Minerva Gonzalez

Minerva Gonzalez is set on creating opportunites for Latinas to pursue higher education.

When she was applying to colleges, Minerva was impressed by the support she received from a high school teacher to pursue advanced education. As a result of this support, Minerva graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Public Administration.

She decided to give back to other young Latinas to encourage them to pursue educational opportunities.

Minerva joined the North County Latinas Association, which seeks to create a healthy quality of life for all Latinas by empowering Latinas socially and economically through education.

The North County Latinas Association (NCLA) was founded in 1992 in order to bring together Latinas who share common goals. The NCLA provides four main programs: monthly meetings that provide networking opportunities; a scholarship fund for annual granting to high school Latinas; a full day conference for young Latinas and their mothers, focusing on education, careers, leadership and positive motivation; and a mentoring program for young Latinas.

Minerva’s work with NCLA is important because it address the lack of college preparation and opportunity information for students and their parents. Her efforts help increase the number of Latinas learning how to attend college as she has seen the number of NCLA conference attendees grow from 100 to 1,000.

As Minerva shares, “Education access and equity is my passion and the work is never done. There is always more to do. So I will continue to serve my community.”

Rev. Jamesetta Ferguson-2

Rev. Jamesetta Ferguson

Reverend Jamesetta Ferguson is increasing the scope of her congregation to impact her community in Louisville, Kentucky.

Rev. Ferguson serves as the pastor of St. Peter's United Church of Christ located in the heart of one of Louisville's largest housing projects. With incredible vision and perseverance, Pastor Ferguson has transormed this once closed faith community into a thriving neighborhood church that meets the needs of the community.

To increase the services provided by the church, Ferguson organizes and leads groups of volunteer workers, most who live at or below the poverty level, to help themselves through helping others.

Under Pastor Ferguson's leadership, St. Peter’s has expanded its programming to benefit the neighborhood’s adult and child populations. St. Peter’s began a Dare to Care Food Distribution Center as well as an Emergency Food Center. The church also offers support community meetings for those with HIV/AIDS or struggling with addition recovery. Through community partnerships, St. Peter’s dispenses health information ad provides free health screenings. A licensed counselor also provides services to individuals and families in need for free or at a reduced cost.

St Peter's represents a safe place to the over 500 children and youth that live right across the street in the housing project. Church vlunteers provide local children and youth with a hot meal, help with homework, and healthy, fun times during the youth programs through the week.

In Pastor Ferguson’s words, “I have undertaken the transformation of a traditional congregation in urban Louisville and have led them to great success in reaching people in a predominantly African-American community. Creating an atmosphere of harmony and unity in this increasingly diverse society is key to helping people care about one another and a willingness to help one another. I have also served as an advocate for the people in the congregation and community to seek individual identity through spiritual growth and participation in social services that will empower them in their individual lives and families to become better men, women and children.”

Annette Hancock-2

Florence Phillips

Gary LaGrange

In January 2008, Army Captain Brian McCall requested support from his friends and family in the United States in providing needed school supplies to school children in his area of operations in Baghdad, Iraq.

The retired Army Colonel Gary LaGrange identified with McCall’s request and recalled how he took part in distributing school supplies to villagers when he was deployed to Vietnam.

Inspired by McCall’s request, LaGrange founded Help Us Learn…Give Us Hope (HUSGUS) to provide school supplies to children in Iraq and Afghanistan.

What began as a project Gary and his wife did in their basement, has grown into an organization that sends thousands of pounds of supplies to Iraq and Afghanistan each year. Initially supplies were sent to support 7 schools with 2500 children, but today hundreds of thousands of school supplies support more than 600,000 children.

The supplies are sent directly to deployed US military troops who then distribute the paper, backpacks, books, pencils, and other supplies to local schools, children and teachers.

Not only does this program enable the children of Iraq and Afghanistan to have a better future through access to basic educational resources, it is an example of powerful social justice work. The project has the incredible ability to engage international communities in positive relationships between deployed soldiers and the citizens in their area of operations.

At the same time, Gary is engaging others in service. Volunteers of all ages regularly meet to sort, pack and ship supplies. Community organizations across Kansas are spearheading collection drives for the school supplies. Individuals from local Boy Scout troops to veterans are uniting behind a shared cause, in part, because of the leadership and inspiration provided by Gary.

Rich Puckett

A champion for Big Brothers’ mentorship program, Rich Puckett calls on others to have a direct impact on local youth by taking on the role of mentor. When Rich was partnered with his “little brother” Dylan, he began to ask what he could do to help more boys like Dylan get partnered with a Big Brother.

As a result of those soul-searching moments, Rich formed a Recruitment Task Force for Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Sun Coast. Utilizing his personal experience as a mentor and mentee, Rich drives recruitment campaigns for Big Brothers Big Sisters. He writes appeal letters and reaches out to his personal and professional networks.

He campaigns to “Replicate, Replenish and Recreate” new “Big Brothers” for the organization’s unmatched students. Rich Puckett continues to impact not only his Little Brother Dylan, he also continues to build the BBBS organization by serving on the organization’s Corporate Board. While on the Corporate Board for Boys Club, Rich encouraged the organization, “not [to] rest until every child is matched and volunteers become the ones having to wait!” As a result of his leadership and dedication Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Sun Coast’s community partnerships topped 100 in number this year.

Rich’s impact is also seen in the increasing number of youth being partnered with the mentors they need in the Sarasota, Florida area because “just one child waiting [for a mentor] is too many!”

Della Stolsworth

First Lady Michelle Obama said, "When I thought about the things I cared about, the things I was passionate about, service was always in there." So too, for Della Stolsworth.

As members of the baby-boom generation near retirement age, the pool of potential volunteers with professional skills and time on their hands is growing rapidly. Nonprofits, under increasing economic pressure, need skilled help more than ever, but often don’t know how or where to find such assistance.

To connect these two groups, Della Stolsworth created the Pro-Bono Consultant (PBC) Program in 2003 to fill the gap. The Pro-Bono Consultant Program connects skilled professionals with area nonprofits eager to utilize their talents and experience in time-limited projects. Pro-Bono volunteers, consisting of transitioning adults, seniors and working professionals, help make meaningful contributions to their community through short-term, project-based service.

Della Stolsworth and her work with PBC is a shining example of what one volunteer leader can do. She works tirelessly to grow the PBC Program, utilizing her amazing combination of education and skills for the growth and success of volunteers and non-profit organizations.

To date over 200 projects are in progress thanks to Pro-Bono Consultant volunteers. The nature of the projects and the settings in which the volunteers operate are extremely varied. Projects have included everything from designing a membership survey for an environmental group to developing a public relations plan for a consumer advocacy group.

Della continues to advise others who express interest in starting a Pro-Bono program, generously donating her time to establish Pro-Bono programs based on her original model. Although she may be retiring from leading the Pro-Bono Consultant Program soon, Della has inspired volunteers of all ages to utilize their talents and time for the betterment of others.

Anna Hanback

Hank McGill