Governor's Volunteer Service Awards 2020

Teresa Bachtold has been an instrumental figure in organizing a food backpack program for the Prairie Central school district. When she learned the school wanted to implement this program for their students, she reached out to see how she could help make the idea a reality. Teresa happily stepped in and began coordinating with her church’s local world relief, Harvest Call. Teresa organized and oversaw the program, making it a district-wide opportunity for students that provided needed food on the weekends. She worked with food banks, organized volunteers, and made sure the food was delivered to the schools so it could be distributed to students. The program gave students and adults in Prairie Central communities the opportunity to volunteer for a worthy cause as well. Prairie Central owes much of the program’s success and the wellbeing of their students to Teresa’s hard work and dedication to her community.

Shannon Nosbisch is a Certified Dementia Practitioner and co-founder of Effingham Area Alzheimer’s Awareness (EAAA). This non-profit organization is dedicated to providing support and education to families living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia in Central and Southern Illinois. Since 2014, Shannon has presented to hundreds of lay caregivers on communication strategies, caregiving approaches, and dementia education. She also spearheaded the Forget-Me-Not Resource Center Project which partners with seven Illinois libraries to purchase and highlight resources available on dementia and caregiving. Shannon writes the monthly article, Forget-Me-Not Spotlight, to generate awareness of resources to the community. She also volunteers at the Forget-Me-Not Memory Cafe in Effingham. Recently, Shannon presented to business leaders on dementia friendly business practices. Additionally, EAAA’s model and services have become a template for rural areas serving their population affected by dementia. Shannon has also counseled and provided technical support to libraries and organizations around the country.

Aja Capel is a 16-year-old Urbana High School senior and 6-year member of Champaign County 4-H. She is Illinois’ 2019 Top Youth High School volunteer. She became the change she wanted to see by creating a grassroots organization, See Me in STEM, to excite, engage, and empower minority youth, especially girls, to see themselves in STEM. Aja worked to provide STEM exposure events, camps, and classes. Her vision is to transform the face of STEM by creating a world where kids can see themselves in STEM, and society can see the STEM potential in every kid. Having disrupted the status quo and created a fervor of inquisitive enthusiasm within her community, NBC News Learning recently profiled her. Aja’s message to young people is “find a way to serve your community, and your life will be made richer because of it. Seek significance over success!” Visit seemeinstem.org for more information.

Kiamara Rodriguez is a recent AmeriCorps VISTA alumnus and Civil Litigation Professional who served as Housing Preservation Coordinator at the Center for Disability & Elder Law (CDEL). In this role, Kiamara was responsible for the coordination of CDEL’s housing related legal services and community programming, building capacity, increasing efficiencies and maximizing legal service impact and delivery, and service to helping low income seniors, people with disabilities, and veterans live safe and stable lives. Prior to and since the conclusion of her national service, Kiamara remains dedicated to CDEL’s mission and success, serving in a variety of capacities. Continuing her role as Litigation Paralegal to the immediate past Executive Director Mark Hellner, she also provides paralegal, administrative, and other support services to CDEL’s new leadership, attorneys, and staff, as well as grant reporting functions. Through continued service, Kiamara seeks to further pro bono legal culture and ensure equal access to justice.

Donna Adam identified a great problem in her community—that being the trash in parks, forest preserves, and streets. She had a simple idea: to bring groups together to help beautify these areas. She founded Clean Up-Give Back.Org. Its mission is to facilitate trash cleanup campaigns that are helpful to the community and the environment. Schools, companies, clubs, friend groups, and individuals have responded to the mission. Under Donna’s leadership, Clean Up-Give Back operates several programs including a very successful national “Flexible Service Program” for individuals needing service hours.

Kiran Mohan is a recent graduate of Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire. He is the Founder and President of Crescendo for a Cause, a non-profit organization with a mission to improve music education in underserved communities and utilize music performance as a vehicle for advocacy and community service. Crescendo for a Cause has raised over $40,000 worth of musical instruments and supplies that benefit underprivileged children in Chicago. Through his non-profit, he also organizes volunteer therapeutic music performances for assisted living facilities, memory care programs, juvenile detention centers, and veterans’ homes. In light of the physical limitations surrounding COVID-19, Kiran expanded his initiative through volunteer virtual music performances by student musicians to his therapeutic music audience. Kiran has researched music’s neurological impacts and detailed his unique perspective on how music can change lives in his book, The Multiverse of Music. He will attend Harvard University in the fall.

Since the beginning of her service with Abilities Plus, Linda has shown a special love for serving this unique group of adults with disabilities. She provides living skills training, helps guide their computer skills, and transports clients on shopping trips, luncheons, and other special events in the community. Linda has also created ways to incorporate various ideas for the skills she has used for 20 years as the Director of The Salvation Army. She has some of her clients singing and ringing the bells at Christmas. As a semi-retiree and Grandmother of 6, she takes great pride in her service. At her own expense, she attends Special Olympic competitions, A Night to Remember, bowling club, and she also finds time to be advisor to the Kiwanis Aktion Club for her Abilities Plus clients. Linda will be transferring her educational award to her grandchildren.

Marjorie “Midge” Murphy, a wife and mom of nine children, retired from a successful career as the Head of Customer Service at Lawrence Brothers Manufacturing. While most envision a relaxing retirement, Midge began a second career as a Foster Grandparent at 65. She served every school day until these last few years, allowing herself some days for rest. Midge also volunteered at CGH gift shop every other Sunday until last year. As Nancy Reagan wrote in her book, To Love a Child, “There is something about the love of grandparents that transcends the parent/child relationship; it seems a fact of nature that the very young and the very old cannot resist the warmth offered each to the other.” Midge and the students that she has touched are prime examples of this! Midge has encouraged over two decades’ worth of Rock Falls students and is not ready to quit just yet.

Michael has volunteered his time to make sure the students at Christopher Elementary School experience several opportunities that they wouldn’t have otherwise. He has planned, organized, created, and coordinated multiple events for the students, parents, and school district. Along with organizing several school carnivals and community events, he set up two charity events per year to earn money and food for the less fortunate and to raise money for scholarship opportunities. Michael IS the school’s PTO and does all of the work voluntarily. He is able to bring his community together while putting smiles on children’s faces throughout the entire school year.

Melody Shimada has always loved books and reading is a mainstay of her life. When she moved to Carbondale in the early 1990s, one of the first things she did was get a library card. Soon after, she began volunteering at the Friends of the Library book sale. A few years later, Melody became the sales co-coordinator. After years of outdoor sales, a building owned by the library became available. Melody took advantage of the opportunity and shaped the space into one of the most inviting book sales in Southern Illinois. She was also the force behind alphabetizing fiction and biographies. Melody considers the time she spent sorting books as therapy and payback for the joy books gave to her. She considers book sorting as a selfish endeavor. Melody is a zoo archaeologist by training. She fills her days with books, gardening, hiking, and weaving.

Elijah Gunter is the son of Brian and Angie Gunter. Elijah has 4 siblings, 3 brothers and 1 sister. Elijah loves to volunteer his time, especially when it comes to teaching sports and helping kids grow into great young men and women. Elijah has assisted with the Sesser Junior Football League since it began in 2017. Elijah has also volunteered his time in the Valier First Baptist Blue Bird basketball program and this year’s Illinois youth and government program in Springfield. Elijah is majoring in Special Education and says volunteering and being around kids has made it easy to make teaching a career.

Deja is from Chicago, Illinois, and received her B.A. from Knox College in 2019, where she majored in Creative Writing and minored in Psychology. She recently began her second term as Illinois Justice Corps Fellow for Knox County, and she's been breathing life into the county’s operations since she started! Deja is an award-winning playwright and avid volunteer in her community, wherever that may be. During her schooling, she studied abroad and worked with refugees seeking asylum at the Khora Community Centre in Athens, Greece. Deja was recently awarded $15,000 in grant funds from the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts’ Access to Justice Commission and has dedicated this year to modernizing and expanding legal self-help services throughout the Ninth Judicial Circuit. Deja embodies the dedication and tenacity needed in public service to get things done, and she is honored to have been chosen for this award.

Joel Estes is the recently retired Visiting Instructor and Chair of the Educational Studies Department at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois. Prior to his eight years at Knox, he had a 36-year career in public education as a teacher, coach, principal and district administrator, the last nine years as Assistant Superintendent in Galesburg C.U.S.D #205. While at Knox, he has been the college advisor for the local chapter of Blessings in a Backpack, a student/community organization that provides weekend food for Galesburg students. The number of children served has grown from 42 to 460 in nine years. Blessings raises over $50,000 annually to purchase food for the children. Besides feeding students through the course of the school year, this program builds valuable connections between the community and college, developing scores of young philanthropists and leaders in the college organization. Though recently retired from Knox, Joel continues his work with Blessings.

Abigail Oakley is from Quincy, Illinois and has been very involved in her community. She participated in the Beaux Arts Ball and was crowned queen for raising the most money for a fundraiser in December 2019. Abigail was also involved in the Quincy Art Center by volunteering during the summers of 2017, 2018, and 2019. She has also been involved in many organizations at Quincy Senior High School. Abigail was the Corresponding Secretary of National Honor Society, Drum Major of the QHS Marching Band, and Vice President of the Concert Choir; as well as a member of Beta Club, the QHS Orchestra, and other musical ensembles. Abigail also went on two mission trips to Guatemala through St. John’s Anglican Parish. She was involved in Operation Serve Youth Volunteer Organization and served as a junior and senior leader. Abigail is now a freshman at Butler University studying English and Political Science.