Mallory Myers
Mallory serves as executive director for The Big Event at Texas A & M University. The mission of The Big Event is to build a sense of community between local residents and the student population of the huge university and also to meet needs in College Station, Texas. The Big Event works toward creating a sense of family between the University and the community through volunteer efforts such as painting a children’s recreation center and simply spending time with a widow.
In her role, Mallory motivates, provides direction and ensures that every decision, action and completed project supports the mission for The Big Event. Her passion for the program inspires all of the 160 staff members she oversees, and her enthusiasm extends to the 6,000 Aggie students she motivates to join the effort each year. Residents look forward to participating in the event with students as well, and it is Mallory’s efforts that have given The Big Event such a wonderful reputation among both students and community members.
Additionally, Mallory advises fundraising efforts, and the event has reached its $70,000.00 goal each year under her leadership. Mallory also serves on the student government association at Texas A&M. Mallory’s inspiration for service began when she traveled on a mission trip with her church in the 8th grade. She served as a Spanish interpreter on the trip and saw the importance of closing gaps in communication. After that experience, she committed herself to connecting and bridging gaps between groups, organizations or people to bring about change and unification. Mallory is a true leader who never loses sight of the need to build communities, cultures and organizations.
Hilary Sheinbaum
When Hilary Sheinbaum graduated from Coral Glades High School in 2006, she had completed 1,167 community service hours. She participated in fundraisers, disaster relief efforts and was the historian of Key Club. Her favorite act of charity? Getting a haircut. In 2006, Hilary cut and donated 10 inches of hair to Locks of Love. Again in both the summer of 2008 and the winter of 2011, the University of Florida student donated another 11 inches.
The majority of children helped by Locks of Love have lost their hair to a medical condition called alopecia areata, an auto-immune disorder that causes hair follicles to stop working. The cause of alopecia areata is unknown and there is no cure. Alopecia affects 4.7 million people in the United States.
To date, Locks of Love has provided more than 2,000 wigs to children in all 50 states and Canada since the start of the organization in 1998. Wigs provided by Locks of Love are custom-made from six to ten donated ponytails. Hairpieces generally retail between $3,500 and $6,000 but are provided free of charge to those in need.
In addition to donating her hair three times and graduating high school with 1,167 community service hours, Hilary has continued to volunteer her time at the high school of which she graduated. She has also created a Battle of the Bands for Breast Cancer where she raised more than $2,300 for the American Cancer Society. She also was the Relay For Life Entertainment Chair at Florida State University for two years. That is why Hilary is a Daily Point of Light.
Hilary has also written articles about this organization and other non-profits to promote volunteering and helping others. These articles can be found by following the links below.
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20081201/NEWS/812011009 http://www.alligator.org/news/local/article_627158a2-e08e-11de-849e-001cc4c002e0.html http://www.alligator.org/news/local/article_3c4749ce-cfff-11de-889d-001cc4c03286.html http://www.alligator.org/news/campus/article_1ecc24d1-e582-52b4-83e2-f10affc1e87b.htm
Rhonda Ulmer
Rhonda Ulmer is the Founding Director of University for Parents and an AmeriCorps Alum. She shares her story in her own words below:
I’ve always known volunteerism was in my blood because my mother models what it means to be a volunteer. My mother has served more than 70 hours a month for the past 26 years educating individuals and families in the community on how to apply Bible principles in their lives for true happiness. Her service totals more than 21,840 hours. My mother is a tireless, selfless volunteer that leads by example through service. She found her life’s purpose through the ministry. This is what you call a turning point of no return!
The turning point of no return is the point when one discovers their passion beyond which one must continue on their current service of action because turning back is impossible. It’s when you move forward in your life and make a positive difference in the lives of others.
When I served with Volunteer Maryland, an AmeriCorps program of the Governor's Office, I discovered my passion working with Anne Arundel Community Action Agency Head Start. I created a family mentoring program to help parents help their children be successful in early childhood education. AmeriCorps served as my turning point of no return. After serving one year, there was no turning back! I had turned in my free flight benefits with Southwest Airlines to serve. Serving as an AmeriCorps member was the best vocation decision I made in my life. AmeriCorps helped me develop volunteer management skills and open up many doors of opportunities for my future.
I learned through serving with AmeriCorps that my passion is working with parents and families. As a single mother of three children, I understood the challenges facing families in my community. While I was serving with AmeriCorps, my children’s school became in danger of being taken over by the State Department of Education due to its failure to meet No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law requirements. Seeing that change needed to happen at my childrens’ school, I took action!
As the PTA president, I received parent training and a grant from the Maryland Parent Leadership Institute to fund the Van Bokkelen Family Network. The Network’s goal was to help families meet basic needs, so parents in turn could focus on the academic needs of their children. The Network collaborated with many community partners, including the local Boys and Girls Club, Southwest Airlines, Anne Arundel Community College, the YWCA, Maryland Food Bank, Community Action Partnership and others.
The Network used the school as a hub to provide the community with support and resources. After three years of hard work, commitment and dedication from parents, teachers, and community partners, the school was no longer at risk for being taken over by the state. In fact, the school has made adequate yearly progress, a key NCLB benchmark, for five consecutive years.
I saw success in the Van Bokkelen Family Network and knew it was an effective model for community change. Inspired by the success of giving parents tools and resources, I started University for Parents (UfP), a community program committed to supporting parents through family education.
Every year 1.3 million kids drop out of high school. UfP has partnered with Maryland Public Television and the Cooperation of Public Broadcasting American Graduate Initiative to address the drop crisis in our schools. We are helping parents help their teens graduate from high school through our family education program.
Until this day, my mother continues to be my inspiration to volunteer and serve. In turn, I lead the same example for my three children to follow. As parents we are our child’s volunteer for life. The efforts we put in being a part of their education, pays off when our child graduates from high school, grows up to be healthy, happy productive citizens of society that give back to their community.
Volunteering is my way of life. After battling cancer twice before the age of 40, there is nothing else I rather do then spend my days being a great parent, role model and give back to others in my community.
I encourage all parent leaders, groups and PTA/PTO to attend the National Conference on Volunteering and Service. It’s a wonderful opportunity to learn, connect and be inspired by other volunteer leaders who discovered their passion and turning point.
Apollo Poetry
At 26 years old, Apollo Poetry has combined hip hop, poetry and education to reach the young and the young at heart. His rare combination of art and education has garnered the attention of major media outlets and the public. Such innovation has shown a new way of teaching and learning.
Apollo Poetry is living proof of what it means to defy the odds. From a very young age, he showed great promise. When he was 11, he competed in the National Spelling Bee; 13, he became the youngest magician in an underground society of New York Magicians. But such success didn’t come without tragedy. At 16, he became homeless. However, he still remained an auspicious individual. At 17, he performed on Showtime at the Apollo.
Even though he suffers from anxiety attacks, chronic headaches, and constant stomach issues, Apollo Poetry has devoted his life to reaching the young through the Traveling Poet project. Through the Traveling Poet Projects, Apollo has put poetry programs into action in school systems. He also conducts workshops with teenagers discovering their creative ambitions, specifically inner-city teens. His dedication is insurmountable. In 2009, he lived out of his van traveling state to state performing and giving out CD’s for free.
Apollo Poetry’s dedication has been a proven success. He’s performances has sparked the interest of MTV, the Billboard Awards and others, which includes being named an official Poetry Ambassador (2008) and a Peace Ambassador (2009). But most of all, he was sparked the interest of teenagers and the like. Letters are constantly written praising Apollo Poetry proven efforts in cultivating the minds of America’s future.
Surprise Fire Department Crisis Response Program
The Surprise Fire Department Crisis Response volunteers provide immediate crisis intervention on calls dispatched by the Phoenix, Ariz. alarm room. They provide valuable support, information and referrals to people during crisis so the citizens of the community are not left alone to determine what to do after the immediate emergency services are provided.
Volunteers are dispatched on emergency related calls including fires, domestic violence, car collisions, and much more. The volunteers stay with the individual or family to provide services after the fire fighters and police officers leave, allowing first responders to be available to respond to the next emergency. It also provides a greater amount of customer service to the citizen.
The department also stays connected to the community by attending events at the school district, retirement communities, Chamber of Commerce, etc. to educate citizens about the program. For their dedication to their local communities, the Surprise Fire Department Crisis Response Volunteers are Daily Points of Light.
