Success Stories

She Takes Care of Us
Region 10 APS Volunteers Deliver The Goods
Also: More Success Stories

She Takes Care of Us

Region 3 volunteer Carol Berry has passion for workers and kids

Carol Berry volunteers at the Tarrant County CPS office. She decorated this tree for the holidays.

Carol at the switchboard

When Carol Berry's three grandchildren were removed by CPS in Arizona and placed in foster care, she was determined to have them come live with her in Texas. She contacted CPS workers in Texas in an effort to get the children through the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC). "The process was so efficient and staff were so helpful," says Carol. "That's when I decided I wanted to volunteer for CPS."

Carol now volunteers at the same CPS office in Tarrant County that helped her get her grandchildren moved. Investigative unit supervisor Carla Cleeton says Carol's passion for assisting CPS workers has made "a huge difference in our office and for our staff. She just takes care of us."

Since arriving at CPS in September 2006, Carol has taken on an increasing load of tasks, handling each one with grace and cheerfulness. "I do a little bit of everything," she says. That includes making copies, answering phones, filing and even decorating the office for holidays and coordinating office parties.

Carol is a retired registered nurse, so she understands that CPS workers are subject to a tremendous amount of stress on the job. One of her primary concerns is to make the workplace as relaxing and cheerful an atmosphere as possible. She says she is delighted to work with "a fantastic team of people who work hard without ever saying 'that's not my job'."

Carol is just one of the dozens of CPS volunteers in Region 3. Together with DFPS volunteers across the state, they play a vital role in helping DFPS fulfill its mission to "Protect the Unprotected." Take a moment to thank your volunteers today! As we come in contact with members of our communities, let's remember to promote this valuable opportunity to make a difference in the lives of vulnerable Texans.

- submitted by Marissa Gonzales, Region 3 Public Information Officer

Region 10 APS Volunteers Deliver The Goods

Bob Muzzy and other El Paso area citizens give freely of time and love

This fearsome rooster attacked APS Volunteer Bob Muzzy (in background) as he delivered donated heaters to a needy family.

Bob Muzzy delivering a blanket to elderly lady in South El Paso.

Bob delivers a heater and blanket to 92-year old Juanita Estorga and her noisy pájaritos.

Region 10 APS Community Initiatives Specialist Renate Hobson mapping out deliveries with Bob Muzzy.

Bob Muzzy reported that an elderly woman was living in this dilapidated 1950s trailer in San Elizario. Now she is an APS client with a safer place to live.

Bob Muzzy's strong, worn hands clutch a pair of heaters, donations intended for an elderly couple 78 and 76 years of age. They've asked for help because their two children suffer from Down's Syndrome and won't get out of bed during the day when it's too cold.

Muzzy is on a mission, but first he must get by an aggressively territorial rooster. The barking of small dogs cracks the crisp Canutillo air, and the now-agitated rooster attacks, flying head-high with talons extended. They miss their target.

But after nearly 10 minutes of knocking and waiting, nobody answers. Muzzy decides to leave the heaters in a safe place near the door. "I know they'll appreciate it," he says.

APS volunteers work the front lines delivering heaters and blankets for El Paso's Extreme Weather Task Force, a collaboration of agencies that ensure public safety. By mid-January 2007, more than a thousand blankets had been distributed to the community's less fortunate – mostly "viejos," elderly people trying to cope with winter's latest wave of sub-freezing temperatures.

"When the blanket drive started last October, I was working 30 to 40 hours per week. It was almost like a full-time job!" said Muzzy, who retired from Southwestern Bell Telephone in 1992.

Region 10 APS has been lucky. "We have nine extremely active volunteers," said Renate Hobson, the Community Initiatives Specialist who coordinates volunteer efforts. The core group includes Muzzy's wife Elaine, Jim Henson, Mildred Deruyter, Maggie Torres, and the Slape family in Fabens. "Most of them were recruited by my community outreach presentations on APS, and most are retirees." When Hobson started at APS, there were no volunteers.

Delivering fans, blankets and heaters has been their main function, but APS volunteers have also helped with the organization and inventory of the APS Silver Star Room. Some have assisted on special projects like Christmas stockings for the elderly. Others have aided caseworkers by picking up documentation, groceries and emergency goods. In May 2007, Hobson says volunteers will help APS set up and staff a 2-day Senior Expo.

Like Muzzy, most APS volunteers in Region 10 were looking for valuable ways to channel their free time and energy. "You get bored if you don't work!" he says.

Working in the field, a volunteer's value can be immeasurable – especially when they see abuse and neglect firsthand. One case in San Elizario is hard for Muzzy to erase. "There was a lady living in an old 40-foot trailer. It was a 1950's model with no windows – the holes were covered with cardboard. She had a butane bottle outside with a hose running into the trailer. Her electricity came off an extension cord from her neighbor's house. That place was a mess." Muzzy reported it and says, "She's in a safer place now."

Miles down the road from Canutillo, Muzzy parks and unloads more heaters and blankets from the bed of his Ford pick up in South El Paso. His breath is visible in the cold morning air as he walks to the door of an aging, but well-kept house. Inside, 92-year Juanita Estorga rounds the corner with help from a walker. "I'll be 93 in February, God willing," she says.

The home's den area is filled with wild sounds of chirping birds. Muzzy turns quickly and spies tiny birds in small cages hanging above the front window - no threat of attack here! "Mis pájaritos," Estorga says. "My little birds."

Muzzy smiles, and with more heaters and blankets to deliver, he moves on, and does it all without asking for a dime.

- submitted by Paul Zimmerman, Region 10 Public Information Officer