Chris sorts through hundreds of beads for the Warrior Bead Program
Going through a medical journey of any kind can be physically taxing, but also emotionally taxing. Chris Carswell of Brunswick, GA has spent much of his life in and out of hospitals, undergoing intense treatments and even had three consecutive brain surgeries this past February. But rather than allowing his illness to consume him, Chris has become an agent and catalyst for positive change.
At age 13, Chris started 1 Boy 4 Change to motivate kids and adults to believe they can truly make a difference in the world. The mission of 1 Boy 4 Change is to revolutionize the way we see ourselves, our community and our world by “paying it forward.”
1 Boy 4 Change has initiated projects to help fulfil this mission. Chris started The Warrior Beads Program. Through the Warrior Bead program the participant will tell their story using colorful beads as meaningful symbols of courage that commemorate milestones they have achieved along their unique treatment path. The program helps to decrease illness-related distress, increase the use of positive coping strategies and helps participants find meaning in illness.
Chris has also partnered with We Ride To Provide to provide K9 First Aid Kits to Police K9 Handlers. Each kit costs $85.00 and provides the Police K9 Handler with the proper first aid tools for their canine companions.
Now 16 and still working to overcome his health setbacks, Chris serves as a reminder that you can always help others no matter what you are going through.
Do you know someone like Chris helping others despite a difficult situation? Nominate them for a Daily Point of Light Award today!
Jamie Masada
Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Jamie Masada. Read his story and nominate an outstanding volunteer or organization as a Point of Light.
Jamie Masada was only 14 when he emigrated from Iran in the 1970s with hardly anything. But, channeling the American spirit, he was determined to succeed.
Jamie Masada
He worked odd jobs in Hollywood and performed stand-up comedy at different Los Angeles clubs. Despite cultural and language barriers, Masada soon made friends with such comedy legends as Richard Pryor, David Letterman and Redd Foxx.
In 1979, Masada founded the Laugh Factory, a chain of comedy clubs that has come to host some of the world’s most famous comics. Wanting to give back to a community that had given him so much, in the mid-1980s Masada created the Laugh Factory Comedy Camp, a mentoring program that gives underprivileged kids in Los Angeles the chance to spend summer weekends working on their own comedy routines.
The camp enlists help from Masada’s comedian friends – including Tim Allen, Dave Chappelle and Dane Cook – to serve as mentors. Original mentors included Joan Rivers, Rodney Dangerfield and Richard Pryor.
“Richard Pryor helped for 14 years,” says Masada of the comedic superstar, who himself climbed out of poverty. “He came because he identified with these kids. They’re from a world he was very familiar with and he wanted to help show them a way out.”
Richard Pryor, center, joins Jamie Masada, upper right, and kids from Masada’s comedy camp.
During the camp – which has hosted 1,000 children over the years – students learn valuable life skills and, most importantly, confidence to help them build better lives for themselves.
“It’s important to express yourself,” Masada says. “We put kids in the right direction. All they need is someone to be there for them. … Because many of the mentors came from similar situations, the children find it easy to relate to them.”
His own message to kids – whether at the camp or when he is invited to speak at schools in low-income neighborhoods – is sincere: “You can be anything you want to be. Look at what I achieved.”
In addition to Masada’s work with the camp, he sponsors a national radiothon every July and has an annual contest, the Funniest Person in the World, to benefit the Bob Hope USO and wounded soldiers.
“We try to bring peace to the world through laughter,” Masada says, “because laughter is such an international language.”
Scott A. Forsythe
About 15 to 20 percent of the U.S. population has a specific reading disability called dyslexia. Scott Forsythe of Huntington, IN, is one of many that make up this statistic. Determined to help others kids struggling with dyslexia, Scott founded the Dyslexic Kids Support Organization for Children and Teens with Dyslexia at the age of 13.
As a young child, Scott battled dyslexia while trying to be a regular kid like his classmates. His diagnosis kept him from learning at the same pace as his peers. Consequently, he was physically and emotionally bullied and his self-esteem plummeted. After a great deal of time and effort, he was able to find learning methods and resources that enabled him to overcome dyslexia.
During this time, Scott searched for a support group for children and teens. There were plenty of support groups for the parents and teachers, but none for the people who need it most: the one in five children who are affected by dyslexia in the United States. Scott decided to take it upon himself to create an organization to help kids connect with peers who have experiences similar struggles. They offer each other encouragement and support based on their personal experiences.
Now in high school, Scott hosts the only dyslexia conference in northeast Indiana, free of charge and open to all who are interested. He provides free tutoring and support group meetings, and he posts daily news pertaining to dyslexia across several social networks. He even finds time to speak at conferences and other venues in the Midwest to help raise awareness.
Nominate someone like Scott today for the Daily Point of Light Award!
Celeste Roseberry-McKibbin
Roseberry-McKibbin reading to a child at a book drive
One of the greatest predictors of children’s literacy and overall academic success is the number of books they have available to them at home. Every child deserves the opportunity to experience the magic reading can bring and walk through the doors literacy opens. Celeste Roseberry-McKibbin of Orangevale, CA, is hard at work to make this a reality.
As a practicing speech-language pathologist and university professor at Sacramento State University, Roseberry-McKibbin began collecting children’s books for a master’s student thesis. Inspired by her mother who started a children’s library in the Philippines, Roseberry-McKibbin continued collecting children’s books in her memory. To date, Roseberry-McKibbin has been able to organize more than 100,000 book donations to different schools, reading programs, Boys and Girls clubs, food banks and families in Samoa, Ecuador, the Philippines, El Salvador, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Nepal.
Roseberry-McKibbin is the mother of a child who suffers from dyslexia and other written language problems. She has seen first-hand the heartbreak and pain for a child who cannot read and write. Roseberry-McKibbin worked hard to help her son overcome these difficulties and encourages all parents and other caregivers to love, talk to, and read with their children daily!
Roseberry-McKibbin has held numerous successful book drives in the Sacramento area and beyond. She has also launched a website to help others learn how easy it is to start their own book drive. It is Roseberry-McKibbin’s mission to increase the literacy skills of at-risk children living in poverty to build a better and brighter future.
Do you know someone working to bring academic success to underprivileged children? Nominate them today for the Daily Point of Light Award!
A Walk On Water
The therapeutic powers of the ocean possess a true healing ability. A Walk on Water (AWOW) is tapping into these healing qualities of the Pacific Ocean through surfing. These dedicated men and women of Southern California are working to bring relief to families of children with special needs through surf therapy. AWOW provides water therapy through guided surf instruction to specials needs children.Surfing is used as a tool to gain self-confidence skills and promote the therapeutic benefits of the sport’s positive effects.
“We wanted to create a day were the families feel empowered, loved and cared for,” says President Pat Notaro.
A Walk on Water volunteers hold surf event for special needs children.
Siblings are encouraged to participate, helping mend sometimes strained relationships and bonds. Whether joining in on the fun on a surf board or cheering from the sand, everyone involved walks away feeling inspired. Parents get to sit back and relax for once while the volunteers at AWOW teach their kids to ride the waves.
“It’s all about creating the best experience possible so when they go home they can hold on to that event as long as possible,” says Nataro.
But their surf event’s impact is twofold. The events are meant to raise awareness not only to humanitarian needs, but environmental as well. Without a clean and safe habitat, athletes and their families will lose the ability to experience surfing and the ‘stoke’ it provides.
More than 200 special needs children and families experience the thrill of surfing and its therapeutic qualities each year through AWOW. This is all possible because of their dedicated team of volunteers who share a respect for their fellow man, the ocean and environments and most importantly; people in need.
The organization has grown rapidly over the years in order to meet the needs of the kids in their community. “We want to do more events in more areas so these kids can surf,” says Nataro. The organization is hoping to hold events in New York and Hawaii this fall. They realize the vast needs this community and are dedicating countless hours to expand their services.
The people behind AWOW realize the responsibility we all have to give back. “When you can get out there and volunteer and positively affect change, you start to understand why you are here,” says Vice President of AWOW, Sean Swentek.
To learn more about A Walk on Water and find ways to get involved visit their website!
Know an organization helping kids feel like kids, nominate them today for the Daily Point of Light Award.
Karen Priest
Thousands of children in the St. Louis area are struggling with reading, and are at risk of continued academic and social challenges in school and in life. Based on the 2012 Missouri Assessment Program scores, only 22 percent of third-graders in St. Louis were reading at grade level. These low scores come at a time when budget cuts and staff reductions have made it even more difficult for teachers to provide the individual attention children need to succeed.
Karen Priest, today’s Daily Point of Light Award winner, is determined to change these disheartening numbers for the better. She inspires children to love reading and to imagine that they can do anything they aspire to do.
Over the last 12 years, Priest has worked with more than 400 first grade children to improve their literacy skills. In the last four years she has provided intensive support to 29 children. And her commitment to the students doesn’t stop there; In addition to tutoring, Karen becomes a mentor to the children, making a point to spend time with them doing fun things like attending special lunches at school.
Many children come from homes where family members often have low literacy levels and there are few books in the home. With these barriers, the students enter school lacking language experience and background knowledge critical to reading comprehension. These children desperately need one-on-one attention to build self-esteem, confidence, reading and language skills.
In addition to the intensive support she provides to seven children each week, Karen reads to the whole first grade class twice a week, provides gifts of books and school supplies for all first graders throughout the year and workshops every child to write their own story in what she calls a “Once Upon a Time” journal.
Do you know someone like Karen Priest who works to improve literacy in their community? Nominate them for a Daily Point of Light award today!
Connor Reed Thomas
Connor Reed Thomas, today’s Daily Point of Light Award winner, is a high school sophomore from Loveland, Ohio, who serves our nation’s servicemen and women through various volunteer projects in his community.
Clermont County has a large military population and Connor’s work helps to make their lives brighter and more stable.
In addition to the thousands of dollars he has raised for the Joseph House of Cincinnati and the Disabled Veterans of America, he has founded the military club at his high school, a model that is being expanded into other area schools. Through club activities, Connor works to organize 5ks and other family events that raise awareness about veterans’ causes.
Recently, he has begun working with the Clermont County Sheriff’s department to establish the Purple Heart Initiative, a program that would provide marked parking spots for those soldiers that have received the Purple Heart award.
The Purple Heart award is the nation’s oldest military decoration still given and is awarded to those who have been injured or killed in battle. Thanks to Connor’s work, Clermont County has installed the Purple Heart parking signs in the lots of several buildings, including the Administration Building, Municipal Court, the Clermont Family Support Center and the Heritage Building, which houses the Board of Elections and Veterans Service Commission.
Do you know someone who works hard to make their community a better place? Nominate them for a Daily Point of Light Award today.
Terryn L Maybeck
Terryn Maybeck credits ability to notice holes and overlaps in community services to her background overseeing architecture. She notices most, the gaps in service that affect children and the needy.
Maybeck first started filling Salvation Army Christmas Stockings for city children with my Girl Scouts, organizing and inviting other troops in the unit to participate. Five years later, when the economy took a dive, she decided to focus on her immediate community and found that the local Food Cupboard Clients had doubled in one month.
That same year, The Salvation Army in the city opted to discontinue their stocking program. She gratefully took their leftover stockings and launched a new program: The Victor/ Farmington Christmas Stocking Program. Gradually, the program expanded and serves infants to high school seniors. She devised a recipe that volunteer stocking stuffers could follow; toothbrush and toothpaste, a craft for Christmas day, stuffed animal, book, coloring/ activity book and crayons as well as an active toy such as a ball, Hacky Sack, or jump rope.
In 2010, the first year of the stocking program, Girl Scouts filled stockings to accommodate 63 children. By 2014, in the fifth year of the stocking program, 329 stockings were given to children.
The Christmas stocking program is not designed to be a quick hand-out, but designed to be a celebration. Live music, hot chocolate and cookies ease the wait in line and volunteers wear elf or Santa hats to help spread the cheer during the season of giving a little farther.
Do you know someone who makes a difference by spreading cheer in their community? Nominatethem for a Daily Point of Light Award today!
Antonela Kasic
After dealing with a myriad of personal hardships stemming from birth, Antonela Kasic has used her experiences, tribulations, and successes to impact others the same way that her life has been impacted.
As a child, Antonela was put on life support and needed to rely on others for her life whether it be doctors, organ donors, or family and friends. Luckily for her, there has always been a steady stream of support in her life.
At birth, Antonela was diagnosed with gangrene of the small intestine, and was immediately rushed to surgery. Her parents were told she had three days to live, that nothing could save her, and that if she survived, she would be bedridden.
Her parents refused to accept this fate and lose their child. They searched for better answers which led them to Childrens Hospital of Pittsburgh, one of the best hospitals in the world, and known for its excellence in organ transplantation. In a short four month span, their lives were transported to an entirely different country.
Since then, Antonela has been out making an impact in her community. A resident of the North Side of Pittsburgh since moving to the United States from Croatia as an infant, Antonela has been working and volunteering on a consistent basis to serve others in need. Her experiences in the hospital have given her a soft and compassionate heart for others in the same situation and serves children who are sick in and around the Pittsburgh area.
Antonela organized high school assemblies to have students understand the importance of organ donation. During an average assembly she is able to speak to 300 students who are engaged throughout the assembly through personal stories, videos and games along with a Q&A session at the end. She also has students talk to their parents about their wishes for organ donation. Students 18 and over were able to sign-up at the time of the assembly to be an organ donor.
Antonela looks outward and thinks of others in the midst of their struggle and who desperately need hope. She provides support and comfort to patients awaiting an organ transplant.
The majority of Antonela’s time is spent with children in need of comfort and support. Her childhood was spent waiting for an organ transplant and sitting in a hospital bed. She knows firsthand how lonely and depressing time in the hospital can be and has made it her personal goal to help others in need of love. Others may spend the most energetic time of their lives by staying home, watching TV, and playing video games whereas Antonela has spent her time volunteering and making a difference in children’s lives.
Rachel Jones
Rachel Jones, a 16 year old Ambassador Girl Scout from Gravette, Arkansas, was inspired to do her Girl Scout Gold Award Project on the Gravette Nature Observation Trail. Gravette, population 2,300, had a small nature trail, but it became obvious that there were improvements that could be done to make the trail more educational and enjoyable for families.
Her project required more than 100 hours of community service to the city of Gravette, She partnered with the town’s Parks and Recreations Department. She built and planted a butterfly garden with the help of her mom and dad at the entrance of the walking trail to beautify the trail entrance and attract butterflies and hummingbirds.
She made it a family affair, her grandmothers helped her with some of the seeds and plants, she constructed an owl house with the help of her grandfather who is an engineer, and installed it on the nature trail. She built five bluebird houses with the help of her grandfather and put them up around the trail, These were all made of recycled wood. She built a bat house with her grandfather an put it up on the nature trail with her dad’s help. Her other grandfather helped her make trail signs.
Additionally, she planned and organized an Earth Day celebration and 27 people from the church’s youth group came out and planted trees and flowers. She picked up trash and cleaned out weeds from the city’s old butterfly garden and got the Gravette Wildlife Observation Trail certified as a Certified Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation.
She also wrote a Facebook blog on her project and had several articles published in the local newspaper about her project.
Do you know someone like Rachel Jones? If so, nominate them for a Daily Point of Light Award today!
Jamie Masada
Richard Pryor, center, joins Jamie Masada, upper right, and kids from Masada’s comedy camp.
