More+Stories

Volunteers and Their Stories

Gene Ehler

According to Ehlers, what makes a successful volunteer in any situation is "an ability to teach and to see experiences from someone else's perspective, a genuine desire to be of help."

Sometimes, this means letting the person you are helping guide you.

By Jennifer Padget http://www.volunteermatch.org/volunteers/stories/spotlight.jsp?id=34

Michelle Sullivan

At one point Sullivan was paired with two pen pals at the same time, and she got to see just how much influence the reading assignments really have. Unable to avoid comparing the two, she noted that one child was "a real word dynamo" who wrote lengthy letters, while the other had less developed skills and struggled with his writing. She was worried about the second boy, until they were assigned to read Donovan's Word Jar by Monalisa Degross, the story of a boy who collects unique words.

The struggling boy was so intrigued that he began his own word journal, discovering and recording new words each day.

"That's when I knew he'd caught the spark -- the love of discovery -- that would drive his learning. And it did. Each letter he would use some of his new, BIG words from the dictionary and point them out to me so that I could learn them too."

http://www.volunteermatch.org/volunteers/stories/spotlight.jsp?id=30

Kathy So

"I have a ton of fun with my two children," she said. "My 10-year old girl and I hit the mall, get our nails done, or go to the movies. The 13-year old boy is a bit more of a challenge but I found his favorite activity is to go to the swap meet. He doesn’t know that he is learning math, social skills, and other life skills when I give him a 'budget' of a few dollars and then let him spend it."

"It really is a lot of fun watching all the children light up when they accomplish something," she said. "When a choice is made that is positive, and the child takes responsibility and pride in what they have accomplished, I feel the setbacks that are inevitable have been worth it."

http://www.volunteermatch.org/volunteers/stories/spotlight.jsp?id=26