Welcome to Golden West Pioneer Volunteerism Did you know that the TelecomPioneers is the largest corporate volunteer group in the world? The Golden West Pioneer Council is proud to be part of this organization. Our corporate sponser, Qwest Communications, provides us with support funding for many of our volunteer projects. Volunteer hours are reported each month on a PA7 form and sent in to our chapter headquarters. Our continued support from our chapter and region are based upon our reported volunteer hours. Presently, the Golden West Council has four very nice volunteer projects that are active: "I Like Me Books" for Kindergarten Children Beep Easter Egg Hunt for Visually Impaired White Eraseable Boards for School Students Phonic Phones (made from PVC pipe) for School Students Check for $1000.00 Presented to Central High School's Library Okay, let's talk about these projects. I Like Me Books "I Like Me Books" are personalized books for kindergarten children. Books are ordered and distributed for each child in a kindergarten class. The books are made personal by some up-front effort by Golden West Pioneers, teachers, and principals. Each book, when given to the child, contains their own name, two of their classmates names, teachers name, principals name, and which organizations sponsor the books (e.g. provide funding). The Golden West Council can be very proud of being the #1 council/club in the state of Colorado for the number of books ordered and distributed. Dave Collard, Golden West Pioneer, heads up the project for our council. He has been doing this for about 7 years. The number of books ordered and distributed has grown each year. For the 2005-2006 school year, over 1200 books are being delivered to schools in Meeker, Maybell, Collbran, De Beque, Clifton, Grand Junction, Fruita, Palisade, Delta, Olathe, and Montrose. The "I Like Me Books" budget for the 2005-2006 year is over $8400.00. TelecomPioneers contributed over half of the funds for this project. Altrusa organizations of Grand Junction and Palisade, Max and Anna Levinson Foundation, Western Rockies Federal Credit Union, Junction Bell Credit Union, the Collbran Lions Club, and the Montrose School District are all financial sponsors. Four Golden West Pioneers and 4 representatives from the the Altrusa Palisade Organization were present for the delivery of the "I Like Me Books" at Taylor Elementary School, Palisade, CO, on Thursday, March 29, 2007. The children were very happy to receive their very own book, and lots of hugs were given by them. Rebecca Watson, 1 of the kindergarten teachers at Taylor Elementary, has been involved with the "I Like Me" book program since its beginning at Taylor in 1998. She has taught the children to say thank you to Altrusa Palisade and the Golden West Pioneers in 4 different ways (1) To say "Thank You," (2) To give hugs, (3) To give smiles, and (4) to sing us a a song. The song is titled "I Am Very Special." The children act out body parts as they are presented in the lyrics of the song. In the following photo, the children are acting out the 10 toes that each of them have by putting their feet up into the air. Kindergarten Class at Taylor Elementary, Palisade, CO

Vern Wheeler, author and publisher of the "I Like Me" books, honored us with his presence during the week of February 20, 2005. Vern was able to attend three "I Like Me" book presentations to the kindergarten children during his visit. Vern developed the "I Like Me" book as a tribute to his father, who passed away in his early 60's. Approximately 3,000,000 personalized books have been produced and distributed to young age school kids since the books were published in the early 1990's. Vern and his wife Carol, who is a big help to him in the production process, live in Topeka, Kansas.

At the Banquet

On the evening of February 24, 2005 our council honored Vern with a banquet in Grand Junction, CO. Most of the Golden West Council Board Members, along with a few special guests, attended the affair. Vern told some heart warming stories about how the "I Like Me" book got started, and pointed out some of the trials and tribulations that took place during the course of its history. In the photograph to the left are a few of the banquet attendees. Shown from left to right are Gayle Griffin, Phyllis Carroll, Dave Collard, and Vern Wheeler.

Beep Easter Egg Hunt for Visually Impaired

On March 31, 2007, 6 visually impaired children along with their family members joined 14 Qwest Pioneers in a Beep Easter Egg Hunt at the Cross Orchards Living History Farm in Grand Junction, CO. In addition, 2 school teachers who work with the visually impaired children were present. Easter Eggs with beepers in them were put out in to a grassy area for the visually impaired children to locate. Each visually impaired child was assisted by a Qwest Pioneer volunteer to insure safety during the hunt. Once an egg was found, it was relocated to another area for its finding. Approximately 150 eggs were found by the visually impaired children in a 1/2 hour time frame. The following photo shows some of the visually impaired children and their volunteer partner during the hunt.

Visually Impaired Children and Volunteers During the Hunt

While the visually impaired children were hunting for the beep eggs, their siblings were busy hunting for candy that put out in another grassy area. Six siblings participated in this event.

Upon completion of the egg hunting, it was time for a pizza party and distribution of prizes. Each visually impaired child were the first to receive an Easter Basketthat was put together by a Qwest Pioneer and also a stuffed bunny. Then, because there were a lot of Easter baskets and stuffed bunnies left over, each of the visually impaired siblings received a basket and bunny too. Pizza and drinks were enjoyed by all of the approximately 40 total people who were present. A big "Thank You!" to Cross Orchards for the free use of their facility for this event. The photo below shows most of the prizes that were awarded along with some of the participants.

Prizes and Participants for the Beep Easter Egg Hunt

Many thanks were given at the end of the program by the visually impaired parents and teachers, and the Qwest Pioneers were encouraged to make this an annual event.

The Beep Easter Egg Hunt has been approved for a 2008 project and will be continued in March of 2008.

White Eraseable Boards for School Students

The Golden West Pioneeers are beginning to produce and deliver "white boards" to local school students. The white boards are cut into smaller pieces by a local lumber yard. Each board is approximately 9" by 11 1/2" in size. The boards are then delivered to schools on a per class basis. When the teacher interacts with class members and asks questions, each student can write their reponse on the white board with an eraseable marker and hold it up so the teacher can see the students response to the question. This project is just getting started here in the Grand Junction area and is headed up by our Council President, Bernie Vahling. To learn more about the project or get involved, contact Bernie.

Phonic Phones for School Children

PVC Pipe is cut to size and pressed into PVC elbows to makeup a Phonic Phone. The quantity of phones are based on the size of each class that is going to use them. When students are asked to do a verbal reading assignment, each student can interpret the reading and whisper into the phonic phone. The student can hear themselves during the reading, but they will not be disruptive to other students around them. This is another project that is just getting started in the Grand Junction area, and it is headed up by Bernie Vahling, our Council President. Contact Bernie if you want to learn more about this project or would like to get involved.

A picture showing how the phonic phone looks and how it is used is shown in the following photograph.

A Student at Taylor Elementary Demonstrates the Use of a Phonic Phone

Check for $1000.00 Presented to Central High School's Library

Thank You Qwest Pioneers, Colorado Chapter for making $1000.00 available to the Golden West Council to support our Central High School Library. Central High School is located near Clifton, Colorado. The check was presented on November 13, 2008 to the Librarian Sarah Shelp by Judy Shelp, Golden West Council Board Member (see photo below.) Also present were Ron Shelp, Council Co-President, and Jody Frost, Central High School's Principal

Sarah said that the check would be used to purchase books for special needs students, and all present said that that was a great use of the money. Alexis Head, a Central High School staff member of the Central High School's newspaper, was present and took the picture below.

Left to Right -- Judy, Ron, Sarah, and Jody