Ahndrea Blue
Mike Norris
Breastfeeding Support Team High Point Regional
Many new mothers in the U.S. today haven’t been exposed to breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is perceived as instinctive and natural, yet it can be quite challenging. Many women become frustrated, experience self-blame, and tend to “give up” when it becomes difficult. With proper coaching and support by the volunteer Breastfeeding Support Team at High Point Regional Hospital, most moms are able to breastfeed successfully.
Barb Carder, a High Point Regional Health System Lactation Consultant, established a volunteer group in 1994 called the Breastfeeding Support Team. Made up of moms, the team’s main objective is to ensure that new nursing mothers receive the support and encouragement they need to successfully breastfeed their babies as they transition from hospital to home.
Approximately 1,500 babies are born at High Point Regional each year and nearly 75percent of mothers choose to breastfeed their infants. Volunteers call and check-in with new moms to provide support. Moms are encouraged to seek out the lactation consultant when they are struggling.
Many believe breastfeeding provides a baby health benefits and is worth the time and effort to teach. This is why Barb Carder and the volunteer Breast Feeding Support Team at High Point Regional are Daily Points of Light.
Christopher Brown
Along with being the owner of Mid-Island Medical Supply Company since March 1995, Christopher (Chris) Brown has been involved with many different organizations from volunteering as a paramedic with Glen Cove EMS to working on disaster relief on ground zero after 9/11.
Chris also belongs to several community organizations. He is a member of Kiwanis where he has held such offices as Distinguish Past Vice President and Twice Distinguished Past President. As President Chris ran several successful fundraisers, raising more than $110,000, a number that has not been matched. Chris left as President to take on the position of Lt. Governor of Long Island South Central Kiwanis during which time he opened two clubs and again raised another $70,000 plus dollars that benefited Kiwanis Camp in Upstate New York as well as many scholarships.
Chris currently is the Wantagh Chamber of Commerce President, where he has managed to change the way the chamber operates. By creating new bylaws, new fundraising opportunities arose; one of which raised $100,000 and established a scholarship program where in his first year has given more than $6,000 and recognized local Eagle Scouts and Gold Scouts for their accomplishments. This is why Chris is a Daily Point of Light.
First Presbyterian Church of Deland, Florida
Pat Smucker
Patricia Smucker is a licensed social worker and Give an Hour provider who has a home office practice in Long Island N.Y.
When Patricia was 35-years-old she returned to school to get her counseling degree and has been working ever since while raising her three children, 19, 16 and three. Her practice includes two male clients in law enforcement, a Vietnam veteran and a referral from Give an Hour, an active duty enlisted soldier in his early forties.
Patricia’s client has been in the Army for twenty years, long enough to see combat in the Gulf War and Afghanistan. He lives alone but near two brothers. He was married once but his wife committed suicide. Patricia sees her client once a week for an hour. “I’ll continue to see him as long as he wants to come,” she says. “Right now he has a decision to make. He can leave the military or, if he stays in, deploy again to Afghanistan. It’s a challenging choice for him to make since the military has been his life.”
One of the interesting observations Patricia makes is about active duty military and law enforcement clients and insurance. She says they will often avoid filing claims with their carrier because they fear it will go into their record and someone could find out about it. “They trust no one when it comes to mental health issues, “she says. “Confidentiality is a luxury these clients feel they cannot count on.” She also wishes the military would screen for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at the recruitment stage. Patricia’s care, compassion, and service to the military and Veterans is what makes her a Daily Point of Light.
Doris Kent
When Doris Kent lost her son in Iraq in 2004, she made it her mission to take care of the buddies of those that have made it home safely.
Honoring and taking care of all veterans young and old is a high priority for Kent. She has volunteered her time to become a Veterans Service Officer and started the Veterans Navigator program, Veterans helping Veterans, in April 2011. The program helped veterans and their surviving spouses fill out paperwork to apply for benefits, find travel to appointments, access medical, veterans housing (VASH), counseling, food, and clothing. Kent’s organization’s first weekly volunteer time was at the Drop-In Center, helping the many homeless vets in Bellingham.
The Veteran Navigators assist veterans of all ages and circumstances. In addition to helping them access benefits that they are entitled to, Kent aids in the important task of bringing awareness to the many needs in the community. With Kent’s help, federal funds that have been set aside for homeless vets are funneled into worthwhile programs to create housing for them.
Kent is entirely committed to helping veterans. She volunteers two days a week at the Veterans Affairs center filling out applications. She can be found there late in the evening putting the final touches on applications to help provide benefits, and life changing moments for countless veterans. Kent has endless energy and a passion for helping vets. She sees it as her way of honoring her son and the many that were unable to make it home.
Janice Zabel
As a mother to an Army Black Hawk pilot, Janice Zabel acts as the volunteer Parents Coordinator for Blue Star Families. She has taken her own experience as a military parent to build a much-needed support network in Florida for those like her.
Zabel has leveraged her experience to create strong partnerships with organizations that aim to provide support to military parents. She has organized a Welcome Luncheon for military moms and recruited volunteers to assist her Bethesda counterparts with their holiday service projects. Zabel works tirelessly to help other Blue Star families, as well as our service members, veterans, and Gold Star families.
Zabel also serves as the Blue to Gold Liaison for Guam and the Pacific Islands. As a liaison, she collaborates with the Casualty Assistance Officer, who coordinates with the Gold Star Family, on the presentation of the Gold Star Banner at the funeral of our Fallen.
Zabel is on the Board of Directors of "Lea's Prayers and Postage" which raises funds to pay postage for the packages going overseas. She worked diligently with the National Guard FRG when their Black Hawks were deployed and keeps them updated when issues, programs, and events of interest to National Guard families arise. She also contributes time to the War of Roses Chapter of the Daughters of the British Empire, Nugent's Veterans Advisory Board, and collaborates with many local nonprofits to connect them to sponsors.
Charlenne Jacobson
Charlenne Jacobson started her volunteer journey at the Central Iowa Shelter & Services in January 2011. She answers the phones, helps with some of the office work, helps take much needed donations, and interacts with some of the residents at the shelter.
Jacobson comes into contact with an assortment of interesting people, of whom many are veterans. Although they lack the comforts of home, she finds that they don't want pity or sympathy, but rather a job and a place to call home.
In June, Jacobson was given the opportunity of a lifetime with the AmeriCorps VISTA program. She became the first member to start work on the Veterans Outreach Project with the aim of ending veteran homelessness in central Iowa. Jacobson says she feels fortunate to be able to come back to the shelter and help the veterans.
For the last few months, Jacobson and other VISTA members have been interviewing veterans at the shelter. They are working to identify what their needs are and the best practices to address them. Jacobson’s interviews support the overall outreach project by discovering the needs of the veterans, which aids in informing their outreach and support work. Jacobson contributes to the veteran community by providing aid and bringing their unique stories to light.