Volunteer Spotlight: Katherine Gouvernayre

Testimonials

“We are confident that the Road of Life Program will help improve the knowledge and build awareness of health for children in Cleveland.”

– Eileen Korey, Vice President of Communications at The MetroHealth System

“Road of Life’s innovative programs have a very important role to play in keeping some of America’s most at-risk communities healthy.”

– Laurel Shoaff-Tranick, Program Manager for the Corporation for National and Community Service

“By providing this information to children, we are teaching them that they are not only responsible for their personal health but in the future they can choose to be responsible for helping others become healthier. The sheer diversity of each curriculum demonstrates ROL’s ability to solve the main problem of chronic illness.”

– Denisha E. Garland, MPH, SIT with the Cincinnati Health Department

“Road of Life improves the health knowledge of all students that are involved in the program. We even featured their work in the College’s Annual Report Magazine.”

– Lori Bolton, Assistant Director for the Practice Education and Career Services in The Ohio State University College of Public Health

“I believe the ROL program is a worthy effort that will make a positive difference in the lives of children.”

– Karen L. Gilliam, Ph.D. Manager of the Office of Diversity at The MetroHealth System

“This program is easy for our teachers to integrate the curricula in their classrooms. Due to the fact that the classroom curriculum is aligned to National Health Standards as well as State Academic Standards, teachers do not have to veer away from teaching the required core academic subjects of math, English language arts, social studies, and science.”

– Mary G. Maul, Principal of Scranton K-8 School in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District in OH

“Road of Life is a unique and exciting organization. ROL takes the idea of cancer prevention a few steps further and tries to establish good lifestyle choices and habits with children, long before they are potentially faced with a cancer diagnosis. I believe in ROL because of their unique ability to pull resources from different sources, such as the medical community, the public health community, and the education community.”

– Sharon E. Kim, Clinical Research Coordinator at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center

“I am a very strong advocate of the Road of Life: Cancer Prevention for Kids program and the innovative work they have done with Columbus Public Schools.”

– Andrew Ginther, Columbus City Council (Former Columbus Public School Board Member)

“I was speechless when I came across the Road of Life website. I am thrilled that the lessons are available to our school for free. The lessons are extremely interactive, encouraging all students to participate. They also cross several subject areas, not just health.”

– Agatha Kusenda, Guidance Counselor at Brainerd Baptist School in Chattanooga, TN

“In the past, I have always had a difficult time incorporating a health curriculum into the classroom. With so many standards to meet in the core subjects like Math, Reading, and Writing, Health curriculums often get pushed to the side. However, the Road of Life health curriculum has changed that in my classroom.”

– Kimberly Frank, 4^th grade teacher at Tanque Verde Elementary School in Tucson, AZ

“All the lessons in the After School Program were easy to use and integrate into our current programs. The kids loved learning lessons while enjoying the activities; the facilitators loved the user-friendly content. After using Road of Life’s programs, the children experienced an increase in knowledge through education, a change in attitude through awareness and exposure, and a change in behavior through action and performance.”

– Lisa Palmer, Executive Director for the Olde Southside Community Partnership

“Road of Life focuses on educating children on fitness, nutrition, and overall good decision making that will lead to healthier lives and greatly reduce the risk of developing cancer later in life. We recognize the work that ROL is doing and we want to help ROL create an Adolescent and Young Adult specific program to expand ROL’s program to this age group. We look forward to working with ROL..."

– John J. Letterio, M.D., Chief of the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital

“We support Road of Life because of its great work against a dreadful disease. We believe that ROL will impact the knowledge of health for children everywhere.”

– Jack Staph, Executive Director of the Cleveland Marathon, Half Marathon & 10K

For the Media

Volunteer Spotlight: Katherine Gouvernayre

Written by Press Release

Thursday, 12 October 2006 00:00

VISTA Volunteer Spotlight: Katherine Gouvernayre

It's rare at age 23 to have discovered one's life passion, but Katherine Gouvernayre, Director of Development at Road of Life, has found hers: helping others. She says that her desire to help those less fortunate than her is what attracted her to AmeriCorps. Prior to Road of Life, Gouvernayre worked as an Americorps member serving Northwest Ohio as a tutor and mentor for elementary students.
"While working with the kids, I was able to draw upon my knowledge of foreign language. I started an after-school program which helped the kids to develop their French and Spanish-speaking skills. Still, there were many opportunities I couldn’t provide for them because of monetary constraints.”

This realization sparked Gouvernayre’s interest in the VISTA program. “I knew volunteers in the VISTA program raised money, and I was looking for another way to make a difference,” says Gouvernayre.

Gouvernayre says that after looking at the VISTA programs of interest to her, Road of Life stuck out to her because its mission aligned with her passion of helping other people. Not only has Gouvernayre reached out to people in a school setting, but she has also made an impact with those fighting cancer. She worked as a volunteer at St. Vincent Hospital in Toledo, Ohio.

Gouvernayre says this volunteer experience ignited her passion for cancer prevention and compelled her to apply at Road of Life. “After working at St. Vincent’s, I was really drawn to Road of Life because of its emphasis on cancer prevention for children,” she says.

Now that she is on board at Road of Life, she is looking forward to demonstrating her desire to help children to potential donors. In her current position, she is working to expand the organization’s impact as the main contact between Road of Life and various donors.

Gouvernayre’s compassion for others is demonstrated not only in her commitment to service and volunteerism but also in how she spends her free time. She is raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society by running the 26.2 mile Nike Women’s Marathon on October 23rd in San Francisco.

“Sometimes the training has gotten pretty tough, but when I think of all those people I saw at St. Vincent’s and what they go through on a daily basis, it really gets me motivated to get out and run. In this day and age, so many people take things for granted. I, for one, am very thankful for my health,” says Gouvernayre.

The world is a kinder place thanks to people like Gouvernayre. Clearly, her enthusiasm and her desire to help others will carry her far in life. For Gouvernayre, the sky’s the limit.

The Ohio State University College of Public Health makes a difference in the health of the public, advances knowledge through multidisciplinary research and education, and reaches out with knowledge, service and leadership to Ohio and the world.

The Corporation for National and Community Service plays a vital role in supporting the American culture of citizenship, service and responsibility. We are a catalyst for change and champion for the ideal that every American has skills and talents to give.

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