Volunteer Awards Presented at Drug Free Montcalm

Members of Drug Free Montcalm supporting their co-volunteer for being selected as the Volunteer of the Month in July!

Volunteer of the Month - July 2013
Mary Thomas
Drug Free Montcalm

I was privileged to present the July Volunteer of the Month Award and the Drug Free Montcalm Meeting!  Mary Thomas has been extremely involved in keeping that group moving forward!

Read these kind words written by Amy Buckingham about 2 Drug Free Montcalm Volunteers who received awards recently!

Hello Drug Free Montcalm Friends,

We have a pleasant announcement to make.

Today seems to be a day of awards!  One of our members received a surprise presentation of an award today at our Drug Free Montcalm membership meeting, and now another of our members is being recognized for her ongoing, generous, and impactful volunteering in Montcalm County, too.

Mary K. Thomas, Registered Pharmacist currently with Countryside Pharmacy and formerly the Director of Pharmacy at Sheridan Hospital, was presented the “Volunteer of the Month” award today by Volunteer Connections and the United Way Montcalm-Ionia Counties for her work of diligently and successfully spearheading the medication disposal drop box project throughout Montcalm  County.  Later today, it was announced that Shirley Pool, Reporter with the Lakeview Area News, was chosen by the Michigan Coalition to Reduce Underage Drinking (MCRUD) for MCRUD’s annual “Media Shout Out Award” created to recognize a media person or organization for  outstanding work highlighting issues related to preventing/reducing underage drinking in our local area. 

We send congratulations and gratitude to both these wonderful volunteers and Drug Free Montcalm members!  Thank you, Mary, and thank you, Shirley!  We are glad you are being recognized for what you do so humbly.   The “late breaking news” is that Shirley is going to be honored at an event in Lansing this coming Thursday, July 18^th.  A few of us will be accompanying her to this outdoor luncheon event. 

If the rest of you should see Mary or Shirley, do share your congratulations, too!

Yours in service with the community,

Amy

Amy Buckingham Drug Free Montcalm Coalition Coordinator/ Health Promotion

A Branch of Cherry Street Health Services

PO Box 836, 129 E. Main St., Stanton MI 48888 ( 989.831.4591│6 989.831.5768 │* AmyBuckingham@CherryHealth.com

JULY Volunteer of the Month: Mary Thomas

July 2013  Volunteer of the Month

Mary Thomas

Mary is a registered Pharmacist currently employed by Countryside Pharmacy and formerly the Director of Pharmacy at Sheridan Hospital, Community Volunteer, driving force behind the formation and activities of the Medication Disposal Coalition of Montcalm County!

Drug Free Montcalm's Coordinator (and recent Volunteer of the Month for May) Amy Buckingham has nominated Mary for all of the hard work and volunteer hours Mary has dedicated to keeping Montcalm County Drug Free. Mary saw a crucial need in Montcalm County and initiated the process that eventually developed the Medication Disposal Coalition of Montcalm County (MDCMC). She is considered to be the driving force in creating the coalition then and the driving force behind all its activities since that time. 

The NEED... prescription drugs commonly fall into the hands of people other then who they are prescribed to doing harm in our community!

Problems with improper disposal or not disposing at all:

1.     Improper disposal of medications can harm the environment by reaching our water supply.
2.     Keeping unused, unwanted, or expired drugs in the home is a source for theft.
3.     Studies have shown teenage drug abuse often begins by taking prescription drugs from the medicine cabinets of family or friends.
4.       Accidental poisonings of children and pets. 

The Medication Disposal Coalition of Montcalm County (MDCMC) was formally created in January 2011, and recently joined Drug Free Montcalm (DFM). In the past, the MDCMC coordinated “Medication Drop-off Days” with local law enforcement throughout our county. Due to Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) regulations, law enforcement had to obtain permission to accept legal controlled substances (which include narcotics) at the disposal events.  Mary and other Members of Drug Free Montcalm work to address the crucial environmental need of protecting our ground water from permanent contamination by medications, safety in terms of preventing accidental poisonings and potential thefts, and prevention of drug abuse, and its resultant potential injury, overdosing, addictions, etc. She also has created opportunities for others of all ages to volunteer (in tradition ways and in creative ones, such as by being a walking medication disposal drop box mascot!), and has built positive connections among sectors in the community (law enforcement, pharmacies, community members, etc.)

The ACTION...red drop-off containers stationed throughout Montcalm County.

In recent years, the DEA began to grant permission for medication drop-boxes to be placed in law enforcement agencies. Our local law enforcement encouraged the MDCMC to find a way to obtain these boxes, as they provide a much more convenient and accessible disposal method for the public. 

Riverhaven Substance Abuse Coordinating Agency purchased the medication drop-boxes for participating law enforcement agencies. A kick-off event was held at the Montcalm County Sheriff’s Office on September 24, 2012. The community has responded with bringing over 200 pounds of medication to the five drop-boxes in two months. How incredible is that?! 

Residents throughout Montcalm County have convenient ongoing access to a safe way to dispose of unneeded and/or unusable medications, the valuable service of law enforcement agencies has increased exposure, ground water is protected from irreparable contamination, children, youth, and adults are protected from accidental poisonings, there is an increasing awareness of the need to address medication abuse and its prevention, pharmacies are a part of a network that is building awareness and preventing medication related problems in the future, and there are more opportunities to others to volunteer.  

The IMPACT...

To give you an idea of how successful this new program has been, I’ll share a couple of comparisons. In October 2011, we had our first and only county-wide disposal event, which included four sites. A total of 400 pounds of medication was collected, not bad for a one-time event. During the past year, and up until the law enforcement medication drop-off boxes were installed, Sheridan Community Hospital Pharmacy collected 150 pounds of medication. Therefore, in two months, the law enforcement drop-off boxes have collected more than one site did in an entire year! Greenville Public Safety Director Mike Pousak was correct when he stated “The program seems to be making a positive impact on removing unwanted and expired medication from the home.” Not only is this program valuable in collecting medications, it is also helping our community in two other ways. First, the bottles are being collected by the Montcalm County Resource Recovery for recycling. And second, the large empty prescription bottles are sent to Montcalm County EMS to be used for the Vial of Life program. 

Carson City Police, Greenville Public Safety, Howard City Police, Lakeview Police, Montcalm County Sheriff’s Office, DFM, and MDCMC are active supporters of this valuable program and ask community members to take find a drop off location near them. Why not make it your New Year’s resolution to clean out those medicine cabinets? 
Edmore Police Department also has added a medication disposal drop box, more than 500 pounds of medication was collected and disposed of since the installation of the drop boxes this past fall. 

The only problem identified has been improper disposal of sharps. Sharps include anything with a needle, insulin syringes and lancets. We hope to have a solution to this problem in the near future, and ask that no sharps be placed into the medication drop-boxes. 

Mary researched this issue and the Drug Free Montcalm coalition is in the process of obtaining protective gloves designed to prevent needle sticks for the law enforcement officers to wear while handling the discarded medications in the case of sharps improperly being discarded in the drop boxes.  

With Mary's assistance the MDCMC has revised their informational brochures and distributed over 14,000 to homes through the schools, Head Start and Great Start educators, childcare providers, and to pharmacies, letter head and business cards listing the drop box locations and contact information for inquiries were created.  A mascot (red medication disposal drop box costume worn by a MDCMC member) was also created and debuted at the We Care For Kids Family Fun Day on April 13, 2013 at Montcalm Community College. 

Mary and another MDCMC member appeared on the WGLM Radio Morning program on June 25th, 7am-8am, to further inform the public of the existence of the drop boxes and the problems they are designed to prevent.

From the outside...my point of view as the coordinator for the Volunteer of the Month Program for Volunteer Connections.

My daughter, Heather and I had the privilege of working beside Mary and other MDCMC members, including her young daughter, Erika, while they were serving at the Drug Free Montcalm booth distributing informational materials, balloons, and parent surveys.  Heather and I were working at a Community Food Network booth at this same event distributing Healthy Recipes Cookbooks created by kids for kids and sharing information about local community gardens.  After learning that Amy had plans to provide free face painting at this event, and was short on volunteers, we made sure to get the booth space next to Drug Free Montcalm and work together.  More and more programs have been started in either Montcalm or Ionia County that are now working on expanding to the neighboring county. The Community Food Network started in Ionia County 5 short years ago, and has been working to expand into Montcalm County.  The ISD's in both Montcalm and Ionia County have been looking at ways to partner more together to save on resources and build stronger and better programs.  The Medical Reserve Corps is another group working together to cover both Montcalm and Ionia Counties partnering with Emergency Services, Public Health and local Hospitals to help make our community a safer, more prepared place to live.  Mary was one of the beginning members in the Medical Reserve Corps over 8 years ago when the program was started in Montcalm County.  Through the years as contact information and coordinators have changed, the group has lost some members.  By partnering with Drug Free Montcalm at the Kids Day event, I was able to reconnect with Mary as a volunteer.  As a volunteer coordinator, this excites me because I KNOW first hand the impacts we make on our community when we WORK together!  I look forward to working with Mary and other members of the Drug Free Montcalm coalition to keeping improving the safety of our community for our families!

As Volunteer of the Month Mary will receive...
The prize package this month includes a $20 Gift Card to Huckleberry's in Greenville, a Family Disaster Kit pack from the Medical Reserve Corps, a Healthy Kids Recipe Book and seed packets from the Community Food Network, a Volunteer T-Shirt and Certificate from Volunteer Connections and various other goodies from Montcalm County partners!  

If you see Mary, be sure to tell her "THANKS for VOLUNTEERING!"

One America Unites Rivals in the name of SERVICE!

Video about Volunteering from Points of Light

Thousands of attendees are now in D.C., focusing on the power of service to bridge differences and bring people together - across race, income, politics, religion, age and geography - to help one another.

ONE AMERICA CAMPAIGN UNITES RIVALS IN THE NAME OF SERVICE, OPENS 2013 CONFERENCE

Conference attendees arrive at the
Washington, D.C., convention center.

At the 2013 Conference on Volunteering and Service on Wednesday, Points of Light and JPMorgan Chase announced the launch of the One America campaign (#1America), a national program that brings together rivals in politics, entertainment and sports with the goal of inspiring millions to unite in service.

Thousands of attendees gathered at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., saw a One America plenary session that paired conservative talk show host Bill O’Reilly and liberal pundit and political strategist Donna Brazile, along with Karl Rove, former adviser to President George W. Bush, and David Plouffe, former adviser to President Obama.

That high-energy opener was just the start of the Conference, which runs from  June 19 - 22. Other highlights include the America’s Sunday Supper (#MLK2013) event, sponsored by Target, featuring Grammy award-winner John Legend on Thursday. On Friday, General Martin E. Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Senator Bernie Sanders join the Military Summit to discuss ways to better serve America’s returning heroes and their families.

Service in action is also on the agenda. Attendees and their families participated on Wednesday in the “Unite in Service Celebration,” sponsored by Bank of America, packing 100,000 "All American Mac n Cheese" meals in less than two hours. Specially formulated to provide balanced nutrition to those facing hunger challenges, the meals will be provided to the Capital Area Food Bank to distribute throughout the region.COMING TOGETHER TO ENVISION ONE AMERICA

Donna Brazile and Karl Rove take a twirl
during the event announcing One America.

During the opening session of the Conference, a crowd of 5,000 saw something unusual – rivals united.

Karl Rove, former adviser to President George W. Bush, David Plouffe, former adviser to President Obama, conservative talk show host Bill O’Reilly and liberal pundit and political strategist Donna Brazile issued a common call. The event marked the official launch of One America, a nationwide, yearlong campaign led by Points of Light, with support from JPMorgan Chase, to bring together rivals in politics, entertainment and sports with the goal of uniting in service.

Earlier in the day, the Faith and Service Unite Summit explored ways to make faith groups even stronger drivers of service. John Kelly, deputy chief of staff for policy at the Corporation for National and Community Service, told attendees that faith groups and the federal government had worthwhile opportunities to work together on issues such as human trafficking and refugee resettlement, and speakers shared tips for strengthening faith-based volunteer networks.

And the Economy Forum: Community Revitalization Through Social Entrepreneurship brought together attendees for a talk on the role of entrepreneurs in community development. The session featured a panel discussion highlighting service-oriented leaders, such as Share Our Strength founder and CEO Bill Shore and CAUSE founder Nick Vilelle.

Want to stay on top of the day's Conference news?

Check out the daily newsletter and the online dispatches. Click below:

June 19 - Newsletter | Dispatch
June 20 - Newsletter | Dispatch

• Review highlights from past Conferences – With speakers like Michelle Obama, Arne Duncan, Maria Shriver, Wes Moore, Ruby Dee and Cliff Burrows; entertainment acts like Jon Bon Jovi, Broadway musicals and Percy Sledge; and with dynamic programming such as service projects, youth summits, forums and exhibit hall parties, there’s something for everyone at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service.

Volunteer of the Month for June is Andrea Lask

ACTION:  What has your nominee done or is currently doing?

Andrea has spent over 600 hours volunteering throughout high school toward earning the Student Service Award from the Michigan Community Service Commission.

The Michigan Student Service Award, is a premier statewide program recognizing high school graduates who volunteer a significant number of hours to benefit their communities. Students involved in the Michigan Student Service program over four years will complete and document 400 hours of non-paid community service that meet a recognized community need, under the auspices of a nonprofit organization, government program, community group or school. The following types of activities qualify for certification by the Volunteer Center:

·         Direct Service, such as river clean up, tutoring, spending time with a nursing home resident;

·         Indirect Service, such as computer data entry, fundraising, food collection, board or committee work for a nonprofit;

·         Civic Engagement, advocacy or community organizing, such as beautification, mural painting, community surveys;

Students receive:

·         An Honor Medallion,

·         A Certificate of Distinction for Commitment to Service from the community Volunteer Center

·         Community-wide recognition by the Volunteer Center during National Volunteer Week

NEED:  What community need(s) does your nominee address?

Andrea began volunteering in the 6th Grade with Ionia Kids Club when weekly meetings were at the Ionia Theatre under the management of Dave Cook.  In the early years, Kids Club Members searched out ways to get involved in community projects by providing service such as face painting, assisting with event set up/tear down, or serving refreshments.  As Andrea and other youth developed leadership skils, they began organizing their own community service projects including the "Sweep the Streets" for Global Youth Service Day and the Holiday Hope Chest project providing stocking stuffers to low income families.  After several years of working on these projects as a group, Kids Club now provides service project ideas and support to other community groups. 

IMPACT:  What is different as a result of your nominee’s service?

By working with CERT/Medical Reserve Corps Andrea enjoys using fake injury make-up to stage accidents and disaster scenarios that assist first responders and service providers with valuable training exercises.

Andrea not only spends hours volunteering at the Washington St Garden each summer, but she also volunteers with other Kids Club Members who travel to other gardens throughout Montcalm and Ionia Counties assisting with special work days such as planting days, taking photos for the website, and assisting with writing blogs and garden plans that are available at the Community Food Network website.

Also as part of the Community Food Network, Andrea has assisted with the WION/County-wide Food Drive each year.  When WION first started this food drive nearly 5 years ago, Andrea was one of the volunteers who were "On-Call" to unload food at a moment's notice. Last year, as the Community Food Network took over the management of the drive, Andrea was part of the Planning Committee where she helped organize nearly 300 volunteers who collected, sorted, and tracked over 8000 food items that were shared among local pantries.

Kids Club Leaders and Mentors have had the privilege of watching Andrea grow up throughout Middle and High School as she developed excellent leadership skills and a heart of gold toward giving back to the community.  Andrea is registered to go to Eastern Michigan University in the fall where she will begin a new adventures at college where she will no doubt be a leader at anything she attempts! 

Healthy Recipes Contest Winners 2012:  Alex Lask (18+ Winner) and Andrea Lask ( under 18 Winner)

Ionia Kids Club celebrate Kindness Matters with a donation and tour of the Muir Christian Food Pantry.

Andrea and her parents at IHS Graduation

Andrea and Kids Club Mentor, Amy Buckingham after IHS graduation

Article from the Sentinel Standard

'I think we're on this earth for each other'

Amy Buckingham of Ionia named May Volunteer of the Month

Ionia Sentinel Standard 

By Volunteer Connections Montcalm-Ionia Counties 
Updated May. 20, 2013 @ 10:38 pm 

IONIA COUNTY, Mich.  --  

Volunteer Connections Montcalm-Ionia Counties has named Amy Buckingham of Ionia its Volunteer of the Month for May. Buckingham was nominated by the Ionia Kids Club, with support from the Ionia County Peace Community.

"Amy makes an impact on people everywhere without noticing. She always has a smile on her face and she teaches people to do the right thing," said Heather Beeman of the Ionia Kids Club. "Without her, I would not be the person I am today. I am told every day I am not a normal teenager, because I do not swear or do drugs, but instead I volunteer in gardens and help people in need. Amy has impacted every moment of my life, and many other lives, too."

Buckingham was one of the founders of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration in Ionia County, which led to the formation of the Ionia County Peace Community.

"Amy is always willing to help with any organization that makes Ionia – city or county – better," said Karen Merchant of the Ionia County Peace Community. "Face painting, working on clean-up projects, manning booths, organizing events ... you name it and Amy has done it, and willingly. She truly has a heart for helping and for making a difference."

In addition to the Ionia Kids Club and Ionia County Peace Community, Amy is active in many other community groups, including the Bertha Brock Fall Festival and other Bertha Brock Park groups (she serves as secretary of the park's advisory board).

Read More...

Say THANK YOU to  Amy on Facebook

Learn how you can join Amy in Volunteer Efforts by visiting any of these websites.

Ionia County Peace Community

Ionia Kids Club

Bertha Brock Fall Fest

IoniaHost Community Events Page

HandsOn Connect

Amy Buckingham in Action

Amy Buckingham tries to be too busy for the camera, but here are a few shots where she was captured with many other community volunteers!

Amy is an active member in many community groups including the Ionia County Peace Community, Bertha Brock Fall Festival (and other Bertha Brock Groups), AmeriCorps Alums, Ionia Kids Club, McPud (Montcalm County Coalition Against Underage Drinking), Drug Free Montcalm, and several other groups.

She also supports several volunteer organizations by routinely showing up at events and programs including World-wide Kids 4-H Group, Ionia Community Theatre, Ionia Community Band.

If you see Amy out and about this month, be sure to tell her THANK YOU for VOLUNTEERING and congratulate her as our Volunteer of the Month for May!

May Volunteer of the Month: Amy Buckingham

May Volunteer of the Month:  Amy Buckingham

Amy does so much for the Ionia community and now is impacting lives in Montcalm county through her work.  I definitely sipport this nomination.

Amanda Ciluffo - AmeriCorps VISTA at the United Way

Amy is always willing to help with any organization that makes Ionia City or County better.  Face painting, working on clean up projects, manning booths, orgainizing events....you name it Amy has done it and willingly.  She truly has a heart for helping and for making a difference. 

 -- Karen Merchant- Ionia County Peace Community

Nomination submitted by Heather Beeman - Ionia Kids Club

Amy has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. She has been volunteering and helping people non-stop. This year I needed to find a way to make money for band camp and Amy helped a bunch. She made it a goal to find people that needed me as much as I needed them to make a deal made in heaven. Without Amy's hard work to help a friend I would not be able to do something that means a great deal to me.

She has fixed many problems in our community. Most recently her help with finding people for me to work with to pay for Band Camp. This helped because she found people in the community that needed my help as much as I needed theirs.

Amy makes an impact on people everywhere without noticing. She always has a smile on her face and she teaches people to do the right thing. Without her I would not be the person I am today. I am told every day I am not a normal teenager because i do not swear or do drugs but instead I volunteer in gardens and help people in need. Amy has impacted every moment of my life and many other lives too. She also impacts the Ionia Kids Club with helping us in events. She has a great ability with children so she helps to facepaint when we need her. Because she volunteers everywhere she knows so many people and she had the ability to help me gain money for Band Camp.

This nomination was supported by several community members including myself!

ACTION:  What has your nominee done or is currently doing?

Amy sent out an email plea to her friends explaining the needs of a friend.  Heather needed to raise money to pay for band camp because family finances could not afford to pay the costs expected of each student.  In this email, Amy was careful not to mention the names of the family in need, she only described the need.  In the email plea was information about the need and how the teenager was willing to work to raise the money and was not expecting a handout.  This email generated great responses from people needing assistance with spring yard clean up.  Amy spoke with each responder as a  moderator between the teen and the community member in need.  When all parties agreed to working out dates and times, with permission from all parties, Amy passed contact info on to Heather who worked out scheduling each job.

NEED:  What community need(s) does your nominee address?

Not only was there a need to fund band camp, but there was also a need to support local teens!  As moderator, Amy was able to make the basic arrangements so that people who wanted to support a local teen choose to do so without knowing who they were supporting.  And the teen needing assistance was able to reach out beyond her daily circles to seek help.  Often teens get labeled as lazy, undedicated, and impartial.  Often adults have the ability to help, but can't quite figure out how to do so or don't have the connections to those who really need the help.  In this case, Amy was the match-maker as she does in many other cases in both Ionia and Montcalm Counties.  Amy has been involved in multiple community groups and non-profit organizations where she often is the go-to person to learn about what other programs and projects are taking place in the community.

IMPACT:  What is different as a result of your nominee’s service?

As a Volunteer Coordinator, I understand the value of having community connections and the difficult task of finding the perfect matches to community problems.  With the United Way & Volunteer Connections my role is often to be the match-maker between the resources and the need.  Many of the skills I use on a daily basis as volunteer coordinator were gained through partnerships with Amy Buckingham.  While there was no official mentor-mentee relationship, I have always looked to Amy as a MENTOR and one of my best friends.  I am proud that I could share this friendship with my daughter, Heather.  And I am proud that Heather considers Amy a friend and mentor as well!  While Amy would not be one to enjoy the acknowledgement of this well deserved praise, she is one of the kindest, selfless, and caring people I know!  Amy lives the life of a dedicated volunteer and encourages others to get involved in the community in any way possible.

Another letter of support!

When asked to say something about Amy, all things that Amy has done came to mind.  There is not enough time or paper to give credit to her accomplishments in and around Ionia.

She was one of 3 people that conceived to celebrate Martin Luther King day in Ionia.  She took a hold of the project and the first celebration had over 100 people in attendance and it has grown since.  It also changed to the Ionia County Peace Committee which she is a big part of.

Amy helped with the restart of the Berth Brock Fall Festival and still helps with making sure everyone has a good time.  If you need to find Amy on the third Saturday of September she will be at Bertha Brock Park. 

When there is a family or person that needs assistance in one way or other she will figure out how to help.  I have known her to help with family moves, find furniture, clothing, food and much much more!

This just a little of what she has done for this community.  I know of no one that deserves to be recognized as a Community Volunteer more then Amy.

 

David Cook - Bertha Brock Fall Fest Committee (and many more)