Tag: volunteer

Our R.E.A.D. program begins

December 12, 2024

Big Girl is demonstrating what good listeners do while waiting for our next student. What you don’t see is a small group of special needs students being read to by a teacher in the opposite corner of the library. Sadie’s being quiet, listening attentively and watching the speaker.

We have four students we’ll see each week – 3 boys and 1 girl with very different reading levels and backgrounds. Sadie was so excited to get to work this morning! The front office buzzed us in and she led me straight to the library once I obtained my visitor pass. Zoomies around the library while I set up and an enthusiastic greeting for our first reader made for a great session. We worked on assigned reading passages together and students learned to use text evidence to figure out the correct answer to the comprehension questions. A little bit of test taking strategies thrown in there too, but it’ll help come time for Milestones testing next spring. This is exactly what I wanted to do in retirement.

P.S. I understand her friend Barney (the K-9 dog assigned to the school) stopped by to check on us, but we were busy with a student and he didn’t want to interrupt.

In other news:

Next week marks my final Monday enrichment class at CAA. My rolling tote is already packed for the lesson and activities. I’ll spend some time this weekend weeding my general craft supplies and gifting a couple of teachers the bulk of them. In late January, Sadie and I will return to CAA as literacy volunteers on Thursday mornings. This could morph into a homegrown read-to-a-dog program as there is another family in the school community who also has a certified therapy dog.

Our therapy dog work is definitely influenced by the academic calendar. Most school and library visits wrap up by mid-May. Summer months tend to be slower with random summer camps and corporate event visit opportunities. Sadie and I try to make one visit in June and another in July/August. Our established school and library programs typically resume after Labor Day.

Someone asked about the cost of being a therapy dog volunteer. There are certain requirements as to attire/accessories for the handler and dog. You’ll definitely need at least one logo shirt, harness/scarf for your dog and a 4′ leash. Besides the $40 in annual dues to the national organization, it’s really up to you. The more visits you do, the more it will cost in terms of dog grooming, logo attire for you and transportation costs. If you do kid and young adult visits like Sadie & I do, you will also need to budget for trading cards, stickers, pencils, bookmarks and other swag to pass out on visits. It all adds up to a few hundred dollars each year plus my time. Money and time well spent, in my opinion.

Why I volunteer

April 12, 2024

Her smile says it all. Big Girl is so happy to be back in “her” library doing what she does best – spreading some Sadie sunshine among the staff and patrons – in addition to listening to elementary kids read to her. Most of the time, you never know the impact your volunteer efforts might have, This week I did.

Six years ago, a rising 8th grader began reading to Boomer. She was new to the U.S. and spoke no English. We worked with her from late spring through the following winter. This week, her little brother came to read to Sadie. Mom recognized me and thanked me for helping her daughter so much all those years ago. Her daughter graduated high school and is now now working to save money for college.

Most of my personal sewing time is spent making things for others. Much of it is donated through the East Cobb Quilt Guild’s community service outreach. Yesterday was a “charity sewcial” where a large group of us gathered for fellowship and to work on charity projects. I pieced blocks for my bee group’s charity quilt, put together the sashing strips and sewed the rows together for another charity quilt made from last year’s Middle Georgia Shop Hop blocks, plus sewed pillowcases that will go to nearby children’s hospitals. I returned home with additional pillowcase kits and fabric to make even more blocks for my bee group’s charity quilt(s).

Charity quilt layout using blocks collected from 2023 Middle Georgia Shop Hop

If you’re in a guild or group, don’t let a lack of fabric (or the funds to buy fabric) keep you from participating in charitable sewing endeavors. If you have a sewing machine and are willing sew, there are plenty of materials available at no cost to you to create projects for donation. Reach out to a sewing friend or fellow guild member to ask if materials are available or let folks know you’ll be happy to take fabric scraps and excess stash to make items for charity. My guild’s current community service team has been diligently processing the influx of fabric donations to create themed kits and curated collections for charity sewing volunteers. They’ve done a great job! A few members of the guild have a challenge where they create quilts using only donated fabric and whatever current free pattern they’ve agreed on. Two of the ladies sitting with me yesterday were feverishly working on their charity challenge quilts. It was so much fun to see the action and listen to the banter as they sewed.

P.S. If you are a quilter with a large stash, consider leaving instructions with your estate documents to donate any remaining machines, fabrics and supplies that your heirs don’t want to a local quilt guild, quilt museum or pet rescue group with a resale shop. Your donation will make a world of difference.