Just like in America, children in Latin America must have good language skills to succeed. Not only must they master their native tongue, it is important to learn English. Alanna Krowiak teaches young Argentinian children grammar and vocabularly, and older students speaking, writing and reading skills. The children who master English have a better chance of attending college and improving their lives and the lives of their families.
Flowers can brighten any day. Alexandra Marie Costello created Bloom-n-Toss to provide fresh flowers – those soon to be disposed of by Whohle Foods Markets and Jewel Food stores – to local nursing homes, Alzheimer’s facilities and homes for special needs children. The flowers are used for craft projects that help the facilities’ residents feel the confidence and self-esteem that comes from accomplishing a task.
After asking herself, “How can we live in dignity and contribute to the well-being of women and families worldwide?”, Paula Fellingham began working to make a better world for all women, children and famlies through The Women’s Information Network.
Paula is a woman who reaches out and brings together women of the world. She recently held a Celebration of Women to honor the 100-year anniversary of International Women’’s Day in 10 cities and 176 countries on the same day. She is currently planning Global Women’s Summits in 12 countries, culminating in Los Angeles. Her work unites women of all ages, all ethninc groups and from all areas of life.
Kristin Jacobchick has made and donated more than 200 fleece tie blankets that the the children staying in the Medcenter One Children’s Hospital are able to choose for themselves. Nurses have said that by giving these young patients the opportunity to choose a blanket, they are able to create a great trust relationship with them. Children don’t get to make many decisions when they’re in the hospital. Choosing a blanket gives them a little sense of control over their situation. And, most importantly, it gives the children much-needed comfort during what can be a scary time.
Kristin is passionate about helping others, and has demonstratedt this with her tremendous gifts of time and resources toward her blanket project. Other people have also caught her excitement about helping hospitalized children and have given her money to purchase more fleece and continue her work.
After a mission trip to Guatemala where they learned about the country’s estimated 370,000 orphans, members of the Southeast of Saline FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America) challenged themselves to help the Eagle’s Nest orphanage in any way they could. They began with a clothes drive, which gathered enough items to fill 10 trucks and benefit 26 children and five of their caretakers. While delivering the donations, FCCLA members realized the orphanage was in dire need of a new building. When they returned to Kansas, the group has begun raising the needed funds and is working to partner with other organizations to make a difference in the children’s lives. To date, Eagle’s Nest has been able to expand to take in 19 more children, keeping them off the streets with nowhere to call home.
Beth Akin leads Pawsitive Perspectives, an organization that trains and places service dogs that help those with disabilities live a fuller life. She has grown the organization substantially in recent years, doubling the number of dogs trained and placed and engaging volunteers to do everything from helping the dogs learn their service tasks to visiting special needs students for canine therapy. Beth’s dedication and the caring relationships she forms with other volunteers, clients and the dogs sets her apart and make her a point of light.
After falling victim to a bully who targeted him via Facebook, Sam Lam founded End to Cyber Bullying (ETCB) to raise awareness of the issue and mobilize youth, educators and parents to address the problem. ETCB trains, organizes and arranges for volunteers to education middle and high school students about how to recognize and prevent cyber bullying. To end cyber bullying, Sam believes he must change the mentality of youth and help them celebrate people’s differences, rather than attack them.
Since he launched ETCB in 2011, Sam has reached more than 2 million people around the globe via the Internet. He is now working with partners like the Girl Scouts, Project Empower and Pure Sight to continue to expand the reach of his message. Sam hopes the program will inspire among young people better online etiquette, increased online safety and better connections.
Growing up in a large family where lending a hand was a way of life, Lisa Boyce developed a special passion for facing life’s challenges. One of the challenges she saw was the need to empower girls to reach their potential. To solve it, she found the Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland.
For a number of years, Lisa has been an advocate for To Get Her There, the 2012 Girl Scouts of USA campaign to break down barriers hindering girls from achieving the highest levels of science, engineering and other technology fields. Lisa has continually made an effort to seek out opportunities and lessons for the girls in her troop to inspire them to learn more, do more and be more. Her creative and effective hands-on approach enables her to see progress in others before they see it for themselves. Bridging the gap between stereotypes and reality fills her every effort as a Girl Scout leader.
As a scout leader, Lisa seeks out opportunities for her troop to participate in activities that will increase their knowledge, experiences and feelings of self-worth. She schedules activities with Wichita State University and the Society of Women Engineers, among others, and works with parents, students and supporters to see to it that the girls are prepared and equipped to absorb the lessons they receive. Lisa is now leading her second generation of Girl Scouts and has said she measures her success by the achievements of her scouts, many of who are now college students, parents and successful members of the community.
More than 21,000 students in the Portland Public Schools live in poverty. Many of them show up at schools with empty hands and sit at empty desks. While the system’s teachers spend an average of $1,700 out of their own pockets every year for supplies, that doesn’t always meet the demand. Thom Manwell helps make sure students and teachers have what they need through his work with Schoolhouse Supplies and its Free Store for Teachers.
Tom has helped hundreds of teachers and thousands of students because of his bleieve that all youth deserve the tools needed to succeed in school, regardless of their economic background. Twice a week, he sorts through donated school and office supplies that are distributed through the store. To date, more than $15.4 million in supplies have gone to local classrooms. Tom also donates free shopping vouchers he earns as a volunteer to a school outside the district Schoolhouse Supplies serves to allow even more teachers to get the materials they need.
Tom is hard-working and dedicated. Schoolhouse Supplies can count on his helping hand ot process donations and make sure they are accessible to teachers throughout the district.