In recognition of National Volunteer Week, SCI Dorchester solicited nominations for Dorchester's "Model Citizens"&emdash;individuals who make a difference through their service to the community.

"It's their experience and how they impact the lives of other through the work that they do, and there are some that do that in big ways and do that in much smaller ways, said Marisa Coleman, director of SCI Dorchester. Coleman cited 16 Model Citizens in SCI Dorchester's e-blast this week and chose five individuals to be profiled in this week's Reporter. Nominees for Model Citizens are still being accepted, and can be sent to mcoleman @scidorchester.org.

Robert Haas

There is no question that Robert Haas stands out in a crowd, and not because he's so tall. Rather because his eloquent words and bold voice dominate presence.

"Robert Haas speaks his mind. He stands up as a leader and brings to the neighborhood's attention what we should focus on in improving our conditions. When he speaks, everyone listens," says Alma Finneran, Haas' neighbor in Uphams Corner for twenty-five years.

Finneran explains that Haas was nominated as a Model Citizen because of his continuous involvement in the neighborhood. As the president of the Uphams Corner West Side Neighborhood Association, which he founded in 1978, Haas actively advocates for his neighborhood often taking neighborhood concerns to city officials.

"Robert is a thinker and a strategist. He looks at issues concerning the neighborhood and he figures out ways to address them and comes up with solutions," says Finneran.

Finneran adds that Haas is also a friendly man who is easily approachable. Having lived in his Monadnock Street home for thirty-five years, Haas makes it a point to know every neighbor moving into the neighborhood and identifying with the diverse cultures he encounters. In fact, Haas deliberately traveled to foreign lands so that he could learn more about his neighbors' cultures.

"My neighbors come from many interesting countries with rich backgrounds like Puerto Rico, Cape Verde, and Haiti. Through my travels to these countries, I have learned how to build a sense of community that is sensitive to my neighbors' needs and expectations. My concern has always been about community and that means building a community where people have a sense of belonging with which they can identify," says Haas.

When Haas first came to Boston from New Jersey almost forty years ago, he lived in the Back Bay but found the neighborhood too sterile, he says. He wanted more diversity.

"I love my neighborhood and that's in spite of what people have said through the years like it's a bad place and it's finished&emdash;gone. We decided it wasn't, and now everyone wants in," says Haas.

Haas adds that one of the greatest challenges he confronts in the neighborhood is keeping the homes affordable and stable.

Haas shares that he is honored and thrilled to be recognized for his community involvement. "My community has offered me the opportunity to become so active and I thank them for that."

&emdash;Demetra Chornovas

Phil Carver

Phil Carver refuses to accept the nomination as Model Citizen alone. He shares the honor and recognition with the Pope's Hill Neighborhood Association that he says is the best group of volunteers he could ever wish to work with.

"The association selected me as their voice for the community, but the work accomplished was not done from my actions alone. We all work together to do the best we can for our community," said Carver.

Born and raised in Pope's Hill, thirty-seven-year old Phil Carver continues to reside in his childhood home, where he lives with his wife and three children.

"Living in the house I grew up in and raising my kids in this neighborhood, well, it's a labor of love. It's a way for me to give back to the community by raising another generation in this neighborhood," says Carver.

Carver explains that he uses his current position as president of the Pope's Hill Neighborhood Association to outreach to all of Dorchester and bring residents of all neighborhoods together. Carver says he is mostly concerned with home and business development in Dorchester neighborhoods, as well as making certain that the people are being taken care of, like referring individuals to the appropriate organizations for Medicaid. Through his work with Pope's Hill Neighborhood Association, Carver has ensured that streetlights are repaired, developmental proposals are underway, and residents' concerns are heard.

Carver claims that most of his success derives from his ability to be approachable and recognizable in the neighborhood. "I am friendlier and easier to contact than City Hall, so people turn to me for guidance and advice. I make sure things get done. It's my duty and obligation to the community," he says.

"My being nominated is a great honor and a nod in my direction that I am heading the right way," Carver says.

&emdash;Demetra Chornovas

Allyson Cole

Allyson Cole has always liked working with numbers. So much, in fact, that she says she considers her volunteer role helping people file their Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) through DotWell's free tax preparation program more of a privilege than a chore.

"It helps me while I'm helping other people, because I'm always learning new things from the IRS," said Cole.

From January until tax season closed on April 15, Cole would spend evenings after leaving her office at State Street Bank helping local residents prepare their taxes at Codman Square Health Center or Dorchester House. She volunteered Saturdays, too, for a total of more than ten hours per week. Cole said she has been helping people file their taxes free of charge since 1990, a service she believes should be available to everyone.

"I didn't want people going to H&R Block, because I thought they charged too high, and I know it can be done without a fee," said Cole. "I was already doing taxes for everybody in my family, so I decided I might as well help other people, too."

Cole lives near Morton Street with her husband, and has three adult children living nearby. She has lived in the neighborhood since emigrating from Trinidad 30 years ago.

Linda Jorgenson, who also works at State Street as a payroll tax specialist, said she met Cole through work in 1997. Cole urged her to volunteer for the tax preparation program, and for the past several years Cole has driven from Hull to Dorchester during tax season to volunteer for the program.

"It's kind of addictive," said Jorgenson. "Every year the tax code is more challenging, and Allyson is such a good worker."

&endash; Patrick McGroarty

Vu Ngo

The DotWell free tax preparation program has another hard working volunteer in Vu Ngo. For two years during tax season, Ngo has spent upwards of twelve hours a week at Dorchester House helping area residents file for the EITC. Ngo said he was recruited by Doreen Treacy, director of the Civic Health Institute at DotWell, while they were both working in the same building.

"One day at the front desk, she walked out and asked me if someone from VACA would volunteer, so I said, 'what the heck,'" said Ngo.

He said that as one of three Vietnamese-speakers volunteering with the DotWell tax preparation program, his language skills were in high demand. Through Vietnamese-language flyers and word of mouth, he saw a heartening increase in the number of Vietnamese residents who came to have their taxes prepared at Dorchester House. But Ngo stressed that only some of his clients were Vietnamese, and the larger purpose of the program was to help anyone who asked for it.

"I love doing it, I think because I used to do it by myself with calculator and pencil," said Ngo. "Starting last year when I was involved with EITC, I learned a little more how to do taxes, and now I'm very careful to help low income people keep their money. I feel very good about it."

Ngo has worked for many years in workforce development, where he says the job description includes helping immigrants and refugees find work. After years with the Vietnamese American Civic Association in Fields Corner, Ngo took a similar position with Jewish Vocational Services just a month ago.

&endash; Patrick McGroarty

Marjory Neret

Until recently, Marjory Neret was working as a test-prep tutor in Boston Public Schools, but it was her life at the Boston's Hope Community Center on Nightingale Street that really got her out of bed in the morning.

"I'm there pretty much every weekday and Saturdays, too," said Neret. "When I was working in the schools, I would come home on lunch breaks and cook for the kids. My house is right across the street."

In the year since Neret moved to Nightingale Street, she says she's attended field trips across the city and beyond and coached kids through essay contests. Most of the children at the center, also known as the Home for Little Wanderers, range in age from five to 17. Neret is most proud of a Saturday morning touch football game that she recently created at the center.

"It's non-structural and non-mandatory, and the kids seem to interact differently on the weekend and in that relaxed setting," she said. "Afterwards I have them back to the house. I cook for them, we hang out and watch movies.

When she's not dishing up home cooked meals or refereeing touch football matches, Neret says she's been busy filling out applications for graduate programs in Audiology. Born in Miami and raised in Waltham, Neret hopes to stay in her Nightingale Street home when she begins her studies this fall.

&endash; Patrick McGroarty