Six weeks became fifteen years! While there, he became the Community Organizer for the City of Arad, directing an array of city-wide community-based projects that addressed the health, education, and social welfare needs of its citizens.

When he returned to the States, he wasn't certain of his career future. "I had never used a computer or had to type a letter in English in the past 15 years. I often questioned my ability to cope and adjust to the new realities." Three months after his return he joined VM.

Barry was matched with the Midtown Community Benefits District in Baltimore to create a volunteer network of Block Captains in the Midtown District. He eventually recruited 40 Block Captains -- twice Midtown's goal of 20!

In one 3-hour clean-up organized by a Block Captain, volunteers picked up over 20 bags of trash, bricks, tree parts, a shopping basket, car battery, and various other street stuff. The project had far-reaching results: increased pride in their neighborhood, a sense of group cohesiveness, and respect for their neighbors -- not to mention a clean two block area!

The Block Captain program now acts as an assessment tool in the community for crime and grime concerns, neighborhood contacts, innovative ideas, and complaints. The Block Captains, along with an additional 22 volunteers Barry recruited as neighborhood walkers, and members of the rat eradication committee, court watch and recycling projects, are making a real difference for the citizens and business owners of Midtown.

For Barry, his year with VM provided the confidence he needed that he could be an effective community organizer here in the States. "VM gave me the hands-on experience I needed to succeed. In addition, I was able to bridge the gap of what I had learned in Israel and how to apply it here." Barry is continuing to work for Midtown in a staff position, still doing the community organizing he loves and does so well.

Unique Volunteer Program Created at Health Clinic
People's Community Health Center (PCHC) partnered with Volunteer Maryland (VM) to develop a volunteer program to enhance its ability to serve its clients. They were matched with Sharon Feinstein, a VM Coordinator in Class 8. Sharon's background included a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, graduate work in Biomedical Engineering, and experience volunteering in the community.

As she began her year, Sharon knew it would be a challenge. "I knew that the site hadn't had volunteers for several years, and that they had never had volunteers in [a clinical setting]. In addition, I found out that the program I was trying to introduce was unique among health centers."

Under her direction, volunteers were recruited for a dual role in the clinic. First, the volunteers help prepare the patients for their primary care visit by checking demographics; taking height, weight, temperature and blood pressure measurements; conducting vision and hearing tests; and discussing and recording the patient's chief complaint.

Second, the volunteers run an information referral system that Sharon created. Volunteers are trained to identify nonmedical needs (e.g., day care, job information, GED, financial assistance) during the patient's visit, and to refer patients to agencies in the community that can address those needs. Volunteers follow up with the patients to make sure they are receiving the help they need.

By targeting college students interested in careers in medicine and health, Sharon developed a structure that provides PCHC with volunteers who have an appropriate background, and students with a volunteer experience relevant to their field of study. And by gaining exposure to communities that traditionally have difficulty attracting professionals into their neighborhoods, students will hopefully choose to serve such areas in the future.

For Sharon, her year of service "was everything I hoped for and everything I needed." She is now attending medical school at the University of Maryland - Baltimore, and hopes to eventually return to the community as a physician to provide medical care in a setting similar to PCHC.

VMC Gains "the World" from Year of Service
Light Street Housing (LSH) applied to become a Volunteer Maryland (VM) site partner because they weren't satisfied with the number of housing projects they were able to complete with the volunteers they had. LSH provides affordable housing for low-income people and/or recovering addicts in South Baltimore, and much of their rehab work is carried out by volunteers to keep their costs down. They were rehabbing one or two houses per year, but wanted to increase that to four per year.

They recruited one of their residents, Charles Myers, to be their VM Coordinator (VMC). It wasn't an easy recruit. Charles had been in recovery for less than two years, and felt unsure of himself and his ability to deal with other people. He wasn't at all certain that he was up for the challenge of being a VMC!

In his year of service, however, Charles made a significant impact on Light Street Housing. He recruited 149 new volunteers, created a volunteer manual, developed guidelines for a safety program, improved the volunteer scheduling process, and created community partnerships that have led to the contribution of materials and two houses! He also undertook a project to utilize students as part of their service learning requirement. As a result, one of LSH's houses is being rehabbed completely by students.

According to Ninia Baehr, LSH's Development Director, "We literally quadrupled our capacity. We couldn't have had that kind of growth without VM in general, and Charles in particular." It's no wonder that LSH offered Charles a permanent, full-time position as the construction manager when his service year ended! (Because Charles created such effective systems, LSH now has a volunteer volunteer manager.)

When asked what he got out of his year of service, Charles responded, "the world!" He now feels comfortable in any environment, confident of his ability to deal with people from any background. "Before I didn't feel I had a place in society. Now I know why I'm here."

"Granny Ranger" Creates Model for Maryland Park System
When Teri Lioi (VM Class 6) began her service year at Gunpowder Falls State Park, the Hammerman area of the park where she was working had no regular volunteer support, and the entire park lacked comprehensive policies and procedures for its volunteer programs.

Starting from scratch, Teri recruited volunteers for park maintenance and Earth Day activities at the Hammerman area. "Without the help of volunteers, these activities and benefits would not have been possible," said Anne Kernan, the Park Naturalist. "We look forward to volunteers accepting additional projects and positions, and expanding the menu of services we provide to the public."

Dubbed the "Granny Ranger" by a 7-year-old park visitor, she also created both a Volunteer Manual and a Volunteer Supervisor's Manual which were adopted for use by all of the Gunpowder Falls areas. According to Peyton Taylor, Gunpowder Falls' Assistant Park Manager, both manuals were also submitted to the Department of Natural Resources, and will be used as models for all of Maryland's State Parks!

Teri's was one of three environmental partnerships created during VM Class 6. Sandy Walter recruited an amazing 279 volunteers at Seneca Creek State Park. They did light maintenance on ten miles of hiking trails, reroofed a picnic shelter, cleaned up a farm complex and the lake, repaired the pontoon boat and chimneys at two shelters, and maintained hand tools. Whew! As Sandy said, "A diverse group of people CAN get things done. I am amazed that people are willing to give of their time and services, they just want and need to be asked. What a discovery!"

And at the Howard County Conservancy, Lorraine Baugher also excelled by mobilizing 253 volunteers to maintain the property, plant trees, and teach educational programs along with many other activities. Reflecting on her year of service, Lorraine said, "I have grown professionally as well as personally much more than I could have imagined."

Short Takes on a Year of Service!
Some final thoughts from VM Coodinators as they reflected on their service year:

"I could not have asked for a better experience. I learned more in one year than I did in my 20 or so years as a student."

"At the end of a day of construction at the site I had the opportunity of a lifetime. I was able to toss a baseball with one of the boys who would be moving into the house that volunteers were constructing. Growing up, I took for granted such simple pleasures of life. [The boy] couldn't participate in this rite of passage while living in his previous apartment. It made me realize that we were providing more than just shelter for a family. This home would allow all members of the family the opportunity to grow and develop."

"I have been a facilitator, attended Board meetings, acted on planning committees, networked, met government officials, managed a program, and the list goes on."

"This year has helped me clarify my career goals, and has given me greater confidence in myself."

"It is difficult to boil a year of service down to certain events, but I think that if any one thing stands out in my memory, it would have to be when a few of the clients told me (when they were getting ready to leave the shelter) that when they really get back on their feet, they want to come back and volunteer. They feel so grateful for the many people who do so much to give them a place to stay, that they want to be able to give back and do the same thing."

"I feel luckiest for having met such wonderful and amazing people. It is incredible how an extremely diverse group of people can come together to support each other, learn with and from one another, and enable each other to grow as individuals."