Volunteer of the Week Program iheart Media Week of August 15-19, 2016 Welcome back to a new school year! If you have a spare hour or two, why not volunteer in a Palm Beach County public school? Volunteers come from all age groups, economic backgrounds, and educational levels. Simply go to a neighborhood school or contact the School District s Volunteer Coordinator, Debi Elfen at (561) 434-8789. Help a student and school. It's a great way to support our communities and our world. Week of August 22 August 26, 2016 Mindy Haas Hats off to Mindy Haas, who has volunteered in our schools for years! Mindy just finished her tenure as President of the Florida PTA, where she was recognized for her service at the State conference in Palm Harbor. Under Mindy s leadership, Palm Beach County was in the limelight, making our District shine. Great job Mindy! Week of August 29 - September 2, 2016 Barbara Rogers Barbara Rogers was born and raised in West Palm Beach, attending our public schools and eventually became employed by our District. After retirement, she began volunteering at her Lighthouse Elementary, her granddaughter s school. Her contributions have been invaluable to both students and staff. Week of September 5-8, 2016 Ann Wassman Ann Wassman has been the Five Star School Coordinator for Elbridge Gale Elementary and has put together its portfolio for several years. Ann is very detail-oriented and has always done a first rate job. She has done this in addition to many other volunteer activities throughout the years. Thanks, Ann!
Week of September 12-16, 2016 Kings Point Woodshop Kings Point Woodshop has been a community business partner with Royal Palm School for over 22 years. The gentlemen from this retirement community in Delray Beach make up a group of craftsmen that have volunteered creating adaptive equipment for the special needs students. They have saved the school thousands of dollars and impacted every classroom or department at Royal Palm. Additionally, they have helped on fundraisers and have provided School Advisory Council members. Week of September 19 23, 2016 If you have a spare hour or two, why not volunteer in a Palm Beach County public school? Volunteers come from all age groups, economic backgrounds, and educational levels. Simply go to a neighborhood school or contact the School District s Volunteer Coordinator, Debi Elfen at (561) 434-8789. Help a student and school. It's a great way to support our communities and our world. Week of September 26-30, 2016 Alexis Reyes Alexis Reyes is a senior at Lake Worth High School who has been volunteering for both the Swim and Water Polo teams since her freshman year. Even though she is a non-swimmer, she has learned a lot and uses her skills to run the teams. She assists with things such as equipment, concessions, time-keeping and more. Thanks for all you do Alexis. Week of October 3-7, 2016 Cecelia Rieman Cecilia Rieman has been an active senior volunteer serving at Woodlands Middle School for the past 7 years. Mrs. Rieman has volunteered countless hours in the classrooms. Mrs. Rieman s devotion and commitment has helped Woodlands Middle School achieve many of its goals. The teachers, school, and students have benefited greatly because of her assistance.
Week of October 10-14, 2016 Kayla Abramowitz Kayla Abramowitz is not your standard youth volunteer. Kayla started a not-for-profit organization called Kayla Cares 4 Kids that collects DVDs, books, and other items for children in the hospital. They ve made donations to more than 80 hospitals and Ronald McDonald houses in all 50 states. Kayla was selected as a top youth volunteer in the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. Additionally she won a national award from the Young Entrepreneurs Academy. We are impressed! Keep up the great work, Kayla and thanks for setting a great example for your peers. Week of October 17 21, 2016 Alix Troast Alix Troast has two daughters, one at Bak (Bah-kuk) Middle School and one at Dreyfoos School of the Arts. Alix has volunteered every year since her oldest entered kindergarten. She has held leadership positions in the PTO, done massive fundraising, and worked on numerous events. It has been said that Alix approaches her volunteer duties as someone who would be in a paid management position. We honor you Alix for all of your support to our District. Week of October 24 28, 2016 Rosalee Park Rosalee Park is a treasured volunteer at Seminole Trails Elementary. Rosalee started out by helping at the front desk. She also began assisting in the cafeteria. Additionally, Ms. Park attends the School Advisory Council meetings, chaperones field trips, makes copies, processes mail, and works in the classrooms. After hearing the above, we re sure you can understand why Ms. Park is so treasured by the school! Week of October 31 November 4, 2016 There s no need to be afraid. There s nothing scary about volunteering in one of our Palm Beach County schools. As a matter of fact, we think you will find that there are no tricks, but only big treats when you help out. Simply go to a neighborhood school or contact the School District s Volunteer Coordinator, Debi Elfen at (561) 434-8789. It will be spook-tacular!
Week of November 7-11, 2016 Mary Wong If you want to talk about Superwoman, we are amazed by Mary Wong! Mary is the President of the Office Depot Foundation. Each year Mary shows her passion for helping the underserved students in our schools. This year Office Depot Foundation provided 20,000 sack packs with some supplies to our District students. As Mary says it levels the playing field and gives children a reason to stand just a little bit taller. Mary Wong, you are an inspiration to young and old alike. Keep up the great work! Week of November 14-18, 2016 If you have a spare hour or two, why not volunteer in a Palm Beach County public school? Volunteers come from all age groups, economic backgrounds, and educational levels. Simply go to a neighborhood school or contact the School District s Volunteer Coordinator, Debi Elfen at (561) 434-8789. Help a student and school. It's a great way to support our communities and our world. Week of November 21-25, 2016 Patricia Sampson Patricia Sampson was a dedicated teacher for 30 years and upon retirement started volunteering at South Olive Elementary where she taught. Miss Sampson has begun volunteering in the media center where she is totally devoted. From lexiling and shelving books to making sure that she helps students locate and check out appropriate books, Miss Sampson does it all. Miss Sampson is priceless in the media center and South Olive can t image how they would function without her. Week of November 28 December 2, 2016 It s that time of year when we count our blessings and appreciate all that we have in our lives. The School District of Palm Beach County is thankful for its volunteers and business partners. It is grateful for all those selfless individuals who give so generously of their time and talents to the students, staff and schools in Palm Beach County. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
Week of December 5 9, 2016 Theresa Lewis Theresa Lewis has made a great impact on the band program at Boca Raton Middle School through her positive interaction and involvement with students. She has organized paperwork, created spreadsheets, processed invoices and kept track of so many other things too numerous to mention. Ms. Lewis is affectionately called Band Nana because of her genuine interest in and caring for the students at Boca Raton Middle. Week of December 12 16, 2016 Carole Hersey You will know if it is a Tuesday or Thursday at Wellington Elementary School because Carole Hersey will be there volunteering. Mrs. Hersey primarily works with clerical tasks in order to lighten the burden for teachers. She made all of the copies for over 20 teachers in addition to other things. She keeps the Science Lab extremely organized, as well. Thanks Mrs. Hersey! Week of December 19 23, 2016 A shout out to the Five Star School coordinators who collect documents and prepare a school s application and binder to enable their school to achieve this prestigious honor from the Department of Education. In 2015/16, Palm Beach County had 76 Five Star schools, again making Palm Beach County one of the leaders in the State. Thanks to all coordinators for helping to make our District shine! Week of December 26 30, 2016 The schools in Palm Beach County would like to thank all of our fabulous volunteers who generously donated time and talents this year. Thanks for all of the support you gave to students and schools. We hope that each of you will have good health and happiness in 2017!