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Dixie Appenzeller
Dixie was born and raised in Colorado. She is a wonderful mother of 7 and a grandmother of 19 children. She loves the cold weather and shamefully admits she has never skied but she could not afford the expensive ski equipment. Back in the days, she enjoyed sled riding
She believes a person who has moved to Colorado must do three particular things before they move on: learn to ski, go to a Bronco's game, and visit the Denver Art Museum. Dixie is an art lover and has passion in music. When Jeremy asked her what her wish is, her response was very simple: a season pass to the symphony.
Dixie has an Associate Degree in Women's Studies. She was a counselor at Volunteer of America before she became a Foster Grandparent. Volunteer work plays a very important part in Dixie's life; she believes that no one is too old to do what their heart tells them to do.
It is really fulfilling for her to help grant the wishes of others. She admits she has all of her wishes fulfilled - good education, happy family, and peaceful living - and now it is time for her to make the wishes of others come true. As a loving mother, devoted grandmother, and a caring teacher, she truly believes she has a wonderful life.
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Bernice Ballard
Born and raised in Seattle, Washington, Bernice was a wife at the age of 18 and a mother when she was 20 years old. Bernice attended art school and worked as a commercial artist for many years. In 1972, after raising her daughter and determining she needed a change, Bernice packed her bags and moved herself to Colorado.
Bernice lived in Denver during a time with the KKK had a strong presence in the community and she even experienced racism when she applied for a job in her field of work. Bernice ended up working for a janitorial agency and eventually made a living for herself cleaning houses-her attention to detail and precision in her work made her a valuable asset to others.
After retiring, Bernice found herself in a place where she wanted to do more and in 1999, she became a volunteer in the Volunteers of America Foster Grandparent Program. She has been a devoted volunteer, giving 20 hours per week of her time to infants at a local child care program. Bernice says her favorite part of volunteering is, "Being around the babies because they're so pure, natural, and beautiful". In addition to devoting her time to volunteering, she also spends time with her granddaughter, who Bernice says is "tremendous", and her 5 great grandchildren. Bernice is happy to be a part of the SBA and JBWOL, as it is, "fun and interesting to be a part of".
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Pam Bard
Originally from the Binghamton, NY area, Pam grew up in Long Island. Her sister Colette still resides on Long Island. She graduated from the University of Denver with a degree in Sociology in the 1987 and worked as a paralegal for many years. Pam has been a member of the Foster Grandparent Program at the VOA Colorado for 6 years and is known as Grandma Pam. She loves animals, the environment, cats, children, long drives, knitting, crochet, creating cards, training horses, training dogs and leading/following others. She has two grown children and four grandchildren, all in the Denver area.
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Lucy Gallegos
Lucy Gallegos was born and raised in Ignacio, CO. She is the mother of two daughters and grandmother to six grandchildren. Lucy says, "I feel blessed to be able to spend time with my amazing grandchildren, following them around to watch them play their sports and other activities". She is retired but currently spends her time volunteering 20 hours per week with elementary school children through the Volunteers of America Foster Grandparent Program.
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Olivia Silva
Olivia was born and raised in Kingsville, South Texas. The name of the town is Kingsville. After high school, Olivia started working with a nutrition program at Texas A & M that helped families learn to cook the food that they received. She was married and had 4 children, one of whom died from a head injury at age 7. She continued with her education on nutrition and graduated with a four year certificate. She worked at St Luke's Hospital as a cook for 10-12 years before she moved to Denver in the late 60's. She is a Foster Grandparent and she loves it!
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Nancy Tarpein
I was born Nancy Lee Prescott on July 22, 1935 in Wellington, Kansas. I went to thirteen schools before I was out of the eighth grade. I did not finish my high school because one night I awoke to hear my folks discussing their finances, and then heard mom say they would keep my sister out of school for two years while I finished high school. My dad told her she could not get away with that and she said because my sister had had rheumatic fever she could convince the doctor to help by claiming my sister would benefit from not attending school. My knowing how cruel children can be on a child that is behind their peers in school, I immediately told my parents that I wanted to quit school and get a job; even though that was the furthest thing from what I wanted. I started out working all sorts of minimum wage jobs.
Later I moved to Oklahoma and married and raised two children. Moved back to Colorado in 1974 and married again in 1980. My second husband Fred, who died in 2002, was my soul mate. Fred died in November, 2002. All my life I worked minimum wage jobs. Until in 1988 I was forced to retire on Social Security. I have had fourteen surgeries on my right leg alone besides numerous other surgeries.
In 1995 when I turned 60 years old I became a Foster Grandparent. I can truly say I have done very little in my life that is as satisfying as the last 14 years working with underprivileged children. In 2007 I asked to fill out a questionnaire that asked if I could do anything I wanted what was my greatest desire and I wrote that I would go to Arizona to visit my daughter who is fighting cancer. Little did I know that questionnaire was for the Jeremy Bloom Wish of a Lifetime Foundation and in October 2007 I spent three days with my daughter. What a glorious visit with my family. I am forever grateful to the Foundation and anyone else who granted my wish. By the way, my daughter is still fighting her battle. I pray every day that she is winning her battle but only Our Father knows for certain.
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Jeff Wise
Jeff was born in Maryland but raised in West Virginia. He is one among three children.
He has graduated from high school and has passion for teaching. Currently, he is tutoring middle school kids in science, math, and history.
He has a son who works as an auto mechanic. He admits his son is really busy. He has three loving grandchildren who sometimes ask their grandfather to help them with their school work. In his free time, he enjoys gardening and decorating.
As a senior himself, Jeff understands the needs of other seniors and is committed to helping them achieve their dreams. The idea of helping and giving back has always been with him. He is deeply touched by the lives of others and personally committed to being involved with the JBWOL.
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