Doing it all and much more

Raising $18,000 isn’t easy for high school students. But when a young English teacher was diagnosed with a rare skin disease at Joyce Kim’s school, the student leader rallied her fellow classmates to raise the money for the teacher’s care.

In addition, Kim is dedicated to helping others less fortunate than herself. “If a blind man can climb Mount Everest, then I can do all I'm doing and much more,” she said.

For her leadership and service, Kim was honored with a Bank of America Student Leader award. The award, which is part of the bank’s Neighborhood Excellence

“I think this is a great investment that Bank of America is making,” Kim said. “We’re the upcoming generation. Soon we’ll be the ones leading the country, leading the nonprofits, leading the businesses. It’s really important that people invest time and money and effort in order to get this going.”

Giving Back
The funds were raised for the English teacher during Love Week, co-chaired by Kim, which supports a select member of the community. The teen is also president of

On a trip to a National Association of Student Councils conference, Kim passed an exhibit for an organization called H20 for Life, which piqued her interest. The organization asks schools to raise money to provide clean water to schools in Third World countries. On her return home, Kim started an affiliate group that raised $1,000.

She also co-founded Eagles United, an organization that bridges the gap between her high school’s freshmen and students in the 10th through 12th grades. The group

“Based on my past experience, one of the things [I want to do] is find common ground,” Kim said. “No matter what your life story is, when two people come together, there’s something they’ll share. And because of this common ground, ideas start happening.”

With Support from Bank of America
Kim’s internship, provided through the bank’s award, was with the Dallas chapter of the American Red Cross. She describes her experience as a first glimpse into the

She also learned how nonprofits work through a tour of Dallas organizations. Kim remembers being impressed by how much they do for the community without the expectation of recognition.

“This experience inspired me to start my own nonprofit,” Kim said. “I knew what nonprofits were, but interning [at the Red Cross] allowed me to see how much impact a nonprofit can have.”

Kim’s interests in politics and service intersected when she participated in the bank’s Student Leadership

See more about Bank of America's Neighborhood Excellence Initiative.

Hispanic families and older adults in Dallas get help through Neighborhood Excellence Initiative^®

The Concilio works to advocate and enhance the quality of life for Hispanic men, women and children through community partnerships in education and healthcare. Their Parent Involvement program, for example, has graduated more than 5,100 parents in 69 Dallas schools since 2002. This program teaches parents how to be more involved with their children’s education, and advocates for college as a viable option. The Concilio also runs the Community Health program which

Since 1961, Senior Source has worked to improve the quality of life of older adults in the greater Dallas area. Older adults come to the group for help with job searches, nursing home advocacy, money management, volunteer opportunities and counseling on any aging issue. In 2009 alone, 5,778 older adults and family members received supportive counseling from Senior Source.

The Concilio and Senior Source have been awarded $200,000 each by the Bank of America Charitable

The grants are part of the Foundation’s Neighborhood Excellence Initiative^®(NEI), which operates in 44 cities in the U.S, as well as London.

The awards are part of an ongoing effort by Bank of America to stimulate economic vitality in Dallas and in communities across the nation, said Richard Holt, Dallas Market President for Bank of America. He said that the latest announcement brought the bank’s total

Additional honorees The Foundation also selected five “Local Heroes” for their community service work: Reverend Gerald Britt, Anna Hill, Walter Humann, Clint McDonnough and Josephine Torres, all of Dallas. Each was able to designate a $5,000 charitable grant from the Foundation to the eligible nonprofit of their choice.

Five exemplary teens were named Dallas-area “Student Leaders” and selected to receive paid eight week internships at Dallas-area nonprofits. They are Miriam Duran of Desoto, a recent graduate of South Oak Cliff

Consumer Bank associate Robert Young was selected as the recipient of the 2010 Volunteer Services Award. Robert heads the North Texas Bank of America Community Volunteers Signature Events Committee, which engages associate volunteers for large events.