Jake Yetter

The Special Olympics of Georgia has been around for quite some time now. The joy they bring to intellectually disabled children and adults is tremendous and vitally important. But this work cannot be done without the selfless efforts of their volunteers. 16 year-old Jake Yetter has been involved with Special Olympics of Georgia since he was 13 years old. Jake is dedicated to spreading awareness in the community on the challenges individuals with intellectual disabilities face. He continually motivates and supports these children and adults through volunteering his time at State Games and Camp Inspire. Through “Y-leads”, Special Olympics’ youth leaders, Jake has been able to encourage youth involvement and volunteerism to his peers. He often participates in state-wide “R-word Rallies” to raise awareness around the hurtful, offensive and derogatory “r-word” term. Jake works tirelessly to increase youth involvement in the Special Olympics to ensure that the Y-lead population will continue to flourish and support the more than 26,000 Special Olympics athletes currently participating in Georgia. Jake is bringing these ideals of the Special Olympics with him everywhere. He recently implemented the Special Olympics Project UNIFY at his school. Project UNIFY is an education and sports based strategy powered by an engaged youth community that increases athletic and leadership opportunities for students with and without intellectual disabilities, while creating communities of acceptance for all. Jake values and treasures his time with the Special Olympics and has been an exceptional volunteer for the organization. His active and dedicated role in the Special Olympics of Georgia has provided individuals with intellectual disabilities with support, but more importantly, a friend. Jake truly is a point of light as he continues to support this community and spread the message of acceptance.

If you know someone supporting and motivating a community in a meaningful way, like Jake, nominate them today for the Daily Point of Light Award!

Taking it to the Streets with Lori and Shira

‘Taking it to the Streets with Lori and Shira’ started when Shira grew increasingly concerned about the stray animals and their homeless companions around Riverside, California. This mother-daughter duo teamed up and began driving around the area passing out waters, snacks, and dog treats to homeless people and their pets. Homeless people sometime rely on the unconditional love and loyalty that their pets offer them. Lori and Shira help provide services for both the homeless and their furry friends!

Using social media to help get the word out for their cause allowed the non-profit organization to get the supplies they needed. Before they knew it, their car was full of pet food and supplies, toiletries, snacks, towels, socks, clothing and whatever else they could fit in. The donations were coming in so quickly that they soon grew out of their garage and a storage unit was donated to hold all of the supplies. Lori and Shira use these donations to bring much needed items to homeless men and women and their pets. But they do so much more. They use monetary donations to spay/neutur, vaccinate, and microchip the pets on a weekly basis. They have provided hotel rooms for pets and their owners to recover in after their pet has surgery. They deliver panchos and tarps in the rain to help provide refuge from the downpour.There are no limits for these women.

Lori and Shira know that ‘Taking it to the Streets’ is not the cure for homelessness, but they are hoping to alleviate some of the struggles these men, women, and animals face. They hope to educate people on the options homeless people have and provide support for those in tough situations. ‘Taking it to the Streets with Lori and Shira’ is spreading the power of kindness one doggy bone at a time. Please consider supporting such an important cause as Lori and Shira continue to support those who need it most.

For more information, check out their website here!

http://takingittothestreetswithloriandshira.org/. Or stay updated by following their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/TakingItToTheStreetsWithLoriAndShira?fref=ts

Know a mother-daughter team tackling big issues in a meaningful way like Shira and Lori? Nominate them, or anyone doing amazing service work, for the Daily Point of Light Award today!

Varun Mehta

Sometimes students fall behind in school and there isn’t always enough support to help them catch up. Schools rely on the volunteer efforts of teachers and students alike to make up some of the lost ground. Varun Mehta did just this when he saw students falling behind in math. After watching his mom take a course on Vedic Mathematics, Varun was inspired by this holistic approach to understanding the number system. It simplified daunting multiplication and division in a way that is easier for younger students to grasp. Varun learned this approach to mathematics, and then he took his academic talents and put them to work.

Varun began volunteer teaching elementary and middle school students enrolled in the free class "Vedic Mathematics" offered in Long Island, New York. His students learned this unique and holistic approach to math allowing them to excel in school and boost their confidence. But Varun realized students everywhere should have the opportunity to learn these techniques. After traveling to his home country of India and seeing the enthusiasm of the students in the remote and rural villages, Varun got an idea to spread his teaching to these kids.

First, he needed to polish and refine his rudimentary Hindi skills in order to communicate better with the students and teachers. Then he taught himself the computer technology skills to create and upload videos and study materials for his students. He now has his own YouTube channel where he uploads his lessons for all to view. The videos are 20-30 minutes long and take a great deal of time to create, but Varun doesn’t mind. He has numerous subscribers tuning in to Varun’s techniques making all of his efforts worth it. He has over 90 students in India studying Vedic Mathematics with his guidance and he has 15 students enrolled in a class he offers here in the United States. With over 70 subscribers to his YouTube channel, Varun has helped countless children and young adults learn a new approach to understand math. Varun is an excellent student himself, and now he is helping other students reach their full potential and succeed.

If you know someone like Varun making a great impact on students, please nominate them for a Daily Point of Light Award.

Josh Seides

Whether communicating with family or catching up with friends, technology has become an ever important field of communication in our community and in our world today. With this increasing importance, many people, especially senior citizens, lag behind and form what is known as the “digital divide.” Technology has and will continue to prove as a hindrance to senior citizens wishing to stay connected to loved ones until the problem is solved. Josh Seides created Technocademy, which addresses these issues by offering free technology education.

As an Atlanta high school freshman, in 2012 Josh founded Technocademy, a nonprofit organization serving senior citizens in living homes by teaching them to use technology to connect with their family and friends. His organization educates seniors, who are often out of touch with family and uneducated on the use of Internet, cell phones, and iPads. Many seniors are also physically unable to leave their homes, often preventing them from learning about new technology and how to use them. Through Technocademy, Josh strives to help senior citizens stay connected with their family via technology without traveling. Plus, senior living homes, which are often short on resources, do not have to worry about a cost for the classes or transportation to classes.

So far, Josh has recruited many volunteers from his community and high school to assist him in teaching seniors. He works with National Technical Honor Society (NTHS) at Alpharetta High School to pool talented volunteers who will continue to provide support yearlong. He also continues to reach out to others on a consistent basis.

One of the main factors Josh focuses on during lessons is inspiring senior citizens to continue using technology by themselves. With constant motivation from Josh’s group, impacted seniors continue to advance their use of technology in order to stay in touch with long-distance family. Along with the lesson, each course includes an instructional packet that serves as a supplement. Participants can use the packet as reference for help or assistance on any technology concept. Each packet includes charts, diagrams, and other helpful information. Furthermore, these packets are created specifically in a format easily comprehensible by senior citizens.

As of July 2, Josh has already helped 135 senior citizens in 9 different senior living homes. With the number expanding every week, Josh predicts Technocademy will have served 250 seniors by the end of the summer. Each week during the summer, he holds 3 to 4 classes at various senior homes. At each lesson, senior citizens are able to learn about new technology through 1-on-1 training and interactive conversations in a classroom setting. As Josh says, it only takes a single idea and a vision for change to make a difference. For more information on Technocademy, check out Josh’s website, www.technocademy.org.

Leifel Jackson

Afternoon is a very dangerous time for unsupervised minors. Research statistics show that the hours between 3:00 to 6:00 pm is the peak period for experimentation with cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, sex, violence, and so much more. That fact alone is one of many reasons why the North Little Rock based Reaching Our Children and Neighborhoods (R.O.C.A.N) After School Care Program was created.

Created in 2005 in a Little Rock Arkansas Public Housing Complex Community Room is R.O.C.A.N., a non-profit organization dedicated solely to children. What started with Mr. Leifel Jackson and 10 volunteers working with 30 children quickly expanded to working with over 100 children and completed with a much bigger, completely volunteer staff. In total, Jackson has impacted over 300 lives. The mission for R.O.C.A.N is to make a positive impact and to influence positive growth in the children and neighborhoods in which we live, while also striving to have safe and productive communities through economic growth, strong social development, and safe environments for its citizens.

Jackson, a former Original Gangster Crips leader, started the organization after spending time in prison in order to warn young people about the hard consequences of gang life and the illusions of glamor.

R.O.C.A.N provides meals, tutoring, shelter and mentoring, and a safe place for kids to simply be kids to 100 at-risk youth ages 6-18 enrolled at 2 sites in the city of North Little Rock, Arkansas. As director, Leifel Jackson operates on the principle that in order to heal the child, you must heal the whole family. Therefore, he also encourages parental and citizen involvement in order to take part in making our world a better place for us all to live and succeed in. Instead of going on to become gang members, the children involved in the program are making honor roll, graduating from high school, going into the work force and the military, as well as becoming better citizens overall.

Leifel Jackson is the recipient of many national awards including the distinguished "Juvenile Justice Worker of the Year Award", the "Martin Luther King Jr., Salute To Greatness Award,” and the "Josetta Wilkins Courage Award" for his hard work and dedication to making a positive change in communities all across the country. Additionally, HBO created a documentary on Jackson’s remarkable work with the children in the hood. Jackson is considered a walking miracle to others as he continues his personal plight to save his neighborhood and uplift the youth. Without his work, North Little Rock, Arkansas would continue to be one of the worst gang populated areas in the country.

The Honorable Floyd G. Villines, Pulaski County Judge, describes the organization as such: "This gang-intervention program has been successful because of Jackson’s leadership and the Sherman Park neighborhood’s commitment to the program’s goals and the numerous volunteers who contribute their time and resources.”

In order to find out more information on R.O.C.A.N., check out the website here on ways to get involved: http://www.rocan-program.org/#!

Laurin Hodge

As the number of women being incarcerated in our country skyrockets, Laurin Hodge believes that now is the time for conversation. The US spends more than $60 billion a year on prisons and jails, with 1-in-32 Americans under some form of correctional supervision. Thousands of Americans return back to their families and communities every day, and Mission Launch believes it is the responsibility of us all to ask: now what?

Laurin Hodge is the president and executive director for Mission Launch, a Maryland-based nonprofit that is working to help women coming home from prison have access to education, to entrepreneurship, and to community so they can get back on their feet in a faster, safer way. Mission Launch creates tools specifically for women so they are empowered to recover and reconnect because the barriers to successful re-entry after incarceration are very high.

Laurin knows that “Orange is the New Black” may be entertaining, but as a society we need to talk about the reality of female incarceration. She knows first-hand the effects that incarceration takes on families, from financial issues to relationship issues. To help solve these problems and to help other families, Laurin uses research, community awareness, and engagement to move marginalized communities closer to the core.

Mission Launch is currently in the process of launching a new signature program, which is designed to support mostly women, but some men, as they return home from prison and jail and as they seek to either return to the workforce or launch a business of their own. For the last year, Laurin has loosely worked with a handful of returning citizens, but they are working towards a much more structured program of 20 individuals who will be able to receive formal education by way of the University of the District of Columbia.

Alongside this new program, Mission Launch also already has a clothing initiative and digital storytelling initiative. They collect clothing items to distribute to women so that they can start over with items that reflect their new life as well as use the donated goods to fund their community based work. The digital storytelling campaign works to support an intergenerational dialogue between women who have been incarcerated and cohorts who have spent time in a U.S. prison or jail.

It is Mission Launch’s belief that if young women understand that the rates of incarceration among women have increased by 813% in the last three decades, they would join the national dialogue on prison and prison re-entry reform. Education on these issues is a key part of Mission Launch. They have built online networks with resources and peer mentorships to connect women who have gone through similar situations and to be an outlet of resources, help, and support.

Laurin believes she has the power to shape the future so that citizens are restored to productive participation after prison. She innovates so that our country restores women, families, and communities in a more holistic manner.

Want to find out more or know someone who may benefit from Mission Launch? Find more information here:

http://www.mission-launch.org/

Healing Hearts with Hooves and Hounds

An estimated 1.3 million women are victims of domestic violence every year. Victims are left battered, broken, and emotionally distressed as they try to pick up the pieces and move on with their lives. It’s a vicious cycle that leaves many women without hope leading them to return to their abuser.

Mark Schuring has seen first-hand the lasting effects domestic violence has on its victims when he lost his aunt to domestic violence performed by her own husband. Mark quickly decided that he needed to help women put their lives back together and continue to build upon what he and his aunt had started.

Mark has always been surrounded by horses and other animal life. He is a long supporter of animal rescue initiatives and recognizes the healing powers animals possess. Knowing that horses and other animals can help people relax and ease emotional tension, Mark formed Healing Heart with Hooves and Hounds. This nonprofit organization brings together victims of domestic violence with gentle, loving animals. Pet therapy helps improve social and emotional functioning because the unconditional love these animals radiate cannot be imitated.

Healing Hearts with Hooves and Hounds provides unique therapy services while advocating for domestic violence awareness. Too few people are aware and understand the presence domestic violence has in our society. Healing Hearts with Hooves and Hounds aims to educate people on the concerning reality of domestic abuse, bullying, and animal abuse.

Mark and his team of volunteers reach out to churches, women’s shelters, and animal rescuers to connect victims to animals. The organization travels all over to provide their powerful services to anyone in need of a friendly four-legged friend. With two groups of fifty volunteers, Healing Hearts with hooves is able to travel and provide private retreats, open houses, and speeches at schools with the animals present to spread Domestic Violence awareness. Mark also personally rides along on animal rescues, while additionally working with the police and domestic violence advocacy groups.

While initially started to help friends with stress relief, Healing Hearts with Hooves and Hounds has taken off to provide so much more for others. Mark knows how painful it is to be abused by the people you love the most, and so he is doing everything in his power to inspire and educate others on the causes and effects of domestic violence abuse.

Ben’s Bells Project

It is every parent’s worst nightmare to lose his or her child. That nightmare became a reality to Jeannette Mare, whose son, Ben, died just before his 3rd birthday.

Slowly but surely, their family began incorporating coping strategies into their lives by creating a design for Ben’s Bells, in honor of their son. They quickly learned how therapeutic working with clay was as well as being around individuals who were all working towards a common goal of spreading kindness. Soon, hundreds of bells were being made and distributed randomly throughout the Tucson community to encourage the kindness that they so depended on to get through each day. Since Ben’s death, Jeannette noticed how it was the kindness of others, strangers and friends, who had helped them begin to heal. And so, Ben’s Bells Project was born as a way to pass on that kindness while helping others in the process.

The mission of Ben's Bells is to inspire, educate, and motivate people to realize the impact of intentional kindness, and to empower individuals to act according to that awareness, thereby strengthening our relationships, our communities, and ourselves.

Recent research demonstrates that kindness benefits our physical and mental health, and that recognizing kindness in others increases a person's happiness and satisfaction. But just as solving a calculus problem requires advanced math skills, the challenges of daily life require advanced kindness skills. By focusing on kindness and being intentional in our personal interactions, we can improve our ability to connect.

Although Ben’s Bells Project is known for its colorful ceramic bells hung throughout Tucson and beyond, the organization also offers several programs to develop the life skill of intentional kindness. Ben’s Bells’ programs are based on the belief that everyone has the capacity to be kind and that kindness can be cultivated through education, visual reminders, and ongoing practice. The organization’s programs are consistent with this philosophy with specific programs for the education, awareness, and practice of intentional kindness.

The organization serves multiple constituencies, including youth in their Kind Kids and Kind Campus school programs currently offered in 300 schools, from Pre-K to College, people employed in Southern Arizona through their Kind Colleagues education program, and the community at large through their two studios.

K-12 kindness education programs have been implemented in 300 schools, and are touching the lives of more than 160,000 students! 16,612 individuals have volunteered over 24,365 hours in the 2014-year to help create Ben’s Bells and Kindness Coins. Additionally, Kind Kids and Kind Campus program participation increased from 225 schools at the end of 2013 to 300 schools as of July 2014.

Kindness is a life skill that is applicable to all ages, socioeconomic classes and professions, which are evidenced by the diverse group of education program participants and volunteers at Ben’s Bells, which totaled nearly 90,000 people in 2013 alone. The majority of Ben's Bells volunteers help in the studio, working to create the ceramic pieces that comprise the bells. Helping to make the pieces for Ben’s Bells is a wonderful activity that's perfect for a variety of purposes: team building, character education, grief response, rehabilitation, personal enrichment, entertainment and more. Volunteers can work with the clay to create beads that will one day adorn a Ben's Bell, or decorate beads already sculpted by others.

What’s special to Ben’s Bells is that anyone can be a volunteer. Interested in how you can personally educate others on kindness? Check out the Ben’s Bells Project website here: https://bensbells.org

Beads of Courage

Beads of Courage is a first-of-its-kind program that brings together clinical intervention and the ancient art of glass bead-making. Jean Baruch, a pediatric oncology nurse, started this organization when she started to feel the need to do more for her young patients and their families.

As a child undergoes treatment, their health care provider gives them a bead in recognition of milestones, procedures, and acts of bravery. Whether it’s an overnight stay in the hospital or a radiation treatment, a child receives a bead as a powerful reminder of their courage, determination, and progress on their treatment journey. Beads of Courage provides the child, their family, and the medical team with a way to celebrate a goal, see their progress, and talk about their journey through treatment. While each bead represents something painful and difficult, it also says “I did it.”

Beads of Courage is designed to support and strengthen children and their families as they cope with a serious illness. The organization has gone beyond helping children and families cope as it inspires and gives optimism to those afflicted by illness.

Beads of Courage has created a community of support for children facing serious illness and their families that extends beyond the hospital room. Among the countless volunteers that give their time to Beads of Courage are the spirited glass artisans of the International Society of Glass Beadmakers who donate their time to create over 60,000 one of a kind handmade beads- each one representing a milestone in a child’s treatment journey.

Beads of Courage currently serves 150 hospitals, but the list is growing fast. Hospitals in Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Japan, and New Zealand have adopted the program as an innovative part of treatment. More than 30,000 children receive support from Beads of Courage as it helps decrease illness-related stress, increases the use of positive coping strategies, helps members find meaning in illness, and restores a sense of hope in those coping with illness.

Most recently, Team Beads of Courage was launched. Professional and amateur athletes receive beads matched with a child and carry them during their game, on a race, and through a journey. Once the event is completed, the beads are sent back to a child along with a note of encouragement. Several members of the US Olympic team carried beads with them, along with Iditarod mushers throughout their 1,000 mile journey.

Feedback from children and their families on Beads of Courage has been nothing but positive, inspiring, and a true testament to the power of human connectedness through art. Beads of Courage grew from an idea into an amazing organization supporting thousands.

Please support Beads of Courage as it inspires and empowers those struggling with childhood illnesses. With one small bead comes immeasurable hope and strength.

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