The Littlest Volunteers
Written By Jeff Wagenheim
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They help friends, neighbors, and strangers — furry or not. The winners of our second annual contest. (Tissues handy?)
With the help of the HandsOn Network of the nonprofit Points of Light Institute, we've chosen three Grand Prize — winning families. Disney gave each $5,000 for their favorite charity. We also selected ten First Prize winners who were rewarded with $1,000 to donate.
Grand Prize Winners:
- Zach and Thomas Eller, 13 and 8, Milton, Georgia
- Susan and Phillip Endom, 7 and 5, Old Metairie, Louisiana
- Sydney and Erin Duggan, 11 and 8, Olmsted Falls, Ohio
First Prize Winners:
- Kamryn Richardson, 5, California
- Casey Lane, 6, Piedmont, California
- Jennifer, Robert, Philip, and Stuart Jackman, 9, 7, 5, and 2, New Lenox, Illinois
- Claire Ryan, 8, Caledonia, Michigan
- Cassia, Rachel and Justus Gonsalves, 5, 4, and 2, Andover, Massachusetts
- Alex Babcock, 7, Clarksburg, Massachusetts
- Carson Bold, 7, Arlington, Texas
- Bethany, Hannah and William Melega, 7, 5, and 3, Hillsborough, North Carolina
- Samantha Lent, 6, Plantation, Florida
- Ripken Wellikson and Wyatt Legere, both 4, Irvine, California
Enter the 2009 Littlest Volunteers Contest
Grand Prize
Woof 'Em Down Dog Biscuits:
Zack and Thomas Eller, ages 13 and 8, Milton, Georgia
Duke must be the luckiest dog in Milton, Georgia. Not only was the boxer mix adopted from a pet rescue shelter by two brothers who volunteered there, but Duke (not shown; he's camera shy) also holds an enviable job: chief taste-tester for Woof 'Em Down Dog Biscuits, the nonprofit company founded by his owners, Zack and Thomas Eller.
How two boys created their own company can all be traced back to Zack's sixth birthday. With his party approaching, Zack's parents Tracy and Tom pointed to all the toys in his room and brought up the possibility of guests bringing pet food donations in lieu of presents. "Would you like to see how it feels to help someone with less than you for just this one birthday?" Mom asked. Apparently it felt good, because Zack has done it every birthday since. Thomas followed in his footsteps, as little brothers are wont to do, and over the years the Ellers have donated more than 1,000 pounds of dog food to the Atlanta Humane Society.
But "my birthday was only once a year," says Zack, "and I wanted to help out a little more." So when he was 10 and his brother 5, the boys began volunteering every Saturday at the Aiding and A-Petting shelter, fetching water for the dogs and playing with them. Karen Brinker, president of the shelter, says that while many shelters don't accept young volunteers because of liability concerns, she welcomed the Ellers for a personal reason: Having volunteered as a child herself, she knows firsthand how helping others builds character. "It gave me a sense of worth, a sense of purpose," says Brinker. "It was something to do other than come home, do homework, watch TV, and that's your life."
Zack and Thomas grew close to the homeless animals (hello Duke), and one day Zack asked their mom if they could make the dogs some treats. "I think it was the idea of them being homemade, from the heart," says Tracy. "Anybody could run to a store and buy a box of biscuits."
They created a recipe from ingredient lists they found online and showed up at the shelter with bags of freshly baked biscuits. No surprise the treats were a hit with the dogs, including ones being adopted that day; their owners happily bought biscuits to support the shelter's rescue work. Thus was born a fund-raising enterprise. Every week, batches of biscuits sold out. "The project took on a life of its own," says Tracy. Last spring, the boys launched woofemdowndogbiscuits.com and began selling their biscuits online.
As the business expanded, Zack and Thomas's friends joined the kitchen crew. One recent afternoon, they baked 500 biscuits — one boy mixing the dough, another rolling it out, another cutting out shapes, another basting the tops and sprinkling on sesame seeds. Mom stays mostly on the sidelines. "I made it clear from the start that this project is not mine. If they want to do it, they have to do it," says Tracy. Okay, Mom helps a little. "I end up vacuuming the floor," says Tracy. "My guys aren't great about cleaning up. When they're done baking, they're ready to go play."
So far, Thomas and Zack have raised more than $1,700 selling dog biscuits shaped like bones, fire hydrants, and doghouses.
Back to the Main List of 2008 Winners
Grand Prize
PLEASE Foundation tutoring program:
Susan and Phillip Endom, ages 7 and 5, Old Metairie, Louisiana
Last year, with the second of her two children reaching school age, Yvette Endom knew exactly what to do with her newfound free time. The former school psychologist had always wanted to volunteer at a school, and if Hurricane Katrina had made anything clear, it was that people around the Gulf Coast needed help. The Endoms themselves were displaced from their home in the New Orleans suburbs for nine months after Katrina, but Yvette knew all too well that many people hadn't even had the means to evacuate. Believing that economics is tied to education, Yvette created the nonprofit PLEASE (People Leading Educational and Spiritual Excellence) Foundation, with a mission to help kids from underprivileged families overcome their disadvantages through education. She looked for a school to adopt and began tutoring daily at Cathedral Academy, a small elementary school in the French Quarter.
Yvette generally tutored during the school day, but on Wednesdays she came for the after-school program. That way, she could bring her children Susan and Phillip with her. "I wanted to expose them to volunteering in action," Yvette says. Almost immediately, Susan and her second-grade friend Shay Adams, who often joined the Endoms for the short trip into the city from Old Metairie, wanted to do more than watch. They grabbed books and began reading to the kindergarteners. "I really love helping people," says Susan, 7. "We have these cards with pictures on them, and I show the girl the picture and she says the word. After we're done we get to go outside and play." What started with the girls helping with reading has evolved into them taking the initiative, bringing in their own books, dreaming up their own art projects. When Phillip saw what his big sister was doing, he wanted in too. A 5-year-old tutor? Phillip was in prekindergarten, but was reading at first- grade level so he'd sit with one of the pre-K kids and go over ABCs and numbers with flash cards.
At this point, the PLEASE Foundation has also recruited 50 adults to volunteer at Cathedral Academy. What has been most impressive to Sister Bernadette Mathieson, who was principal at the school when Yvette began tutoring, is not that the Endom family offered to help, but that they kept showing up. People had promised to volunteer before, but often they didn't follow through. They showed up once or twice, made a big splash, and were never heard from again. "Consistency is more difficult, I think, than volunteering for one big project," says the Dominican sister. "It's also what our children need most."
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Grand Prize
Dakota's Dream:
Sydney and Erin Duggan, ages 11 and 8, Olmsted Falls, Ohio
It was June 2007 and Dan Duggan had just returned home from his daughter Sydney's soccer game. He immediately asked his younger daughter Erin about a girl he'd seen on the sideline wearing a walking brace. The players had made a fuss over the girl, who looked about Erin's age. Dan wondered if Erin knew her. "Yes, Dakota's my friend from school," Erin replied. "She's dying."
Dan was taken aback by how matter-of-factly his daughter spoke of Dakota Bihn, whose sister Bailey was one of Sydney's teammates. At 6, Dakota was diagnosed with juvenile-onset Tay-Sachs, a degenerative neurological condition with no treatment or cure. It is extremely rare and has always proved fatal.
"What are you going to do about it?" Dan prodded his daughter. Erin gave her dad a quizzical look. "I can't do anything," she said. "I'm just a kid." "Well, what would you be willing to do?" This time Erin didn't hesitate: "We'll do anything." She was speaking for herself and her friends. Dakota's friends.
Dan and his wife Sharlene met with Ken and Julie Bihn, Dakota's parents, to brainstorm ways kids in the community could help – fitting, since Tay-Sachs almost always affects children. The Bihns had recently created the Cure Tay-Sachs Foundation, and the couples agreed on a kid-driven fund-raiser dubbed Dakota's Dream.
Erin, Sydney, and a core group of around 15 friends talked up the idea to schoolmates, who talked it up to others . . . until some 250 kids were on board to ring doorbells and ask for donations on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. In the weeks prior, volunteers visited hundreds of stores asking to leave donation cans and put up posters. "The first few businesses we went to, an adult would go in too," says Sharlene Duggan. "Pretty soon we just stayed outside. Who could say no to these kids?"
By November 24, the Cure Tay-Sachs Foundation had raised nearly $50,000. More than $3,000 of it was generated by Erin and Sydney, and not just by knocking on doors. Both girls had birthdays around that time, and they told relatives that a donation would be the perfect gift. "Having no presents to open? I didn't mind at all because I knew I was helping Dakota," says Erin. "I want to raise lots of money to find a cure. I don't want a friend of mine to go away and my sister's friend to be unhappy." "At the lowest point in our life, we feel like we've been lifted onto the shoulders of our friends," Julie Bihn says of the commun- ity's efforts. "It gives us strength when we want to just crawl into a corner and cry."
Another fund-raiser took place in September, and the Bihns were not surprised that Erin and Sydney were involved. As Ken Bihn wrote in the family's blog, "The whole concept of kids going door to door for Dakota's Dream was born of Erin's efforts to help her friend Dakota. When the other kids might run around and play, Erin stays by Dakota since Dakota can't run with everyone else. She does not want Dakota to be lonely."
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First Place
Lucile Packard Children's Hospital:
Kamryn Richardson, age 5, Bay Area, California
After a visit to Children's Hospital, Kamryn wanted to do something to help all the sick kids she'd seen. Her mom sent out flyers asking people to sponsor Kamryn to read books, and the result was $1,600 in donations for the hospital. Kamryn also collected about 20 new toys to give to sick kids.
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First Place
Berkeley Food and Housing Project:
Casey Lane, age 6, Piedmont, California
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society holds a special place in the Lane family because Casey's father suffers from MS. To raise money for the society, Casey created Kibbles, Crumbs & Kindness, a bake sale offering items for dogs and humans alike; she even drew up a special logo for posters and flyers for the event. Casey's other favorite charity is the Berkeley Food & Housing Project. For her sixth birthday, Casey asked for gifts for kids at the shelter rather than herself. She put together goody bags with stuffed animals and treats. Around the holidays, Casey and her mother also visited the shelter and led kids in a crafts project making Christmas tree ornaments out of pipe cleaners.
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First Place
Jennifer, Robert, Philip, and Stuart Jackman, ages 9, 7, 5, and 2, New Lenox, Illinois.
The whole Jackman clan pitches in to make homemade fleece blankets for children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need. The kids help select fabrics, which are often bought with allowance money the children decided to put toward the cause, called Project Linus. They "knot up" the fringes during any spare hours, sometimes while sitting in front of the TV. Finally, each finished blanket is put to the "snuggle test" by 2-year-old Stuart. So far, the family has made about 75 blankets, including ones that came out of the blanket-making party they hosted.
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First Place
Hospice of Michigan:Claire Ryan, age 8, Caledonia, Michigan
The Hospice of Michigan (HOM) became the Ryans' pet charity after treating Claire's great-grandfather, as well as one of the family's neighbors, a 6-year-old boy who died of leukemia. In lieu of birthday presents, Claire asks to be sponsored in a 5K charity walk for HOM. Claire and her mom also organize regular garage sales, which include many of Claire's toys and generally raise $500 to $1,000 each year for HOM. During the holidays, Claire and her friends send homemade greeting cards to people at the hospice to cheer them up.
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First Place
Jesus Samurai Knights Mentoring and Orphanage Donation:Cassia, Rachel, and Justus Gonsalves, ages 5, 4, and 2, Andover, Massachusetts
Each Tuesday, the girls help with food preparation for the Jesus Samurai Knights mentoring program for inner-city youth at their church, where they also work on crafts with kids of the same age. The Gonsalves children also participate in their church's work on behalf of orphans in Africa, limiting the amount of juice they drink each day so the money their family saves can go overseas.
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First Place
Angel of Hope Memorial:Alex Babcock, age 7, Clarksburg, Massachusetts
Alex was watching TV one day when he saw a friend, a retired teacher named Donna Morgan, talking about the memorial statue she wanted to build in honor of her daughter Diana, who died at age 19 of bacterial meningitis. "We have to get Mrs. Morgan that statue," Alex told his parents. To raise money, the Babcocks baked homemade muffins, and Alex helped paint a sign heralding "Alex's Angel Muffins" for sale at a farmers market. Through the sale of muffins and coffee, as well as additional donations, the Babcocks raised $400 that day. They have since raised more money for the "Angel of Hope" statue, a bronze angel inspired by the book The Christmas Box. This past August, Angel of Hope Children's Memorial Park was dedicated in North Adams, Massachusetts, on land donated by the city. Once fund-raising is complete, the statue honoring Diana Morgan will be erected.
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First Place
Lemonade for SafeHaven:
Carson Bold, age 7, Arlington, Texas
After visiting two SafeHaven shelters for victims of domestic violence, Carson volunteered to man a lemonade stand to raise money for the children. He made $21. Then he spent a night as the only kid volunteer at Camp Heart, which is for children served by SafeHaven, and afterward put a jar in his room to collect money to buy toys for the kids. He's gotten the volunteer bug, participating in the Victory Over Violence Walk and other ongoing activities.
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First Place
Thanks-Giving-Back Party:
Bethany, Hannah and William Melega, ages 7, 5, and 3, Hillsborough, North Carolina
The Melegas host a Thanks-Giving-Back party each year to provide three families in need with food and gifts for Christmas. The children get involved by inviting friends and family members to the party, helping prepare for the party, collecting and wrapping the gifts (Hannah's favorite part), and going on the delivery run to the chosen families. William especially loves visiting the "adopted" families' homes.
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First Place
Humane Society Birthday Party:
Samantha Lent, age 6, Plantation, Florida
Samantha asked that her birthday party be held at an animal shelter, with guests bringing gifts not for her but for the dogs. The party was such a hit, with the kids getting a tour, an education about homeless animals, and a visit from mascot Digger the Dog, that the Humane Society of Broward County now regularly opens the shelter for kids' birthday parties.
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First Place
Ripken Wellikson, age 4, and Wyatt Legere, age 4, Irvine, California
After watching a documentary about homeless kids living in cardboard boxes amid civil war in Uganda, the cousins took part in Displace Me, an event organized by Invisible Children in which they spent a night with their families in a cardboard home they'd created and painted. Later, the family started a fund-raising event at the boys' day camp, with Ripken and Wyatt helping collect more than $1,000.Back to the Main List of 2008 Winners
