June 5, 2007

Felicia Mulvany named Volunteer of the Year

Project Cornerstone recognizes school volunteers

Project Cornerstone this year honored Willow Glen’s Felecia Mulvaney as the volunteer of the year. She received the award at the annual Volunteer Appreciation event on Friday, May 11 in the Kelley Park Amphitheater. This event honors the 1,100 parent volunteers who generously donate their time to deliver Project Cornerstone's School Partnerships programs in their children's schools.

Attending volunteers from all programs received a recognition pin for their efforts in their school community. Mulvany, as the 2007 Project Cornerstone Volunteer of the Year, was recognized as a single individual's exceptional efforts to promote the development of healthy, responsible young people.

In 2004, as a result of a personal situation in which one of her children was being teased at school, Felicia Mulvany had a brainstorm that sparked the development of Asset Building Champions, or ABC, which is one of Project Cornerstone's most exciting and successful programs. What began with five elementary schools in 2004 has expanded to 48 schools throughout Santa Clara County, with more than 700 parents reading to more than 22,000 students every month during the current school year.

Mulvaney has been the lead parent for ABC at Willow Glen Elementary for three years. In that role, she helps recruit and train parent volunteers, organizes the calendar for those parents to be in the classrooms with teachers, and assists with evaluation of the program at her school site. Her efforts were instrumental in helping Willow Glen Elementary win the 2006 Caring School Climate award.

She also works tirelessly to ensure seamless integration between ABC and other programs at her school. When Project Cornerstone launched its Los Dichos de la Casa program for Spanish-speaking parents, Mulvaney made sure that Los Dichos was implemented at Willow Glen Elementary. To ensure open communications between the two parent groups, she attends Willow Glen's Los Dichos meeting every month.

In the spring of 2006, Mulvaney applied for and received a grant to fund a new school garden project at Willow Glen Elementary. She and her family spent the summer building the garden on campus and developing partnerships with community organizations that would assist in the growth of this program. She made sure to reserve one of the plots for the Los Dichos parents to work with their students.

A busy mother of two, Mulvaney has given hundreds of hours to Project Cornerstone and Willow Glen Elementary. When she commits to a project, it isn't just to benefit her children but to provide positive experiences for all the children in the community. Her vision and inspiration that led to the development of the ABC program have resulted in a leading-edge parent-engagement program that is in use throughout Santa Clara County. Project Cornerstone is proud to recognize her many achievements by naming her the 2007 Volunteer of the Year.

Asset Building Champions (ABC) program brings parent volunteers into elementary school classrooms, using children's literature to address the difficult topics of bullying, teasing and peaceful conflict resolution as well as the importance of family support, friendship and healthy decision making. After reading a story aloud to the children, the parent volunteers lead discussions and hands-on activities that reinforce the story's lesson.

Los Dichos de la Casa (Los Dichos) is the Spanish-language counterpart to ABC. Los Dichos parent read aloud stories in Spanish and lead classroom activities illustrating positive values such as friendship and cultural pride. For many families, Los Dichos represents an exceptional opportunity to share their language and heritage with the entire class.

In addition to the volunteers in these established programs, Project Cornerstone welcomes and honors volunteers in two new parent-volunteer programs at this year's event. The Trailblazer Award honors volunteers who develop innovative programs to meet the unique needs of their school community.

About Project Cornerstone
Project Cornerstone was founded in 1999 after a survey showed that most youth in Santa Clara County are missing the positive relationships, opportunities, values and skills-collectively known as "developmental assets" that provide the foundation for a healthy, successful future.

In general, the more developmental assets a young person possesses, the more likely she or he is to avoid risky behaviors and engage in positive, healthy activities. Project Cornerstone's mission is to ensure that the development of healthy, caring, and responsible youth becomes a way of life in Santa Clara County. Project Cornerstone has been recognized for its contribution to San Jose being named as one of the 100 best communities for young people by America 's Promise.

Project Cornerstone works with more than 200 organizations including community-based youth- and family-serving organizations, city and county offices and agencies, businesses and corporations, foundations and community groups as well over 130 schools in 17 school districts, university education departments and the County Office of Education.