Pioneers Featured in People Magazine this Week

Pioneers Gordon and Connie Hankins, leaders of the New Outlook Pioneers Therapy Oriented Tricycle (“TOT”) Trike Program in Naperville, Illinois, are this week’s People Magazine’s “Heroes Among Us.”  This edition of People (the July 4^th issue) hits newsstands starting June 23. 

The New Outlook Pioneers Crossroads Chapter has been making and donating TOT Trikes since 1986 and Gordon and Connie have been leading the project for the past several years.  The trikes are assembled by an all-volunteer project team and are provided free of charge.  The Crossroads Chapter donates approximately 80 trikes per year, which translates into a $400,000 value since the beginning of the program, as it costs the chapter about $200 to build each trike.

Learn more about the TOT Trike Program and get information on how to order a trike. 

Make a gift in support of this and other Pioneers projects and programs.    

This is just one of many Pioneers stories being shared with international media as we celebrate our 100 years of grass-roots service to our communities.  For all the latest Pioneers information, check the website often, register your email to received the Centennial Times e-newsletter, follow the Centennial blog and the Pioneers page on Facebook. 

If you have a great Pioneers project story to tell, we encourage you to share it.  It may just be the next international media feature!  Please send your stories to pioneersprojects@pioneersvolunteer.org.  Be sure to include your name and complete contact information, including phone number and home and email address, along with a detailed summary of your program, including what makes it special or unique. 

Participation Opportunities Featured in Times

There are so many ways for members and units to participate in Pioneers' Centennial year.  One of the best ways to stay up-to-date on these opportunities is by registering your email address with Pioneers Headquarters to receive regular communication like the Pioneers Centennial Times.  We hope you will take an active role in our 100th anniversary by participating in ways like those highlighted in the current issue of the Times including -

pioneers centennial society
To commemorate this milestone year, we've created a special opportunity to become part of a select group of Pioneers who have committed to making a $100 contribution during our Centennial year - plus we're offering several payment options so everyone will be able to be a part of this special event.

When you join the Pioneers Centennial Society, you will receive the following:

• Your name will be added to our special Centennial donation wall, which will be online and at our Centennial Celebration in Boston. 

• All of the contributions you make as part of the Centennial Society will count towards the Centennial Rewards & Recognition Program.

Become part of the Centennial Society today by using your credit card.

centennial lifetime achievement award
In honor of the Centennial, a Lifetime Achievement Award will be given to individuals who go beyond the demands of everyday life and dedicate themselves to uplifting and improving the quality of life for others. This award is designed to recognize one individual from each Pioneers group for their extraordinary deeds throughout their time as a Pioneer.

Nominees must have been active in Pioneering for a minimum of 20 years to be eligible. All applications are due no later than June 30, 2011.  Download the manual.

centennial sweepstakes coming soon!
The 2011 Pioneers Centennial Sweepstakes will kick off mid-August.  Prizes include cash and vacation packages, with a Grand Prize of $25,000!  Entry will be available through your local chapter/council/club or through the Pioneers website.  Details will be shared in the coming weeks.

centennial merchandise
Have you purchased your limited-edition Centennial souvenirs and Centennial wear?  Be sure to visit Pioneers’ official supplier of Pioneers Essentials for pins, luggage tags, mouse pads, bookmarks, blankets, key chains, apparel and more – all sporting the Pioneers name and Centennial anniversary seal.

rewards & recognition program
Pioneers who have volunteered 400+ hours since our Centennial Rewards and Recognition Program launched have been invited to participate in an exclusive Chairman’s Conference Call with Pioneers Chairman, Jim Schmit, this month for an insider’s update on Centennial activities and plans.  Participate in the Centennial Rewards and Recognition Program by logging your hours into VolunteerNow and/or supporting the Pioneers financially

What Should We Be Dishing Up?

On September 11, the National Day of Service and Remembrance, the Pioneers Dish It Up: Feeding Families Healthy Food kicks off.

The focus is on collecting more nutritious, healthier, non-perishable food that will go directly to support local food banks and other food service agencies.

Feeding America provided Pioneers Headquarters with a list of the most requested food items from their system of over 200 food banks and thousands of other local service agencies that cover all 50 states.  With the support and endorsement of Feeding America, the most requested items were tweaked to highlight the healthier and more nutritious types of the product. 

Food recommended include:

Whole wheat pastas Brown rice
Canned fruits (packed in own juices, no sugar added)
Canned vegetables
Canned meat (tuna, salmon, ham, chicken or turkey)
Canned or dry beans – (i.e. black, kidney, garbanzo, pinto, navy)
Peanut butter

So as you plan your food drives in support of this or any project directed at helping our food insecure, strive to provide foods that will provide the greatest nutritional value.

Stay tuned for more information and tips on participating in Pioneers' first-ever Centennial International Project!

Moments in Pioneers History...The Golden Anniversary

As we continue our countdown this year to Pioneers' actual founding date of November 2nd, just five months away, we reflect on yet another great moment in Pioneers' history....

The year 1961 was full of 50th anniversary celebrations, with Chapters planning their own special events for the momentous anniversary on November 2. The 50th Anniversary theme was also carried throughout the entire year, with dinner dances, assemblies, pageants, media coverage, and other Chapter events.

On September 19-21, the General Assembly meeting was held in Boston, birthplace of both the telephone and of the Telephone Pioneers. Several speeches were given at the meeting, and one in particular was especially inspiring to the Telephone Pioneers: “We shall build a greater communications system in keeping with the needs of a new era in man’s history—and a service organization unparalleled anywhere in the world.”

The second 25 years of Telephone Pioneers history encompassed numerous accomplishments, changes, and innovations, both before and after meetings were suspended during the World War II years. In 1938, the General Assembly in Philadelphia had adopted a plan to divide the association into 17 regions along company lines, though it was realigned into 12 regions in 1942. At an executive committee meeting in New York in 1940, the decision was made to establish Affiliate Membership, so that members could retain their status even if they moved to a different Chapter. In Cleveland in 1946, at the first post-war General Assembly meeting, the 12 regions were further realigned, in order to balance membership numbers, which had reached 100,000 for the first time.

Then, at 1958’s General Assembly meeting in Chicago, just two years before membership ballooned to over 200,000, a change was made that would transform the entire look of the organization well into the future—the Telephone Pioneers adopted a new focus: community service, referred to as the organization’s “New Tradition,” but which still endures today.