Volunteers
8
Philanthropy Journal of North Carolina
Where they work
'The Nonprofit Almanac reports
17.6 percent of volunteers work
for religious charities and 10 percent
for educational programs.
February 1994
After-school supervision
Hunt’s middle-school plan hinges on volunteers
Improving life for teenagers by-
providing supervised after-
schooi programs is part of Gov.
Jim Hunt’s plan to reduce crime
in the state. The success of the
after-school program will de
pend on volunteers.
By Todd Cohen
I X olunteers will be at the
I / heart of Gov. Jim Hunt’s
\/ proposed after-school
» program for all North
Carolina’s middle-school and junior-
hi^ students.
At a special session this month,
state lawmakers will consider the
after-school proposal as part of
Hunt’s anti-crime package. The
after-school program would be
phased in over two years and would
cost $20 million a year when put into
full effect.
That money would pay for after
school programs at each of the
state’s 250 middle schools and junior
high schools.
The programs would be designed
to keep teenagers oft the streets and
out of trouble from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on
school days.
Similar programs are underway
in some school districts, such as the
middle schools in Durham and
Orange counties.
Somewhat akin to Hunt’s Smart
Start program for early childhood
development, the after-school pro
gram would be developed and nm by
local communities.
The state would provide funds
and technical assistance, as well as
oversight.
If lawmakers approve the project.
EDUCATION
a statewide planning conference for
community leaders would be held a
month later — probably in March —
to explain how it will work. Local
school board and county commis
sioners then would have imtil April
15 to select nei^borhood councils. A
week later, those councils would
receive materials to help them sub
mit funding requests to the state.
Half the middle and junior high
schools are ticketed to receive fund
ing the first year. Each of those
schools would get an average of
$60,000, which would be used to hire
a full-time coordinator for an after
school program, buy materials and
supplies and pay for transportation
for students.
Funds would be awarded based
on need as measured by sucb factors
as incidence of crime-related activi
ties.
Grant proposals then would have
to be submitted by July 1 to an inter
agency steering committee that will
be established.
Tom Houlihan, Hunt’s education
adviser, says the role of volunteers
and communities in the program will
be crucial.
“One of the things that Gov. Hunt
has repeatedly said is that it’s time
tor government to change how it
operates, and that attempting to
solve community problems with big
government programs just isn’t going
to work,” says Houlihan.
“The phUosophy behind the mid
dle-school program is to put seed
money out there tor one coordinator
and incidental costs. But the only
way it can be successful is through a
strong core of volunteers who wiU
serve as role models for these chil
dren.”
In applying for grants, neighbor
hood councils must demonstrate they
have recruited and involved commu
nity volunteers.
'The makeup of the nei^borhood
councils is intended to be broad-
based, including representatives of
nonprofits, the religious community,
business, schools, parents, social
service agencies, law enforcement
and court agencies and students.
Goals of the program are to
reduce juvenile crime; increase the
number of volunteers serving chil
dren; reduce the number of children
who are home alone after school;
improve academic performance;
improve youngsters’ behavior; and
provide adult supervision for young
sters after regular school hours.
Bicycling for a cure
Student
raising
money,
awareness
Leslie Anne Hummel knows well
the seriousness of juvenile dia
betes. Now, she’s doing her part
to find a cure, devoting her last
summer before college to rais
ing money for the Juvenile
Diabetes Foundation.
By Katherine Noble
A s a small child, Leslie
/ \ Anne Hummel saw her
/ 1 older sister nearly die.
Now, she worries that her own chil
dren mi^t suffer the same fate. And
in fact, they might.
HEALTH
Hummel is doing her part to
make sure that doesn’t happen. This
summer, the 18-year-old star athlete
and student will ride her bicycle
coast to coast to raise money to find
a cure for juvenile diabetes.
Hummel has set her si^ts hi^;
She hopes to raise $30,000. Already,
she’s raised $6,000 in just three
weeks. With five months to go until
June 1, when she plans to head from
Seattle, Wash., to Bar Harbor,
Look for BICYCLE page 9
Strong mind, healthy body
Volunteers give emotional support
to cancer patients at Duke Medical Center
1
Being diagnosed with cancer and
then enduring months of some
times uncomfortable, tiring
treatment can tap the spirit of
even the most optimistic
patient. A group of volunteers at
Duke University Medical Center
helps patients, and their fami
lies, make the best of a difficult
situation.
By Katherine Noble
A diagnosis of breast can-
/1 cer is shocking news to
anyone, even more so
f 1 to someone in her early
30s. But through surgery and nine
months of treatment, Kim Warren
found a silver lining in her experi
ence: A group of volunteers.
Started in 1986 by a couple who
had lost their young adult daughter
to Hodgkin’s Disease, the Cancer
Patient Support Program at Duke
University Medical Center is a model
for other cancer treatment centers
throu^out the U.S.
In September, representatives
from 19 treatment facilities gathered
in Durham for two days of work
shops on how to start, and run, a vol
unteer support program for patients
and their families.
At Duke, what started with 15
people now has more than 100 volun
teers and a professional staff of six.
But as the program has grown, it
hasn’t lost its
personal touch -
conveying a feel
ing of warmth
and understand
ing that patients
say adds a posi
tive dimension to
cancer treatment.
“It helps make
cancer treatment
a less threaten
ing process,”
says Rachel
Schanberg, who
started the pro
gram in memory
of her daughter,
Linda Schanberg
Clark.
Schanberg
says her daugh
ter realized
through her own
battle with Hodg
kin’s Disease that
fighting cancer
requires more
than good medicine. Patients also
have emotional and psychological
needs.
On paper, the volunteers perform
such tasks as helping patients find
their way around the hospital and
sign up for support groups, as well
as simply keeping the waiting room
supplied with cookies and juice.
In reality, they do much more.
“They’re on the front line,” says
As head of the volunteer program at Duke University Medical Center, Pat Booth
comforts and supports patients such os Emily Helm, seen here being helped into her cor.
Photo by John Fletcher Jr.
Debbie Morgan, one of six counselors
running the program. “They are won
derful at picking up on needs. I don’t
know of any other way you could do
it more efficiently.”
Often, she says, patients will tell a
volunteer something they might hesi
tate to share with a counseling or
medical professional.
‘"They do some fine listening and
referring,” says Morgan. “I’m
amazed at the quality of caring that
goes on.”
So was Kim Warren when she
walked into the chemotherapy wait
ing room for the first time.
“It felt very friendly and welcom
ing,” she recalls.
Having all these new friends wait
ing with the patient before treatment
and being there after the treatment
has been administered changed the
Look for CANCER, page 9
Volunteers collect
toys for kids
Volunteers rounded up more
than 100 toys for distribution
at the Methodist Home for
Children's recent Christmas
party for foster care children
in Raleigh. The MHC's foster
care service is a network of
nearly 40 foster homes serv
ing children from birth to 18
who have been abandoned,
abused or neglected.
WUNC-TV offers
homeless special
Schools, churches and com
munity organizations inter
ested in showing "The Unity
Against Hunger and
Homelessness" special
that aired on WUNC-TV in
early January can call Hugh
Morton Jr. at (9T9) 834-
8444.
N.C Museum of Art
offers volunteers
The North Carolina Museum
of Art's outreach volunteers
are available to present
slide-show talks on new
museum exhibits to schools
and community groups,
statewide. The 189-member
volunteer corps is supported
by funds from the state. For
details call Nancy Brantley,
(919)833-1935.
New resource for family programs
Volunteers and staff of nonprofits that work on family support,
community development, collaboration or empowerment
issues have a new source of facts and referrals:
the North Carolina Clearinghouse for Family Support
and Empowerment. The Clearinghouse was started by UPLIFT,
Inc., a Greensboro-based nonprofit working to improve the
well-being of North Carolina's families and children.
The resource will also link N.C. nonprofits to model family
support programs nationwide. To add your organization
to the database or request information,
call Laura Altizer, (910) 333-6302.