AMERICUS — From Staff Reports

americustimesrecorder.com



 AMERICUS — In 2005, Georgia Southwestern State University’s Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving (RCI) established the Mattie J.T. Stepanek Caregiving Scholarship. Created in memory of the renowned poet and peacemaker, the 2011 Stepanek Scholarships were awarded this week. Recipients include Andrea Bortnik of Los Angeles, Calif.; Jamie Dobbins of Columbia, Md.; Elise Lark of Olivebridge, N.Y.; Amber Thornton of Troy, N.Y.

 Andrea Bortnik, Los Angeles, Calif. — Of Argentinean, Chinese and American heritage, Bortnik is a nutrition caregiver and graduate student at the University of California Los Angeles’ Veteran’s Affairs (VA) Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System. Slated to take the registered dietitian exam in August 2012, Bortnik plans to serve as an inpatient nutrition caregiver at the VA to gain practical experience on how to treat the most complex health conditions among the largely geriatric veteran population.

 Jamie Dobbins, Columbia, Md. — Serving as a volunteer to children with disabilities as a teenager, Dobbins met Mattie and Jeni Stepanek while working for Project Assist, a research project out of the University of Maryland that provided childcare and respite care for families. Dobbins is now a teacher for young children with autism and plans to continue her education by obtaining a master’s degree in special education.

 Elise Lark, Olivebridge, N.Y. — A self-described artist, poet, dreamer, and mother, Lark is an oncology social worker at Benedictine Hospital’s Oncology Support Program in Kingston, N.Y. and a Ph.D. student at Antioch University’s Leadership and Change Program. Her recent research project, “Dreaming Out Loud: Initiating Plans for a Community-based Home for the Dying,” coincides with her long-term goal of opening such a home in her own community.

Amber Thornton, Troy, N.Y.–-Currently pursuing a six-year doctorate degree in physical therapy, Thornton volunteered last year with the Shriner’s Hospital aquatic physical therapy program. She was able to work one-on-one with a child with cerebral palsy. This experience prompted Thornton to pursue a career in physical therapy and help children with disabilities. Thornton is also an active community service volunteer. 

Becoming a poet at the early age of three, Mattie Stepanek wrote seven New York Times bestsellers including “Heartsongs” and “Reflections of a Peacemaker,” Stepanek’s final collection of poetry that was published posthumously. Stepanek suffered from a rare form of muscular dystrophy called dysautonomic mitochondrial myopathy. He died in June 2004, a month before his 14th birthday.

In 2003, Stepanek and his friend, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, co-chaired an expert panel on intergenerational caregiving for the RCI. At that meeting, Stepanek said “if all generations of people freely and abundantly give care to others and to our world, we will have an eternal source of love and hope that fulfills the needs of all ages…for all future.”

RCI recognizes that caregivers are often viewed as expendable resources in systems of care. According to Laura Granberry, director of national initiatives for the RCI, “Many caregivers are overlooked, ill-prepared and may ultimately burn-out.”

The purpose of the Mattie J. T. Stepanek Caregiving Scholarship is to provide financial assistance to caregivers of all ages and backgrounds who are seeking training or education in specific skills, procedures and strategies that lead to more effective care, while protecting their own health and well-being. Four $2,500 scholarships are awarded annually.

Upon reviewing this year’s applicants, Jeni Stepanek, chair of the scholarship selection committee was impressed with the group. 

“My son, Mattie, recognized that ‘hope is real, peace is possible, and life is worthy,’” she said. “Caregivers are essential to the truth of this message. How wonderful to see so many people who are seeking to further their education and training as caregivers, so that they can best support those in need of hope and peace as they face challenges in life.

 “The 2011 recipients of the RCI's Mattie J.T. Stepanek Scholarship are an amazing group of people who represent diverse aspects of caregiving,” she added. “They are each highly deserving of this honor, and it is exciting to see how this program is growing each year.”

 Other members of the scholarship selection committee included Nancy Hunt, president of the We Are Family Foundation and Kelly Ellison, development director at the Arts Council of Metropolitan Kansas City.

The Mattie J. T. Stepanek Caregiving Scholarship is sponsored by Johnson & Johnson, RCI’s partner since 2001. This partnership builds on the significant work accomplished by the RCI over the past 24 years and on the credo of Johnson & Johnson to be “responsible to the communities in which we live and work,” and to “encourage…better health and education.”

  The Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving was established in 1987 on the campus of Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW) in Americus. The RCI was formed in honor of former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, an alumna of GSW, to enhance her long-standing commitments to human development and mental health. The RCI works to establish local, state and national partnerships committed to building quality long-term, home and community-based services.