from all over the US. In February 2005, Kid Flicks received 501(c) (3) not-for-profit status. Through solicitation letters, grants, and fundraising events, I have been able to raise money to cover 100% of the cost of packing, shipping and insuring each Kid Flicks “movie library” The goal of Kid Flicks is to provide every Children’s Hospital and Pediatric Department in the US with a “movie library.”

Mayisha Akbar

Mayisha is a volunteer program director and a real estate broker. In 1998, she purchased a home with stables in the heart of Compton so her three children could grow up in a positive, healthy rural lifestyle and Jr. Posse soon followed. The Jr. Posse provides inner-city kids with an after school program that supports alternatives to the gang and drug lifestyles facing our children.

The Compton Jr. Posse meets at Richland Farms, a little-known area of Compton zoned for horses. This year-round program, serves youth ages 5-17 and their families. These youth come from diverse ethnic backgrounds and tend to live in single parent households in the inner city. Jr. Posse provides youth with an after school program that supports alternatives to the gang and drug lifestyles.

Jr. Posse’s approach using horses is affirmed by international studies that show-teaming youth with animals teaches them responsibility, discipline, and increases self-esteem.

The Jr. Posse kids participate in all kinds of activities that are not only fun but provide unique opportunities to learn and grow though an equestrian-based approach that is focused on animal husbandry, riding skills, complete care and handling of horses, mentoring, self-development, anger management and conflict resolution. Each rider is assigned a horse and all the responsibilities that go with it. They learn to groom and to tack. They ride English and Western, even bareback. Many are accomplished equestrians who’ve competed in shows.

All of the Jr. Posse participants have a 3.0 or better. Mayisha teaches them everything there is to know about the animals. Most of the animals are abused and donated to her. The kids must learn how to take care of the horses before they can ride them.

The Jr. Posse participates in dozens of events every year like the Magic Johnson Foundation Carnival held in Compton. They bring horses and ponies to give rides to the local children as well host as a petting zoo with llamas, goats, sheep and many other animals!

Brenda Fann

Dr. Brenda Fann, who is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians, works at Rush-Copley Hospital as an emergency room physician and volunteers at a free health clinic.

Tri City Health Partnership (TCHP) is a free medical clinic that serves low-income residents of central Kane County who do not have health insurance benefits. Dr. Fann is the volunteer Medical Director of Chronic Care for the clinic and was instrumental in establishing two specialty clinics for asthma and hypertension.

As a volunteer physician at the clinic, she provides care to patients of all ages during her monthly shift. Dr. Fann’s compassion for the patients she helps at TCHP is exemplified in a young man whose life she saved. Wade had been a patient at TCHP for two years, receiving care for his high blood pressure, but obviously also suffering the ill effects of alcoholism. Knowing that Wade would die if he continued on this path, she took Wade under her wing, made sure his appointments were always scheduled during one of her shifts, and bonded so well with this young man, that she convinced him to stop drinking and enter the hospital for treatment. Afterward, Wade began to turn his life around and six months later looked so much better. His transformation was described as “simply amazing.”