Susan Cohen

Susan Cohen is a volunteer Parent Surrogate for all Davis students who reside at the Children’s Home. These are economically disadvantaged students; many who have been abused, neglected or abandoned and now reside in foster homes. She attends all of their eligibility staffing for Exceptional Student Education placement and reviews for individual educational plans. She volunteers two days a week in our Exceptional Student Education Center classrooms. She completes arts and craft projects, gives extra help in academic areas, completes small reading group activities and offers support for children who need to have someone listen to their needs and wants.

She not only volunteers at the school, she volunteers on the weekends at the Children’s Home. Meeting these kids initially can be frightening. Some are very emotionally distraught and disturbed. They can be abusive. She continues to try to mentor each child and consider what is best for each individual student. She takes an interest in every child. She researches every child’s file looking at their histories. She is supportive of every child no matter how difficult or challenging the student has been for her.

Everything she does is above expectation. Normally, a Parent Surrogate would just show up for meetings and become familiar with a child’s file. She gets to know every child individually and spends time with them. She volunteers in their classrooms and in their homes. She not only sets up rewards and recognitions for the students, she does it for the teachers who work with the students. She and another volunteer put together various luncheons every year for the teachers to show appreciation for their work with “her kids”. These luncheons include a gift of appreciation for each teacher. These luncheons are a huge morale boost for the Exceptional Student Education teachers and staff, and foster a strong bond between all involved with our students.

She makes certain that all birthdays and holidays are remembered. When necessary, she makes certain students have school supplies and clothing. Without her as a parent surrogate, many of these students would not receive guidance in the services they require or a parental advocate for their educational success.

She is quiet force behind every child. She never expects recognition, and in fact, is embarrassed by it. As a school, we may receive notice that a student is leaving and we have only a day or two to react or assist a student for a new school placement. We can always count on Susan. Usually with one phone call, she arrives and assists. With foster children, educational settings are so important in determining successful placements.

Dewey Ware

From the nominator:

“When I was a baby I had a virus that attacked my heart. It was determined over the next few months that I would need a heart transplant to survive. This put an overwhelming financial burden on my family. My mother has always been home to take care of me and my father has been a driver for the local garbage company for the past 20 years. Right away our community came together to help. A teammate on my dad’s softball team came up with an idea for a softball tournament called “Swing for Lacey”.

When Dewey heard about me he immediately jumped in to help in every way he could. Dewey began placing donation cans in businesses all over town with my picture on them. Along with help from the Mother Lode Lions Club members (of which he has been President) Dewey organized wood raffles and Soup and Salad fundraiser dinners to help generate more needed funds. As my family and I traveled a great deal between our home and Stanford Medical Center for testing and treatment, Dewey worked within the community soliciting businesses for donations for anything we needed.

My mom tells me of the time when our washing machine went out and the next thing she knew there he was knocking on your door with a new one he had found for us. We have definitely kept in touch over the years and my visits with Dewey and his wife Norma on special holidays like Christmas and Valentine’s Day are times I will always cherish.

The last few years Dewey’s health has slowed him down a bit and as much as I would like to have been able to do something to help him for a change, I have been unable to as I started experiencing kidney failure and am in the final stages of recovering from a kidney transplant. He is still actively helping others like me as well as serving with the Mother Lode Lions Club; he just cannot do as much has he has in the past. When I read the criteria for this award, I immediately thought of Dewey and the difference has made in my life as well as the lives of many others in my community.

He has volunteered countless hours of his time for many years to make sure the special needs of those in our community are met. Dewey has set a great example for me of the importance of helping others. This has inspired me to use my own life to make a difference by sharing my story of organ donation with the world in an effort to help those who are waiting for transplants. I am leaving home for college soon and won’t have as many opportunities to visit with Dewey over the next few years. He will be with me though as Dewey has a permanent spot in my heart and I will always see him as a hero that was there for me when I needed help the most. Please help me honor the caring spirit of the extraordinary man that is simply, Dewey.”

Sleep Country USA Volunteers

Washington and Oregon have over 23,000 children in foster care, many of which have suffered the effects of neglect, poverty and abuse. Sleep Country believes that when we work together we can help make sure these children have the items and resources they need to have a happier, more successful childhood. Sleep Country USA Foster Kids program has been integral in helping the more than 23,000 foster children that live in the Pacific Northwest.

Foster kids often go without the basic needs that most children take for granted, like school supplies, toys or even warm clothes. Sleep Country USA is making a difference for foster kids in need. Recent studies show that nearly half of foster children do not return to live with their biological families, foster children repeat a grade twice as often as other students and often score 15-20 lower than other kids on statewide tests, more than half of foster kids don’t graduate high school and at age 18, 61% have no job experience and 1/3 end up on welfare.

It does not have to be that way. Sleep Country USA® is joining forces with specific and targeted foster charity organizations and the community to help Washington and Oregon’s foster kids. They provide foster kids with the little things that can make a big difference. Things like school supplies, soccer shoes, tutoring, summer camp or even a birthday present or warm clothes.

The Healing Place

In 1989, in Louisville, KY, a group of visionary physicians and community leaders founded the Jefferson County Medical Society Outreach Program specifically to address the interrelated problems of alcoholism, drug addiction and homelessness.

This voluntary effort and the subsequent development of a peer-driven social model became The Healing Place in 1991. Its homeless shelter has housed and fed thousands since its opening and the residential recovery program has over 2,200 alumni—men and women restored to health, educated as to the nature of their addiction and the steps to recovering from it, reunited with their families and given the skills to take their place as productive members of the community.

It is an approach that is changing lives. Working and living on two campuses in West Louisville, men and women who were formerly isolated in their addiction find new hope through shared experience and learn how to hold themselves and others accountable for their actions based on unconditional love, concern and support.

It is an approach that is saving dollars and valuable community resources. The average cost of other treatment programs is $250 per day/per client as opposed to The Healing Place cost of just $25 per day/per client.

This economy of delivery is due directly to the contributions of the men and women in the program themselves and to the many dedicated volunteer individuals and organizations that provide needed and otherwise costly goods, supplies and services. Volunteer contributions are ongoing and invaluable, from food donation, sorting and service to renovation and landscaping projects to office work and tutoring. The on-site Clinic is staffed by volunteer physicians, medical and nursing students from local teaching hospitals, and an area pharmacist provides prescription medications. The Bar Association and Legal Aid provide pro bono advice in family, civil and criminal matters; and clients are connected with social agencies to help them with specific issues such as housing and child care.

It is an approach that works. Sixty-five percent of Healing Place alumni remain sober for more than a year after completion of the program—a rate five times the national average.

Named A Model That Works by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, The Healing Place program has gained national and international recognition for its excellence of service. The program has been replicated at sites in Virginia, West Virginia, Indiana and North Carolina. A new women’s facility is scheduled for completion in Louisville in 2009 and The Healing Place was recently designated the model for the Governor’s Recovery Kentucky initiative that is establishing ten such sites throughout the state, two of which have already begun operation.

Recognition, replication and results that have proven life-changing for so many men and women, make The Healing Place truly a place where hope is found.

Shirley Warren

Shirley Warren began volunteering for Volunteer English Program of Chester County (VEP) after seeing a notice at her church asking for volunteers.

VEP is a free, independent tutoring program for adults who come to Chester County from other countries. VEP provides one-on-one tutoring to teach English, promote cultural understanding and support community participation. For over 20 years, dedicated volunteer tutors have helped new residents improve their English skills, find employment, get a driver’s license and attain U.S. citizenship. In 2007, 187 tutors gave over 13,000 hours of their time to teach and mentor 212 adult students from more than 40 different countries.

When Shirley joined the organization as a tutor, over four years ago, she was matched with a student from Mexico. “Working with my student twice a week and over a period of months, I quickly saw the impact I was making on her life and that of her family”, she said, “Seeing the difference these changes had on her life made me more passionate about the program and I became more and more involved with the organization.”

After two years of tutoring, Shirley was asked to serve on VEP Board of Directors. “VEP was looking for fresh blood and professionals from the corporate world. I was interviewed by the board and nominated as one of three new board members in 2005,” says Shirley, “For the first three months after joining the board, I spent time learning more about the organization and what my duties as a board member entail.”

Shirley is currently the Chairperson for the Fundraising Committee and is responsible for formulating a plan to double VEP’s annual budget over a two-year period. The key to this plan is increasing our fundraising efforts. She successfully planned VEP’s first fundraising event, which was held on June 6, 2007 at Longwood Gardens in Kenneth Square PA. She is currently working on the fall 2007 fundraising letter. Shirley also plans to introduce technology planning in order to maximize VEP’s existing technology plan for future growth. Shirley states “I see it as a tremendous opportunity for VEP to benefit from a professional-caliber technology plan and to increase the efficiency of our fundraising—at no cost to the organization.”

She has not limited her volunteer work only to VEP, but also participated in technology mentoring camps for girls and Days of Caring programs throughout her career with IBM.

Ramon Fernandez

Professor Ramon Fernandez is an accounting professor who has volunteered with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program for the last 24 years. VITA has been in existence for almost 30 years, sponsored by the Internal Revenue Service. Professor Fernandez has been a pioneer in so many ways in the program. He was the first Houston volunteer to incorporate the VITA program into the service learning curriculum of University of St. Thomas. He penned the syllabus that turned VITA into a service learning project and he has graciously shared it with universities that desired to work with the program. His syllabus has been duplicated by local universities and has been very successful in implementing their service learning programs. His site has worked with non-English speaking taxpayers and received the trust of the entire community. Without his hard work, dedication and sincere caring for these taxpayers, a lot of the non-English speaking taxpayers that are undocumented workers would not file their income tax returns due to fear. Professor Fernandez’s determination to provide these taxpayers with accurate information and accurate income tax returns has resulted in connecting this community with the Internal Revenue Service and taking away the fear and lack of knowledge about tax laws and filing requirements. He and his volunteers break down many barriers when it comes to income taxes that they have taxpayers that return each year and patiently wait to be serviced.

Being undocumented may mean bypassing benefits they qualify for and may be in need of due to fear of governmental agencies and laws. At Professor Fernandez’s VITA site, they can have their income tax returns prepared and electronically filed at no cost. They can also receive information on obtaining an IRS identification number that will enable them to file their income tax returns.

The students receive excellent hands on service learning experience because they manage the site and prepare the returns. The skills they learn enhance their resume building tools and are transferable to their chosen careers. The skills taught are management, customer service, computer support and data input, income tax preparation, interviewing techniques, etc. Over 50% of his volunteers return each season even after they have graduated which gives us a glimpse of how deeply he has transferred his volunteering spirit into the lives of those he teaches.

The demonstrated impact of the VITA program is measured by over 900 returns prepared, millions of dollars poured back into the community and over $180,000 saved by the taxpayers in tax preparation fees. His dedication in serving has connected diverse groups of Americans through service to help meet critical needs in the communities of others.

Albert Hicks

From the nominator:

“Recently receiving his M.D. from Temple University School of Medicine, Albert has proven himself to be an outstanding young man, with a genuine desire to share his knowledge and experiences with others. I have known him for 14 years now and in that time I have watched him grow as both a student and as a young man. I am the Director of Youth Programs at the Franklin Institute Science Museum. I direct a program called PACTS, which stands for Partnership for Achieving Careers in Technology and Science. This program is designed to get middle and high school students interested in going on to college. From my first meeting with Albert, when he was just 13 years old, it was evident that he had a keen interest in science and a desire to help others. As a member of PACTS, he got the opportunity to do both.

As a PACTS student Albert participated in activities such as science workshops, theater management, peer mentoring, and laboratory research. As Albert graduated high school and entered Howard University, he continued his close association with the PACTS program and its young members. Whenever possible, Albert would return to volunteer his time. During the summer of 2000, Albert volunteered with PACTS for almost eight weeks. He setup daily workshops, counseled students and created personal development projects for the kids. I could see that these activities gave Albert great satisfaction. One of our key projects for that summer was on environmental studies project at our research site. Albert took a lead role in this project and organized several groups of students into a serious research team. His work allowed these students to produce a year-end report on the environmental health of Centennial Lake, a historic site in Philadelphia. Since 2004 Albert has been a regular fixture here with the PACTS program. He shares his life experiences as a regular panelist in our Careers in Science Program. Through this program he touches the lives of hundreds of high school students in this annual event. Albert also conducts an HIV/AIDS program during our health awareness week, he sits on our PACTS advisory board and he still finds time to mentor students in our Saturday morning workshop sessions. This year Albert is again assisting us by greeting school groups in what we call our Laureate’s Laboratory.

Reflecting on Albert’s relationship with the Franklin Institute over the years, it becomes clear that one of his main strengths is his great interest in the general wellbeing of children in his community. I believe this is one reason why he chose to become a doctor. He is a very caring individual, an excellent example and mentor for PAQCTS students and all youth in the Philadelphia community.”

Richard Proudfit

Richard Proudfit’s obsession with feeding the starving children of the world began in 1974 in Honduras after Hurricane Fifi killed thousands and left thousands more homeless. He traveled there as an engineer with a medical relief team to help the survivors of that disaster. At first, Richard was so busy with his engineering and repair work that he was unaware of the misery all around him.

Then something happened that changed his life forever. He recalls, “It wasn’t long until I began to see the children literally dying around us. One mother came to me crying, carrying her nearly dead child. She was pleading for help. That’s when my heart broke, and I went to my knees. I knew I had to come back and do something about it.”

That encounter with starving children in Honduras reshaped Richard’s life as he took on God’s instruction to feed the starving children of the world. Anyone who has ever spoken with Richard knows the intensity of his compassion of those children.

Richard first tried taking surplus food items to the children, but soon found that wasn’t what the truly starving children needed. He never gave up and tackled the problem through a new approach. With the help of several food industry executives, a highly nutritious dehydrated food package was developed. In 1999, Richard founded Kids Against Hunger, a nonprofit organization located in New Hope, MN, with the mission to end starvation worldwide. Since then, the Kids Against Hunger network has grown to include more than 30 satellites across the USA, and many feeding partners worldwide. Kids Against Hunger’s life-saving meals have been shipped to over 40 countries.”

The food is made from four dry ingredients that are easy to package, keeps for long periods and requires boiling water to prepare. It is a nutritionally complex and well-balanced meal.

Richard realized his vision required a vast food packaging capacity to meet the endless demand for food. He utilized thousands of volunteers from churches, schools, businesses and civic groups. Both testimonials and photographic evidence show the life-saving effects of the Kids Against Hunger food for the children who eat it. The starving children not only survive, they begin to thrive.

The unplanned but very real beneficiaries of Kids Against Hunger are the volunteers who package the food. Not only does the program feed many children, it also brings satisfaction and self-worth to the volunteers who package it.

For the volunteers, it is the ultimate hands-on contribution that, because of its simplicity, individuals form age 8 to 80 can perform. After two hours spent packaging, a group can easily have helped to create several thousand servings of food and see the cartons of food stacked and ready to be sent off to countries around the world.

Richard Proudfit is totally dedicated and committed to this program. He has spent millions of dollars of his own money and is an unpaid volunteer. When someone asks him about retirement, his response is, “I can’t. My children are dying.”

Mohan Ray

Mohan is a very accomplished marathoner; he’s raced in more than 25 marathons. But by addressing the high cancer rates in Maryland through running, his impact on the world around him has been so much greater.

He’s been involved with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training (TNT) program for more than a decade. TNT provides training to people aged 16 and up to run or walk a whole or half marathon or participate in triathlon or century bike ride. Mohan has participated in, mentored for and coached in numerous TNT running events.

As a coach, Mohan has provided personalized fitness training for a period of four to five months for each event, numerous training clinics and lots of motivation. We’re all very appreciative of his efforts- he’s made us all realize that we are better than we think and stronger than we imagine.

Today, Mohan has the second largest training area in Maryland for TNT, and continues to receive nothing but amazing feedback from his teams-they love him. He supports people from start to finish and believes that everyone can do a marathon and half marathon—especially for a very worthy cause. With his encouragement and support, the participants on his teams have benefited the community by raising more than $ 400,000 for Leukemia, Lymphoma and Myeloma research and patient services in 2006.

In addition to his support of the TNT program, Mohan has helped the Society’s Maryland Chapter in many, many ways. He became a member of the Chapter’s Board of Trustees in 2003.

A famous author once wrote that “key is to keep company with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best.” Mohan is one of those people. As a mentor and coach, he’s a caring adult in many lives—he helps all of us remember every day that you can do whatever you put your mind to—you can run fast and you can change lives.

Summerbridge Pittsburgh

Summerbridge Pittsburgh (SBP) provides a tuition-free, two-year, life-changing experience that empowers at-risk middle school students to achieve academic success and inspires young adults to pursue careers in education. Since its foundation in 1994, SBP has served more than 1,000 youth facing limited opportunities from 30 different public middle schools in the Greater Pittsburgh Region.

SBP uses a high-energy and hands-on approach to learning and leadership to create an exciting process of personal and intellectual discovery for its teachers and students.

There is a strong correlation between socio-economic status and academic success: children form disadvantaged backgrounds are educationally at-risk. Many research studies have established that a child from impoverished circumstances is three times more likely to drop out of school, irrespective of his or her innate ability. At-risk youth particularly need to be given the academic, social, and emotional tools to become successful students. SBP addresses these needs at a critical time in the students’ development—their middle school year—and at a vital, though often underutilized moment in the calendar year—the summer.

In order to best serve its students, teachers, and staff, SBP has formed an expansive network of diverse partners, including corporations, foundations, cultural institutions, public and independent schools, colleges and universities, and SBP families. Most recently, SBP has collaborated with The Pittsburgh Public School District, The Pittsburgh Opera, The Warhol Museum, and the Sweetwater Center for the Arts. All SBP students also spend a day doing community service with our neighborhood partners shadowing professionals as part of our annual Career Day.

More than just a summer program, SBP works year-round to translate a student’s summer instruction into school-year success. Recent activities have included the study of immigration in attendance of The Pittsburgh Opera’s production of Pagliacci and the study of immigration in Pittsburgh at the Heinz History Center. SBP also offers academic support and workshops to SBP families on issues such as financial aid, the college admissions process, and much more.

SBP gauge students’ long-term progress by measuring the rates at which students complete high school and enter college. SBP research indicates that 92% of SBP students graduate from high school and 80% of SBP students have gone on to college. Nationally, only 59% of students with backgrounds similar to SBP students graduate from high school and only 47% of those students go to college.