Kyle Wurtzel

Kyle has done a lot for the GlamourGals organization. GlamourGals is a 501©3 nonprofit whose mission is to foster compassionate learning in teens while striving to end loneliness in senior citizens.

Teen volunteers visit local senior homes on a monthly basis to give complimentary makeovers and manicures to residents.

Kyle began helping the organization by encouraging his younger cousin to start a chapter of GlamourGals in Syracuse, IN. He further contributed by volunteering at the fundraising events. Kyle traveled to Chicago and New York and financed both trips independently. In addition, Kyle donated ad space on his nostalgia funny car, worth five thousand dollars, to create awareness for the organization.

Kyle helps out by bringing public awareness to the mission of GlamourGals—ending elder loneliness and helping to build positive teen leaders. Because of his efforts, the group has more chapters in the Midwest and a new demographic of people have shown an interest in the GlamourGals group.

Kyle’s volunteer work is special because GlamourGals is primarily a female organization. However, as a male, he donates his time, energy and talents to further GlamourGals cause.

Florida Hospital of DeLand

Florida Hospital of DeLand adopts the neediest families at Christmas time each year at the House Next Door.

The entire staff of the hospital participates in the monumental undertaking of this program. The hospital receives a wish list for items such as clothing, bed and bedding, household items such as pots and pans, and of course toys, games books and bikes for children. After all the gifts have been purchased they are blessed at a special service at Florida Hospital of DeLand by the CEO, Daryle Tol.

Parents become overwhelmed with joy when they realize they are going to be able to provide amazing gifts for their children as well as meeting basic family needs. After this program became successful the hospital volunteered to do a food drive which began the Adopt-a-Family Program. Because most food drives are during holidays, the hospital and the House Next Door came together to create a food drive in an off season like spring in addition to the Christmas program.

The relationship between Florida Hospital of DeLand and the House Next Door is a true community partnership; both organizations are committed to families in the community. Each person in every department at the hospital makes dreams come true for the neediest in our community and they truly give a gift beyond words.

Buckmasters

Buckmasters has dedicated 21 years of service to help make dreams come true for children and adults with serious illnesses who do not have a bright future ahead of them.

Buckmasters focuses on providing one last hunting opportunity for the seriously ill. By using their resources and associations with Southern Sportsmen’s Lodge and notable personalities like Jeff Foxworthy and Mark Chestnut, seriously ill children and adults have been able to fulfill their dream to hunt.

Buckmasters is a company that sees the value of helping their fellow man by giving back to the community in various areas. In addition to granting wishes, the company supports the Christmas Clearing House. The past two years employees have opened their hearts and pocket books and raised money for two special families. As an added incentive, President Lewis Figh, with his very generous loving spirit, pledged to match every dollar collected from employees—which doubled the blessings they were able to share with adopted families.

To get the employees out of the office and on their feet, Buckmasters puts the challenge to the test again to help raise money for the cure for diabetes. In addition, the organization had made a personal mission to begin participating with the breast cancer walk. They have also begun to collect shredded paper to provide beds for the local Humane Shelter. Buckmasters is most charitable in providing fundraising and auction items to an endless number of local organizations from Saint James School to the Junior League of Montgomery.

From helping to fulfill the dreams of someone who wants just a few hours of forgetting the pain they are in to helping the community to help raise money for a worthy cause, Buckmasters is there. They are more than just a hunting organization; they are a company with compassion!

John Dautel

Jack Dautel has been a faithful volunteer with the Aid to Inmate Mothers (AIM) program for more than 12 years. He has served as Treasurer, board chairman and has put in countless hours of his time to make sure the organization runs smoothly.

AIM was in need of better structure and Jack stepped up to make sure the organization ran smoothly and more efficiently, making it better able to work towards its mission.

When Jack came to AIM as treasurer, the finances were in disarray. The previous Executive Director had neglected to pay the payroll taxes for several years. The IRS was levying frightening fines on the organization. Jack took on the enormous task of negotiating with the IRS and settling the organization’s debt with them.

Not many people could have negotiated a settlement in the skillful way that Jack did. He convinced them that AIM sincerely wanted to pay the debts and persuaded them to cut many of the fines to a minimum, so that the organization saved thousands of dollars in penalties. Without his help, the organization might have gone bankrupt.

Not only did he fix the problems with the accounts, he stepped in to help make work environment better. The offices were in poor condition—Jack helped paint the office. Wherever there was carpentry to be done around the office, Jack brought in his tools and got to work. He took staff to lunch at Christmas time and his wife brought them small gifts of encouragement.

Since that time he has become a core member of the Board of Directors. As Board Chairman, he led the organization for three years as they began to expand. He attended meetings with grantors and took responsibility for submitting financial reports each month. He has assisted the Executive Committee in developing a budget every year.

In addition he balanced the bank account every month and saw to it that we had a line of credit in case it was needed. He continues to do the payroll and helped rewrite financial policies. He found a good auditor and each year helps prepare the books for audit.

Without Jack Dautel, AIM would not be as successful an agency as it is today; much of the work that Jack has done has been behind the scenes, but is invaluable. When Jack commits to helping, he means it—and you can be sure he will go above and beyond the call of duty. He is truly a man of his word.

In addition to his dedication to AIM, Jack is also a faithful member of First United Methodist Church of Montgomery where he volunteers his time and resources to the Missions Society and the Society Work Areas. He provides leadership through Care Construction projects, Habitat for Humanity and their annual Great Day of Service.

Carol Sasek

Carol Sasek is dedicated to the students of Southwestern Middle School. She has served not only as a math teacher, but also as a volunteer tutor during Monday and Thursday Open Media Nights Program. She organized special mentoring sessions for After School Club participants with academic difficulties and she’s always willing to go the extra distance for the betterment of the school.

Carol’s tireless efforts have led to donations of clothing, good used furniture and other much needed items to Southwestern Middle School. She has also volunteered for the Family Center where she not only provides assistance to families in any way possible to better meet the educational needs of the students but she was also able to recruit 29 units of donated clothing after the Feb 2, 2007 tornado.

Carol is always willing to help others. She can often be found purchasing clothes for a child who otherwise would do without, spearheading collections for families in need, and counseling countless students—all with no desire for recognition. She strongly believes in working collaboratively with parents, communities and civic organizations to network and promote educational initiatives.

Carol is a part of the school system, so she sees various needs. Sometimes those needs go unmet because of limited resources. That’s when Carol steps in and creates special sessions or buys needed items. She is an inspiration to the faculty, staff, families and other volunteers.

Miguel Palacio

Miguel Palacio volunteers to serve youth in the Maryland area. For the past five years, he has served as a Flag and Basketball coach for Maryland National Capital Park & Planning Commission in Youth Sports Programs.

Miguel is a dedicated coach who touches the lives of youth who participate in Harmony Hall Regional Center’s year round sports programs. Though he is technically serving as a “coach,” Miguel is a day-to-day mentor to the children he is working with.

Statistics tell us that youth who participate in mentoring relationships experience a number of positive benefits. In terms of educational achievement, mentored youth have better attendance, a better chance of going on to higher education and better attitudes towards school. In terms of health and safety, mentoring appears to help prevent substance abuse and reduce some negative youth behaviors. On the social and emotional development front, taking part in mentoring promotes positive social attitudes and relationships. Mentored youth tend to trust their parents more and communicate better with them. They also feel they get more emotional support from their friends than do youth who are not mentored.

Miguel teaches life skills and character as well as the fundamentals of sports. Each of the children who participate knows that Coach Miguel wants him or her to live up to their full potential as young adults. He is more concerned with them as youth than he is about the final score. However, Miguel let’s all the youth know they should not worry about the final score, but they should be humble in victory and proud in defeat.

Many may not feel what Miguel does is innovative or inspiring. However, when we watch the news and other media sources we are mostly shown the negative choices people make on a daily basis. Coach Miguel is in fact innovative because he has been a part of these young people’s lives for the past five years. He is also inspirational because he is not only volunteering as a sports coach; he is a life-coach, touching the leaders of tomorrow!

James Bacher

James W. Bacher has served as a staff volunteer with Lake Erie International Model United Nations (LEIMUN) for the past 13 years. LEIMUN is a 501©3 non-profit educational organization that offers educational programs for high school and college students across the United States and Canada.

Since 1966, James has served in a wide variety of positions, including 6 years on the Board of Trustees, 4 years as Chief Financial Officer, 2 years as Registrar, 1 year as Secretary General and 2 years as Under Secretary General. James was the creator and administrator of LEIMUN’s website for more than 8 years. He was also the creator of the online registration system. He implemented staff training programs. He was instrumental in balancing the budget and putting the organization on the path to growth and profitability. He was instrumental in making one of the largest changes in the history of the organization, i.e. moving the collegiate program from a small regional campus to a major downtown venue.

James served on multiple organizational committees including Rules Revision, Bylaws Revision, Governance, Development, and the Advisory Council. He worked directly with student participants as the chair of multiple simulations of international organizations. He served in several of these positions and on several of these committees simultaneously. He contributed all of this volunteer service (and much more not delineated here) while in college and law school and later as a practicing attorney and adjunct professor.

James has served his community by significantly contributing to the ongoing growth and improvement of LEIMUN, a non-profit corporation providing an educational programming to high school and college students from across the United States and Canada. Through participation in our programs, students obtain a unique educational experience through hands-on, experiential learning. Students gain greater knowledge and understanding of international relations: past, present, and future. They hone their researching, debating, public speaking, and writing skills, which will be beneficial for the rest of their educational and professional careers. Through their involvement, participants will interact with other students with backgrounds and viewpoints both similar to and different from their own. This broadens their horizons and provides them with a greater insight into the world that we live in now and the world in which we will live in the future.

Without James’ selfless involvement and years of dedicated support, LEIMUN would not be able to offer the high quality, low cost programs that the organization is known for. This organization would have far fewer participants and be in a far weaker financial position without James. In fact, the organization may have folded were it not for his fiscal restraint and dedication to serving the needs of our participants.

What makes James special is that he has contributed countless hours of his time each and every year for 13 years—a length of service very few people attain. James could have devoted his time and energy to any number of other pursuits. Instead, he chose to contribute to the organization where he had gained a unique educational experience and great personal insight as a student participant. He is one of the few people who would stand up and always do the right thing even when it made him unpopular. He has been one of the few individuals without whom this organization would not be where it is today.

William D. Henderson, Jr.

William D. “Bill” Henderson is an active volunteer Emergency Medical Technician-Intermediate (EMT-I) and Advanced Life Support Provider with the Northumberland County Rescue Squad (NCRS).

In his capacity as an EMT-I, Bill has responded to over 1150 emergency calls since 1995 on behalf of the NCRS and has trained approximately 200 EMT-B’s who serve the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula of Virginia. The training of these EMT-B’s is a cornerstone of the EMS program in this area of Virginia, ensuring sufficient and qualified volunteer manpower, while also providing consistent quality of service in accordance with established protocols.

Bill has also served as the Training Officer for the NCRS, handling regularly scheduled monthly training meetings, maintaining the Squad’s Quality Control process and conducting formal training classes for certification of new Emergency Medical Technicians-Basic. Prior to 1995, Bill had served as an EMT-I with the Charlottesville Albemarle Rescue Squad (“CARS”), with which he remains affiliated to the present day. The CARS has recently presented Bill the President’s Volunteer Lifetime Service Award for his years of service in Charlottesville, the latest of many awards for honors for his service there. The importance and value of Bill’s service has been widely recognized.

Bill Henderson, now 81 years of age, continues to serve as an EMT-I (Advanced Life Support Provider) and is the oldest practicing EMT-B Instructor in Virginia; he is also the second oldest ALS Provider in Virginia and the 14th oldest EMS Provider in the state.

With over 45 years (and over 24,000 service hours) of lifetime volunteer EMS service in Virginia, Bill’s contributions to the community are unsurpassed.

Laura Winking

Laura Winking is self-employed with small business and is also the President of DAWG (Douglas Animal Welfare Group) in 2008. DAWG is a 100% volunteer group and a 501©3 charity in Gardnerville, NV. Its main purpose is to get every adoptable animal at the Douglas County animal shelter a home with loving people. The volunteers work with the animals 365 days a year at the shelter in order to learn their traits, check their health, give them medicine and love. DAWG pays thousands of dollars a year for medical, advertising and other expenses necessary to get the animals adopted. Thanks to DAWG no adoptable animals have been euthanized since it started in 2000.

Laura has been volunteering since 2001. As the President in 2008, Laura coordinates any problems between the shelter employees and the volunteers; manages approximately 100 members and or volunteers which has been labeled by some as “herding cats; chairs the general monthly meetings and all executive meetings; walks animals on a schedule with all the other volunteers; volunteers for fund raising events, adoption events, microchip/vaccination events and other duties at the shelter; appears on the monthly TV program Northern Nevada Lifestyles with an adoptable dog; fosters animals at home if they are sick, dying or when shelter is full (beside having dogs of her own); successfully negotiated the grant requirements for a spay and neuter grant between local veterinarians, the shelter and the grantor, and is available to DAWG volunteers and the shelter 8 hours a day, 365 days a year, give or take a vacation or a trip. Being available 365 days a year, eight hours a day, could entail opening the shelter on government holidays, phone calls throughout the day seven days a week, possibly up to approximately 50 emails a day, and having to organize a search party at the drop of a hat, for a newly adopted dog after a phone call from the owner any day of the week. To say her life belongs to the animals at the Douglas County Animal Shelter is the understatement of the century. If you don’t believe it, ask her husband, Larry Winking.

Laura’s first executive position in DAWG was in 2001 as the Treasurer, or as she likes to say, “keeper of the shoe box under the bed” which was a shoe box with $258 that the less than ten volunteers chipped in to help pay animal medical costs. Laura saw the handwriting on the wall and suggested dues, fund raising events and conversion to a 501©3 charity in order to pay for the animal medical expenses. In 2002, DAWG converted to a 501©3 charity. Since 2001 Laura has had the following positions: Board of Directors, Vice President, New Membership Orientation Coordinator, Volunteer Dog Walking Capitan and Fundraising Event Coordinator for events such as the annual yard sale.

Because of her thousands of hours as a volunteer and her political ability, the county and DAWG cooperate in a respectful manner. No adoptable animals have been euthanized since DAWG was formed in 2000. Any time shelter employees resigns or are on vacation or absent for any length of time DAWG volunteers step up and answer phones and help at the shelter. Laura coordinates these actions. Because of DAWG the residents of Douglas County can adopt animals that make their life richer.

Her volunteer work for the last seven years adds up to thousands of hours helping the animals at the Douglas County animal shelter find a home. She is definitely a hero to every animal at the shelter. Laura’s happiest and proudest moment is when any animal at the shelter is adopted and probably when she falls asleep after another long day of volunteering.

Laura Winking is special because she is the president of a 100% volunteer organization that must volunteer every day 365 days a year in order to get the animals adopted. It requires her to volunteer or be on call seven days a week for 365 days a year from 8am to 5pm for the shelter and all the DAWG members and or volunteers, give or take a couple of weeks off a year on a trip. She must deal with all the problems of DAWG, its volunteers and the shelter employees since she is the sole spokesperson between the shelter supervisor and the volunteers, which is politically challenging. She keeps the morale of the volunteers a high level while maintaining a working relationship with the shelter employees. Being the president of a volunteer group is likened to herding cats.

The Birthday Club

The Birthday Club is a group of children who ask for cash donations rather than gifts for their birthdays and donate the money to the Florida Keys Children’s Shelter. The money is greatly appreciated as the shelter is dependent upon Donations and grants for its existence.

The Birthday Club was founded January 14, 2006 with 3 members. It currently has 21 members in 3 different schools.

The children in the shelter have been removed from their homes. They attend the local public schools with a label as a “shelter kid”. The children in the shelter believe that they are there because they are bad, which they are not. They are in bad situations. Knowing that other children care about them helps them in their general sense of well-being.

The children in the Birthday Club visit the shelter personally in small groups to make their donations. While there, they have a round table discussion with the CEO and CDO of the shelter. They discuss problems and possible solutions. The children ask that their donations go into a fund for outings and fun activities like the movies, bowling or pizza. Anything that can help the residents connect with “normal” kids living with their families helps them.

The impact has been great and 4 sided. The residents of the shelter have gotten a sense of that there are people who care about them. That helps their self-esteem, which is pretty low. The money allows them to participate in “normal kid type” activities. This helps them connect with their peers at school.

The club members learn the joy of giving, which hopefully will carry through to adulthood. It is a very fulfilling experience.

The parents of the club members attend the meetings when the donations are made. This has opened their eyes to the needs of the community. Many have collected items for the shelter. It is building tremendous awareness for the shelter. The Birthday Club is a huge morale booster for the staff who works at the shelter. They enjoy the visits very much.