Spice Magazine - Year of the Volunteer

december 2011 spice l 2012 year of the volunteer 1

spicem a g a z i n e

freea marianas variety publication Vol. 1 Issue No. 3 December 2011

karidat’s joy of toys

the gift of giving backsalvation’s army marches on

the power of parents

2012 year of thevolunteer

2 spice l 2012 year of the volunteer december 2011

december 2011 spice l 2012 year of the volunteer �

� spice l 2012 year of the volunteer december 2011

FOR parents who can barely make ends meet, for those who go to bed every night worrying how to get the next meal to put on the table, buying toys would be at the bot-tom of their list of priorities—Christmas or not.

Across the islands, thousands of husbands and wives, children and family members are suffering from being physically, mentally or emotionally abused and thinking that they are all alone with no one to turn to.

Many of them bear the burden in silence, covering up the scars so others won’t know.

The victims are usually ashamed, scared to come out or just feel hopeless, resigned to accept what fate handed them.

For these people who think the future is nothing but a long stretch of dark and bleak alley, here is good news for them.

It is not the end of the world, not with or-ganizations that care like the Karidat.

Toys for totsFor the past years, Karidat, a local non-

profit Social Service organization has spear-headed the campaign to collect toys for the children of families in need in their list.

This year, the CNMI Society of Human Resource Management takes the lead in the toy drive collection so these children from low-income families will have gifts for Christmas.

Karidat executive director Angie Deleon

Guerrero in a recent interview said that al-though they are pressed for time with only two weeks to collect toys, she is optimis-tic the community will be generous to give what they can afford for these children who have practically nothing.

Last year, the Marianas Health Services who spearheaded the toy collection drive delivered four carloads containing over 800 assorted toys to the Karidat for distribution, a tremendous response to the call for dona-tions.

Deleon Guerrero is knocking on the hearts of the community once again to spare what they can give so that the 71 kids in the list of families as well as those who will drop by hoping for spare toys will not go home empty handed for Christmas.

The Toys for Tots drive kicked off on De-cember and will run until December 21.

More donations will mean more kids aged 0 to 10 years will wake up bright-eyed and ex-cited to unwrap your gifts on Christmas Day.

Drop off centers for toy donations are at the StayWell Insurance in Sadog Tasi (contact person is Eric Plinsky), TakeCare Insurance at the Tan Siu Lin Plaza in Gara-pan, Pacific Islands Club, and at the Karidat Center in Chalan Kanoa.

Shelter for the abusedThe Guma Esperansa, or House of Hope

has been sheltering victims of domestic vio-

lence and human trafficking for the past 10 years.

With Guma Esperansa manager Lau-rie Ogumoro at the helm, the shelter has fought off all kinds of challenges that came its way, especially the big ones like financial hurdles through the continuing donations of generous members of the community.

As of August this eyar, Ogumoro said that 11 women and 13 children have sought refuge inside the walls of the Guma Espe-ranza.

These victims are provided all the neces-sities they need, and they wake up each morning with the thought that there is hope and healing for each of them.

Karidat receives the bulk of its funding from both the CNMI and Federal programs, and receives donations from the private sectors in the Commonwealth.

The organization provides 24-hour crisis prevention, information and referral servic-es, public awareness, and recruitment and training of volunteers.

The organization also provides guest worker assistance, food assistance and help to victims of crime advocacy

For more information, please call the Karidat Center at 234-6891/5248, fax 234-9192 or email [email protected]. Victim hotlines are 234-5100 on Saipan, 433-0361 on Tinian and 532-0444 on Rota.

karidat’s joy of toys

Text by RAQUEL C. BAGNOL


Share the love with DOCOMO PACIFIC Gift Cards!


DOzENS of parents filed in and out of the Marianas High School cafeteria, spending a few moments to pick up their child’s report card at the end of last quarter.

Only several remained for the first Parent Teacher Association meeting, which passed out flyers and updated parents about up-coming activities.

Parent involvement is hard to measure, as one member of the Western Accredi-tation of Schools and Colleges (WASC), pointed out last month.

A school’s success in having its students achieving academic standards is not based, for example, by the number of parents attend-ing PTA meetings, but rather the number of parents who are taking the time to review their child’s homework in the evenings or providing active encouragement at home.

Research has proven time and time again, that parent involvement isn’t a luxury – it’s an integral component of student achieve-ment and school reform.

Still, parents have immense power to change the course of their children’s learn-ing for the better and to become role mod-els in community service at the same time.

Numerous studies on the effect of mean-ingful parent involvement programs in

schools have found that:• when parents are involved, students

achieve more, regardless of socioeconomic status, ethnic/racial background, or the par-ents' education level.

• when parents are involved, students ex-hibit more positive attitudes and behavior.

These are only a few of the well-docu-mented effects of parents becoming more involved in their children’s daily activities, most especially in school performance.

The CNMI Public School System has a new Family and Community Coordinator, Kimo Rosario, and he serves as the liaison between the PSS central office and the doz-ens of Parent Teacher Associations (PTA) at the schools.

Between Parent summits, workshops and presentations, PSS is busy trying to get more parents involved in PTA as well as play an active role in their children’s learn-ing at home.

Parents have the ability to become a strong, community-based force and collab-orate with the schools to help achieve the educational standards needed for our chil-dren to survive in today’s competitive world as well as help provide the learning environ-ment for them to succeed.

Parent groups or PTA’s functioning as in-formal and independent school groups give the time, energy, and finances to enrich all children’s education with the extra resourc-es and opportunities every school needs to support a high level of achievement.

It’s hard for busy working parents to at-tend every meeting or participate in every committee or event sponsored by the par-ent group.

Smart parent groups divide up the work so that no one is overwhelmed.

If time for meetings is lacking in your life, go to the first and last meetings of the year at least, so that you will know what is planned.

Choose an activity or event that works for you and do your part to support the goals of the group.

Parent groups give parents a voice in their local schools. They support schools in a va-riety of ways such as volunteer activities, Teacher Appreciation events, and fundrais-ing for needed educational enhancements.

So check out the list of Parent Teacher Associations on the next page and start making plans to get more actively involved.

Let’s harness the power of positive change, the power of parents.

the power of parents

Text by LAILA BOYER


spice

© 2011 by Marianas Variety. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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PO BOX 500231, Saipan, MP 96950Tel. No. 670.234.9797 Fax: 670.234.9271

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laila younis-boyerpublisher

alexie villegas zotomayor

managing editor

racquel c. bagnolwriter

jeanette sarabiaadvertising manager

noemi borromeoaccount executive

loida martinezchito sauloglayout artists

Dandan Elementary School Oscar Porras, President

Mitch Aaron, Vice PresidentValencia Flores-Tasi, SecretaryMa. Tess Camacho, Treasurer

Garapan Elementary School David Attao, PresidentGene Weaver, Vice PresidentMarlyn Parenes, SecretaryJoe Itibus, Treasurer

Gregorio T. Camacho Elementary SchoolGeorge Cruz, PresidentAlex Camacho, Vice PresidentMei Reedstrom, SecretaryAlvin Adriano, Treasurer

Hopwood Jr. High School Rabby Sayed, PresidentJames Sablan, Vice PresidentFelix Nogis, Vice PresidentSia Dela Cruz, SecretaryArlene Mateo, SecretaryJune Seman, TreasurerCarmela Merritt, Treasurer

Kagman Elementary School Antonio Magofna, PresidentGary Villagomez, Vice PresidentAnn Moses, SecretaryStacy Marie San Nicholas, Treasurer

Koblerville Elementary School Antonio C. Angui, President

Joe Etpison, Vice PresidentDorothy A. Gauran, SecretaryKaren Alla, Treasurer

Oleai Elementary School Lauro (Larry) Manacop, PresidentTina Camacho, Vice PresidentAntonia Songa, SecretaryRosalie Litulumar, Treasurer

Marianas High School Laila Boyer, PresidentTeresa Kim-Tenorio, Vice President/TreasurerIvan Braganza, Secretary

Saipan Southern High School Shawn M. Davis, PresidentVictorino Cepeda, Vice PresidentPasquana H. Calvo, SecretaryMonica Manalo, Treasurer

San Antonio Elementary School John Dela Cruz, PresidentRamon Camacho, Vice PresidentLenora Blas, SecretaryBernice Fejeran, Treasurer

San Vicente Elementary School Betty G. Terlaje, PresidentKolin Reyes, Vice President

Sinapalo Elementary School Laura Manglona, PresidentTito Hocog, Vice PresidentYolanda Catbagan, SecretaryVivian Hocog, Treasurer

Meet the Officers of PSS Parent Teacher Student Associations (PTSA) School Year 2011 – 2012




review

the gift ofgiving back

Continued on page 11

DESPITE the islands’ days growing dark-er with the economy continually dropping, there are groups in our community that are providing pockets of sunshine by giv-ing what they already have: their time and energy to worthwhile causes.

Non-profit organizations not only pro-vide creative resources to get jobs done, they also provide an outlet for their volun-teers to find skills and talents they would love to share with the community.

It is the gift of giving back and the re-wards are the results of what the group is able to achieve or help others reach their goals.

In the Commonwealth, the active non-profit organizations are the American Red Cross CNMI Chapter, Karidat, Guma Esperansa, the Commonwealth Health Center Volunteers, the Rotary Club of Saipan, Saipan Chamber of Commerce, Commonwealth Cancer Association and its annual Marianas March Against Can-cer, the CNMI Salvation Army, and the Mariana Islands Nature Alliance.

Beautify CNMI, Make a Wish Founda-tion, the Parent Teacher Associations, the Northern Marianas College Foundation, the Tan Sui Li Foundation, the Joeten

Charitable Foundation, Ayuda Founda-tion, Friends of the Library, Friends of the Arts, Northern Marianas Sports Associa-tion, Saiwalk, Taga Riders, annual Japa-nese Autumn Festival and the annual Christmas Toy drives are more examples of active charitable work.

Year of the Volunteers As the year rounds out, excitement is

bubbling in the islands’ nonprofit world as it is starting to look like 2012 will be the year of the volunteers.

More groups are beginning to pop out, like the resurgence of Junior Achieve-ment organization set to start this Janu-ary as well as the Tanapag Elementary School new mentor program.

The Rotary Club of Saipan will also be launching its new Rotaract and Interact groups aimed at instilling the value of community service in children and young adults.

The young ISK8 group, who assists in maintaining the Garapan Skate Park, has

Text by LAILA BOYER

Rotary Club of Saipan Past President Curtis Danco joins his fellow Rotarians in serving lunch to Man ‘amko this past Thanksgiving.

Oleai Elementary School students prepare for their presentation at one of the annual RCS Parade of Books events.

december 2011 spice l 2012 year of the volunteer 11

also just elected a new president and are pumped up to get new ideas for the year.

The islands’ popular pageant group, Stellar Marianas, who runs the Miss NMI Universe, Miss NMI Teen and Little Miss NMI is also looking to start recruiting early next year.

Businesses are also still giving, such as the recent $30,000 donation of Bridge Capital to nonprofit organizations, as well as donations from Bank of Guam, First Hawaiian Bank and Delta Airlines.

Individuals such as Angel Ray Dele-on Guerrero also inspire by giving toys, books and furniture from his ability to net-work with other nonprofit groups.

Political leaders also add to the charity mix, such as U.S. delegate Gregorio Kilili Sablan donating to the Christmas toy drive and the Tinian Legislature delegation host-ing a Christmas lunch for the Man‘amko.

The Department of Public Safety also just announced they will have citizen pa-trols trained and certified and are looking for volunteers.

Creative ResourceWhen the economy drops and resourc-

es dwindle, people naturally turn inward to focus on their priorities, such as family, finances and urgent needs.

But it seems in difficult times such as these, is when the human spirit finds more creative ways to help either those in need or provide opportunities for others.

In a recent presentation to the Rotary

Saipan Club, nonprofit fundraising consul-tant and expert, Steven G. West of Strate-gies for Philanthropy said giving remains an American value.

“Charitable giving is a part of the fab-ric of society for over 230 years. It has not been brought by our forefathers but something that has been developed in the country, and other countries are following our example,” West said.

Americans contribute about 2 percent of their income to philanthropy, he added.

“Some people choose to give, and this is very important,” said West, who has been involved with non-profit organiza-tions for the past 34 years.

In 2010, West said corporations, com-panies and individuals donated $290 bil-lion, a significant amount which reflected

an increase compared to the figures in 2008 and 2009.

80 percent of the amount was given by individuals, he added.

“The amount comes from ordinary indi-viduals like you and me,” he said.

Taking ActionThe Public School System is also ac-

tively reorganizing the structure of Parent Teacher Student Associations’ involve-ment to make them more independent and community-based.

All across the islands’ public schools, PTA’s or PTSA’s are electing officers, creating new charters, by-laws and are warming up their engines for more active school years.

If the urge to serve your community is tugging at your heart, there is no faster way to do so by volunteering at your school’s PTSA. (See related story and contact information on page 6 )

Of course, walking into many of the is-lands’ non-profit organizations meetings will have you welcomed as a volunteer, so it is important to think of what you will enjoy doing or how you will contribute to the group’s mission.

Think of the skills you have or skills you would like to learn, such as building a set, public speaking, project coordination, among many others that these organiza-tions offer and find a team you will enjoy working with.

You could also discover a need in your community and start your own non-profit organization by finding a mentor in one of the existing groups to guide you along the way.

The days may be darkening ahead, but if we all drop our pockets of sunshine in, the CNMI will become a beacon of light for all to see.

Continued on page 10the gift

Tinian principal Dionne Santos, far right, join staff and several third graders after the dona-tions of dictionaries last year.

Volunteers clean up the Garapan Fishing Basin during the recent MINA International Clean Up Day.


THE red kettle is pealing, calling out to the community to lend a helping hand not only during the holidays, but throughout the year.

For the CNMI Salvation Army, there’s more work to be done as they try to pro-vide assistance to the needy, hungry, and homeless.

CNMI Salvation Army ministry leader Wayne Gillespie admits that the worsening economy is to blame for the uptick in the number of people going to the soup kitch-en.

“Well the worsening of economy has a lot to do with it,” he says in an interview.

He, however, points out that regardless of the economic conditions, there are always people who are homeless and there are al-ways people who are needy.

Faced with this certainty, the Salvation Army appeals to the members of the com-munity to reach out and be that helping hand to the needy.

Gillespie also shares the efforts of their organization in putting together programs that would work to alleviate the plight of those who need help.

He says, “This year we did the traditional, first ever Thanksgiving dinner for anyone who wanted to come.”

Although the program was targeting the low-income families, he says everyone was welcome to come.

“We had a pretty good turnout,” he says.Apart from the thanksgiving feast they

held at Minatchom Atdao last Nov. 25, Sal-vation Army launched its Christmas toy drive the after Thanksgiving.

Central to the program is the presence of what Gillespie calls an angel tree.

“We invite local businesses to sponsor an angel tree to set up a tree in their lobby or some other place so that customers can bring in toys,” says Gillespie.

Whatever toys they would be able to col-lect, these would be wrapped and distribut-ed to the children who need them the most.

This year, the Salvation Army is looking at presenting the toy donations to two pro-grams of the Division of Youth Services.

“We will be distributing those this month,” he says.

The Salvation Army is now more inclined than ever to provide assistance to the mar-ginalized groups with the launch of Guam Yo’ Ase or House of Mercy on May this year.

Guma Yo’ Ase, otherwise known as soup kitchen, is a two-story facility across from Hopwood Junior High School where minis-

try members and volunteers serve supple-mental meals to help the needy stave off their hunger.

Apart from serving food, the facility is a place where the homeless can also clean up and do laundry but remains short of be-coming a shelter.

“Right now we are only open in one day during the week, Saturday. We serve from 11 in the morning to around 1 in the after-noon. We are serving around 50 people a week,” Gillespie says.

He attests that the number of people coming to the shelter has more than dou-bled — “it’s almost tripled now.”

When the facility first started several months back, Gillespie recalls that they had attracted a few people.

“It is just going to keep getting more and more,” he anticipates with the economy still in the doldrums.

“I think we are getting an increase at the soup kitchen because of economic condi-tions. A lot of people are out of work,” Gil-lespie says.

Also housed in the same facility is their rummage sale area.

“We ask people to donate whatever they have lying around the house that they don’t

salvation army:soldiering on

Text by ALEXIE VILLEGAS ZOTOMAYOR

Continued on page 13

PMT employee Tek Santos drops her donation in the red kettle as Salvation Army ministry leader Wayne Gillespie looks on.

december 2011 spice l 2012 year of the volunteer 1�

Continued on page 12salvation

need anymore — as long as it works,” according to Gillespie. The rummage sale is done every Saturday where they sell the

donated items and whatever proceeds go to the programs of the Salvation Army and some overhead costs.

Apart from the soup kitchen, the Salvation Army also has a food assistance program where they distribute bulk food items to fami-lies.

“We distribute bulk food items to low-income families and home-less who qualify,” says Gillespie.

The food items they distribute come from donations of busi-nesses and individuals who have been avid supporters of the Sal-vation Army’s food assistance program.

Gillespie also says they continue to do their outreach to the homeless.

“Most of the homeless on the island are working with us. We pick them up on Saturday or they just walk in,” Gillespie says.

Throughout the year, Gillespie is most pleased with the support they are getting from individuals who refused to be identified but would rather be given the opportunity to help.

He also acknowledges that Salvation Army gets from their big donors.

“One of the biggest supporters that we’re impressed with, and proud of is Tan Siu Lin,” he says.

The Tan Siu Lin Foundation has supported the soup kitchen every since it opened.

Gillespie also appreciates the donations made by Dickerson & Quinn “for always donating food and helping us both in the soup kitchen and food assistance program.”

“They donate often and quite generous,” attests Gillespie. He also recognizes Foremost Milk for the dairy products it has

donated to the Salvation Army.Recently, the Salvation Army is impressed with the efforts of the

Saipan Community School.“It’s overwhelming,” says Gillespie describing as “astounding”

what the students had collected. He also gives credit to Triple J Super Fresh Market and the Vet-

erans of Foreign Wars – Saipan Post. There are a several other companies that Gillespie says he may

have missed but he expresses his gratitude to them on behalf of the Salvation Army.

With the new year just around the corner, the Salvation Army anticipates that there will be tough days ahead as they continue to provide the services.

On an annual basis, the Salvation Army needs between $25,000 to $50,000 in order to keep soup kitchen and rummage sale going.

Asked on what he looks forward to doing in the coming year, Gillespie says, “We are hoping to expand to another day of service for the soup kitchen. We really target families with the soup kitchen that’s why we are open on Saturday.”

He says they’ll look at opening another day, at least provision-ally to gauge the responses.

Admittedly, the declining economy has slowed them down. “We are going slower than we normally would because of the

economic conditions,” he says. Despite this, he invites the community to open their hearts and

lend a hand “not just for Christmas or holiday season, but through-out the entire year.”

For the many volunteers and the members of the Salvation Army family, they will continue to fight poverty and help those in its snare.

The economy is tough but Salvation Army looks forward to sol-diering on doing the most good to most people.

[Those who would like to share their blessings can contact Wayne Gillespie at 483-0885.]

1� spice l 2012 year of the volunteer december 2011

december 2011 spice l 2012 year of the volunteer 1�

1� spice l 2012 year of the volunteer december 2011

Could Lead to a Gift of Time....Behind Bars

DRINKING and DRIVINGThis Holiday Season

DRINKING and DRIVINGThis Holiday Season

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Spice Magazine - Year of the Volunteer