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Congratulations to the 10 recipients of the 2007 Verizon
TelecomPioneers Competitive Grants. Each winning chapter will
receive a $5,000 grant to further its project goals. This year,
26 applications were submitted. The projects were judged on
their focus on literacy and/or domestic violence, collaboration
with the local Verizon External Affairs manager, use of
technology, plan for media/publicity, and budget and timeline.
This year's recipients will present their winning projects at
the November Annual Meeting in Tampa. The recipients are:
W.J. Denver, Summer Day of Enchantment Excelsior, Willows Common Media Excelsior, Santa Land Jasper Keller, Mobile Learning/Tech Station McCully Upstate, Read Me a Story Paumanok, Not Just a Shelter Paumanok, Prevention thru Education Verizon West, Excel Challenged Youth West Virginia, VTP gives LIFT West Virginia, Better Tech=Better Service=Better Results |
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by: Denise Darden-Woody
President-AGB Chapter On Saturday, June 16, the Alexander Graham Bell Chapter hosted its 3rd Annual Cook-Out for the Troops at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center - Fisher Houses and it was the best yet. We had a whopping 69 military folks come visit and eat with us, including soldiers, their families, the staff, Pioneers, and friends. One soldier remembered us from our November visit last year and was happy to see us back. The food was excellent and Sparky the Fire Dog gave Hug-a-Bears, books, dictionaries, and pillow cases to the kids. He was a big hit. We also gave the parents Gift Cards for the AMC Movie Theater and Pizza Hut. They were happy to have a night out on the Pioneers.
AGB also received a Certificate of Appreciation from the Fisher
Houses. But, the best was all the hugs and thank yous we
received. They all said they have attended other cook outs, but
the Pioneers' Cook Outs are always the best.
"All the Verizon Pioneers should feel good about our
association with the Walter Reed Hospital's Fisher Houses. This
project started a few years ago with a donation from all our
chapters. The AGB Chapter continues to be our feet on the street
so to speak. They continue to provide baby-sitting, barbecues,
yard work and such for the injured soldiers and their families,"
noted Steve Kohn, president of the Verizon TelecomPioneers.
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by: Marilyn Stevens, President-Fort Pitt Chapter
For the past 15 years, John Hathaway of the Evergreen Life Member Club has faithfully counted, packaged and shipped pop can tabs, greeting card fronts, eyeglasses, stamps, coupons, points, labels and toiletries to their destinations. He'll be quick to point out that he couldn't have done it without the help of other Evergreen members, particularly, June Clem and Alma Patterson who, with their small group of volunteers, amassed an inspiring number of community service hours. Their activities include a fantastic volume of collections of the above items as well as many hours visiting shut- ins and veterans. They made and donated 125 lap robes to be distributed at these locations. Due to other commitments, John is passing along the torch in this area. He has been of great value and is very much appreciated by the Evergreen Life Member Club, serving on several occasions as president and fulfilling other ad-hoc commitments. John will continue to serve as his availability dictates. The Fort Pitt Chapter is proud to recognize John Hathaway, June Clem and Alma Patterson as role models who represent Pioneering at its finest. The Evergreen LMC is part of the East Council, which covers the Greensburg, New Stanton, and Uniontown area of Pennsylvania. |
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by: Mabel Richardson
The MA 2 Life Member Club in New York City is involved in a very responsible project - repairing Talking Book machines. Every Wednesday, six TelecomPioneer volunteers meet at Andrew Heiskell Library on West 20th Street to do this very serious and important assignment. The "Talking Book" is a large cassette player, with special tapes made at the library, so that people who are blind or physically handicapped can read books. It also helps keep them in touch with the visual world. The machines are constantly in need of repair. John Stevenson started this operation in November, 1983. Presently, he is joined by Don Wigandt, Phyllis Morphett, Helen Wojichowsky, Mabel Richardson and Angela Murphy. Don, Phyllis and Helen are volunteers over 10 years. Mabel and Angela are newcomers. In the last four years, 2,000 machines have been repaired. We are dedicated to this assignment and enjoy the feeling of accomplishment in helping those in need. Our reward is knowing we made a difference in the life of the blind and physically handicapped men and women. "Access to communication in the widest sense is access to knowledge. We must be treated as equals and communication is the way we can bring this about," said Louis Braille, 1841.
(Photo, l-r:) Don Wigandt and John Stevenson.
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by: Linda Steuerwald
On Saturday, May 12, the Verizon TelecomPioneers, Paumanok Chapter / Suffolk Council active employees brought a little sunshine to the women residents of the Oak Hollow Nursing Home in Middle Island ,N.Y. They wanted to make sure that all the moms in the residence would know that they were not forgotten on Mother's day. Flowers were given to all the ladies and light refreshments were served to all the residents. There is no greater gift than spreading a little joy to others and letting them know they are cared about on their special day. The council will return in June to share Father's day with the men living at Oak Hollow. |
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Our Life Member Spotlight is on... Lillian Davis!
Lillian became a Pioneer in Maryland on July 5, 1955. In the past 52 years of being a Pioneer, she has held the position of Metro East life member president on and off since 1976. Lillian will be 97-years-old on July 18, 2007, and remains one of the most energetic and active Pioneers in the chapter. She oversees the production of thousands of Hug-A-Bears for disabled children at the Kennedy Krieger Institute and other hospitals and charities. She also regularly volunteers with the Red Cross and the national Dyslexia Foundation. She still participates at the spring Beeping Egg Hunt at the Maryland School for the Blind every year.
Lillian has been working in the Pioneer office since it went
from a paid staff to a volunteer staff, which was about eight
years ago. She still comes into the Pioneer Office once a week
to help with the Vial of Life project and labeling books for the
Book'em project. Lillian also works with vendors when they come
to the company building to sell their wares, helping to raise
thousands of dollars for the chapter. If the vendors are
managing fine, she will come into the Pioneer office and see if
she can help out. Lillian will help with whatever needs to be
done. She also attends many chapter functions, like crab feasts,
luncheons and meetings.
She has received the Baltimore Best Award from the Baltimore
Mayor, the Red Cross certificate, the Maryland Chapter Pioneer
of the Year award and the Regional Hall of Fame Award. She is
legendary in Maryland for her spirit and enthusiasm, and for her
dedication to Pioneering. She certainly is a person to look up
to in the eyes of Pioneering.
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The online version of Power Up to Read was successfully released
by the TelecomPioneers Association internally on June 1. It is
on track to be released publicly August 1. Power Up To Read is a
high- tech educational program focusing on improving the reading
skills of 4th and 5th graders. It is a multimedia program
delivered through the Internet, on CD, or in print.
Power Up To Read is delivered through the telling of two folks tales. One is an African Ashanti folktale titled: "Hungry Spider and Turtle." The second book is: "Why the Sun Travels Slowly Across the Sky," and it is a Hawaiian legend. Each of the folk tales is supported by additional information that provides scientific lessons behind the stories.
The online version of the PUTR program is located at
http://putr.telecompioneers.org. All materials are also
available to download for FREE in English and Canadian French.
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Dear TelecomPioneers:
Please accept this letter of sincere gratitude and thanks on behalf of the children and families of the Central Harlem Prevention Program. For the past 15 years, the relationship Harlem Dowling has formulated with Verizon has been truly a blessing to our families. From the week of April 2-10, 2007, Central Harlem Prevention Staff has been encouraging our families to read to their children during the "Spring Break." One of the problems reported by our families were not having age appropriate books to read to their children. To resolve this problem, we quickly began calling community partners for resources. On March 30, 2007, we received a great and un-expected donation of six cartons of books. Thanks to our Verizon Partners, we were able to distribute books to our parents to read to their children during Spring Break. The selection of books was excellent; it covered our children from ages 1 to 16. As of April 11, 2007, we we have received more than 10 cartons of books. I want to give a special thanks to The Verizon Pioneers and their Vice President Lula Sisco, who has been the liaison between Verizon and Harlem Dowling. The Pioneers' commitment to our agency is evident by the care taken in the selection of books recently donated and the memorable holiday parties, which our families and children look forward to every year. Again, thank you, Verizon, for always remembering the families of Harlem Dowling and providing us with needed resources that were "right on time." Thank you for being part of our solution. Sincerely, Regina Lawson, LMSW Director--Manhattan Preventive Services Harlem Dowling West Side Center for Children and Family Services, New York City |
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Our Estore manager would like to hear your recommendations on new products. Please e-mail bruceyennie@verizon.net with your feedback.
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