|
E-mail this page to a friend!
Spirit of Service Awards
Five Honored for Senior Corps Volunteer Work
Aug. 22, 2005 – Five senior citizens were honored
with Spirit of Service by the Corporation for National and Community
Service as outstanding national service participants. All are volunteers
with Senior Corps programs.
Honorees are (photos and more them are below
article):
Helen Karr – San Mateo County RSVP, CA
Helen Karr
had been in the business world for 25 years when she learned about the
issue of elder abuse. She was particularly concerned about elderly women
being taken advantage of financially. So after graduating from law
school on her 64th birthday, she began volunteering with the San Mateo
Council on Aging and the local RSVP program. As a volunteer attorney,
Karr has also helped the San Francisco District Attorney’s office
develop its Victim Services Elder Senior Volunteer Program, distributed
more than 1 million booklets on the issue, and given presentations to
countless groups ranging from professional associations to senior
centers.
Ruth Harris – Senior Companion Program, Denver,
CO
A
professional singer for nearly four decades, Ruth Harris discovered the
Senior Companion program after she lost her voice and needed something
else to do. At 83, she volunteers a minimum of 20 hours a week,
providing encouragement and support to families facing the death of a
loved one. During the past 12 years, Harris has tended to the needs of
1,100 elderly individuals.
Willie Jenkins – Catholic Social Services of
Oakland County, Pontiac, MI
For the
past 12 years, Willie Jenkins has been volunteering five days a week as
a mentor and role model at Children’s Village, a juvenile detention
facility in Pontiac. Upon her arrival as a Foster Grandparent, Jenkins
soon realized that the young women at the Village had an untapped desire
to learn new skills and that by teaching them life skills she possibly
could restore their self-esteem. A former caterer, she worked with them
to start the “Believe in Yourself Café.” The cafe reinforces skills in
cooking, reading, sewing, and cooperating with others.
Robert Springer – RSVP, Saddlebrook, AZ
Before
retiring, Dr. Robert Springer had a long career conducting research and
development for the corporate sector. But before that career, Springer
had a less-than-stellar high school experience similar to the
experiences of the students he works with today as an RSVP volunteer in
Arizona. Today, Springer is the engine behind what has now become a
statewide volunteer model to raise the math and science scores of high
school students on the state’s standards test.
McKenzie “Kenzie” Brannon – RSVP, Durham, NC
When
McKenzie Brannon retired in January 2001, his wife feared he’d drive her
crazy at home. He had no real hobbies or pastimes. But, he knew he was
going to get busy, and busy he has been as an RSVP volunteer. Every
week, Brannon provides one-on-one help to beginning readers at a nearby
elementary school, makes deliveries to his Meals and Wheels clients,
volunteers at Habitat for Humanity with a group of male retirees who
call themselves “The Geezers,” and spends time as a companion and friend
to two mental health patients.
The recognitions were announced at the 2005
National Conference on Volunteering and Service, where eight other
volunteers in other programs were also honored..
"These individuals have gone above and beyond the
call to serve their nation," said David Eisner, CEO of the Corporation,
a co-sponsor of the annual conference along with the Points of Light
Foundation. "Not only do they give their own time and talents, but they
serve to mobilize others in their communities to volunteer.”
Eisner added, “As a federal agency, we take great
pride in our vital role in supporting America's voluntary sector. Our
programs, with the help of individuals like our Spirit of Service Award
winners, work hand in glove with the volunteer world to deepen the
ability of the more than 64 million Americans who volunteer each year to
make a real difference in their communities."
The awards were part of the closing ceremony of the
three-day national conference in the first week of August, which brought
together 2,500 leaders of volunteer and national service sectors
Participants from each of the Corporation's three
programs—Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America—were
honored along with UPS, which yesterday received the first-ever
Corporate Spirit of Service award for its outstanding support of
national service and volunteering.
More About the
Honored Senior Citizen Volunteers
Helen Karr, RSVP - San Mateo County, CA
 Helen
Karr had been in the business world for 25 years when she learned about
the issue of elder abuse. She was particularly concerned about elderly
women being taken advantage of financially. So after graduating from law
school on her 64th birthday, she began volunteering with the San Mateo
Council on Aging and the local RSVP program.
As a volunteer attorney, Helen helped the San
Francisco District Attorney’s office develop its Victim Services Elder
Senior Volunteer Program. However, she soon realized that there will
never be enough investigators to prosecute all the cases and that
preventive education for seniors was the best way to combat the abuse.
As a volunteer speaker on the issue, Helen has
helped distribute more than 1 million booklets on the issue and given
presentations to countless groups ranging from professional associations
to senior centers. As an RSVP volunteer, Helen now works to recruit and
train other volunteers to give presentations on the topic.
The most challenging issue she encounters through
her work is getting people to talk about elder abuse. The key to her
success is making it as easy as possible for people to volunteer. They
are provided with all the materials they need to go out and start
meeting with groups.
According to Helen, individuals are often in denial
and don’t feel comfortable talking about it. They often also believe
that “it won’t happen to them.”
“Elder abuse is like child abuse. We need to
protect our elders when they are made vulnerable.”
On encouraging others to volunteer, Helen Karr
says, “Senior citizens really need to look at where they are comfortable
volunteering – do whatever they can do. It’s one of the most rewarding
experiences a person can have – to go out and give your time to your
community. There are no words to describe it.”
Ruth Harris, Senior Companion Program, Denver,
CO
 At
83, Senior Companion Ruth Harris of Denver volunteers a minimum of 20
hours a week, providing encouragement and support to families facing the
death of a loved one. During the past 12 years, Ruth has tended to the
needs of 1,100 elderly individuals.
As a young woman, Ruth was gifted with a singing
voice and sang in theater for nearly four decades. Eventually, she lost
her voice and needed something to do. That’s when she discovered the
Senior Companion program. Today, Ruth volunteers three days a week
providing companionship and care to Alzheimer’s patients and people
living with HIV.
“Senior Companions are there to be more or less a
companion…someone to lean on….It seems to be my calling for them to give
me the ones that were most severe.”
Ruth Harris believes that people of all walks of
life need someone. She has been that “someone” for a husband and wife
who were both diagnosed with cancer, for bed-ridden patients who’ve lost
their ability to speak, for an elderly woman who had been abused, for
those who often have no other family or support system.
“I take them out in the sun, read to them, even
sing to them with the voice I have left.”
One of her most challenging volunteer experiences
involved two frail men under her care who refused to eat. “They had
gotten to the point where they had completely given up… People get tired
of the pain or whatever it might be.”
It took Ruth almost three months to get one of the
men to eat. “Eventually I won him over, and (every day after that) he
would look for me.”
Ruth is so committed to those she helps care for
that she’s often beside them right up until their passing. Her greatest
ambition in life is to give of herself.
Willie Jenkins, Foster Grandparent – Catholic
Social Services of Oakland County, Pontiac, MI
 For
the past 12 years, Willie Jenkins has been volunteering five days a week
as a mentor and role model at Children’s Village, a juvenile detention
facility in Pontiac, Michigan. Upon her arrival as a Foster Grandparent,
Willie soon realized that the young women at the Village had an untapped
desire to learn new skills and that by teaching them life skills she
possibly could restore their self-esteem.
She soon determined that the best way to teach life
skills to the facility’s young women was to help them start their own
business. A former caterer, Willie worked with them to start the
“Believe in Yourself Café.” The cafe reinforces skills in cooking,
reading, cooperation, sewing, and many other areas. Initially, there
were no resources to purchase food or supplies for the store. Determined
to make it work, Willie purchased the supplies herself. Children’s
Village soon saw the value of the program and began providing funding
for the café.
Willie Jenkins says of her volunteer experience as
a Foster Grandparent: “I love it and I love the girls. They’re
sweethearts – and sometimes they’re devils.”
Many of the girls at the Village will tell you that
they are closer to Willie than they are their own grandmothers. She is
always there to wrap her arms around them with a hug, provide some
advice, or calm them down when life gets out of control.
Robert Springer, RSVP - Saddlebrook, AZ
 Before
retiring, Dr. Robert Springer had a long career conducting research and
development for the corporate sector. But before that career, Dr.
Springer had a less-than-stellar high school experience similar to the
experiences of the students he works with today as an RSVP volunteer in
Arizona.
He barely squeaked out of high school with a C
average. After graduation, he spent two years on a chicken ranch earning
minimum wage before he realized that he need a college degree to succeed
financially.
Today, Dr. Springer is the engine behind what has
now become a statewide volunteer model to raise the math and science
scores of Arizona’s high school students on the states standards test.
It all began in 1998 when his wife’s involvement in
a local children’s charity and his own curiosity prompted him to call
the local high school principal to see how students were faring
academically. Dr. Springer learned that only 16 percent of 10th-graders
had passed the math portion of the test that year. His response was to
begin volunteering at the school as a math and science tutor. But he
soon learned that he would need a lot more people power to really make
an impact.
He recruited and now coordinates a team of 80
volunteers who tutor more than 600 students at five different high
schools, and through an alliance with a software company, he has
customized a software program to assist teachers and tutors in assessing
students’ math needs and focusing attention on those concepts where they
struggle most.
A controlled study conducted by Dr. Springer
revealed that students being tutored in the program were 57 percent more
likely to pass the standardized test than students without the tutoring.
“Seeing the scores go up gives me a lot of
satisfaction,” says Dr. Springer. “I think, ‘There’s a kid who won’t
have to work on the chicken ranch or at McDonalds or for very low pay.’”
McKenzie "Kenzie" Brannon, RSVP - Durham, NC
 When
McKenzie Brannon retired in January 2001, his wife feared he’d drive her
crazy at home. He had no real hobbies or pastimes. But, he knew he was
going to get busy and busy he has been with an active volunteer life as
an RSVP volunteer. First, he joined Habitat for Humanity where he
volunteers every Thursday with a group of male retirees self-proclaimed
“The Geezers.”
By keeping his eyes and ears open, he soon learned
from a local radio station of the Reading Buddies program. Now, every
Monday, he provides one-on-one help to beginning readers at a nearby
elementary school. Many of the children he encounters can’t spell their
first names, or speak English as a Second Language. But according to
Kenzie: “When I’m coming out of there on Mondays, I’m floating on a
cloud. It’s the most challenging [volunteer experience] but most
rewarding.”
With his other days of the week, Kenzie serves as a
COMPEER, a companion peer to two mental health patients. After
developing a strong friendship with his first companion, Kenzie
requested a more challenging patient -- and that’s just what he got. His
second peer had previously gone through three companions in one year.
Now, Kenzie has even gotten his two companions, whom he considers
friends for life, involved in volunteering. They often accompany him on
his Meals on Wheels route every week.
Kenzie has been serving the same clients through
Meals on Wheels for more than four years. It is the one volunteer
initiative he is involved in for which he has agreed to be on the Board
of Directors because they are active and very hands-on. “I prefer to do
rather than talk about doing,” Kenzie says.
Kenzie Brannon’s advice to other recent retirees is
the same advice that he took from a close friend upon his retirement,
“You’ve been working for someone else for 40 years; now it’s time to
work for God and your fellow human beings.”
Click to More Senior News on the
Front Page
Copyright: SeniorJournal.com |
