Back To School For Students...And Volunteers!

RSVP Director Lauren Reid encourages people who are interested in volunteering for the Reading Partners Program to contact her at 1-781-324-7705, ext. 174.

Deb Cicero, a Reading Partners volunteer, had to fight for her first library card. “No, no, no. She’s too young to have her own,” the librarian told a youthful Cicero and her mother. To prove her wrong, 4-year-old Cicero picked up a book and started reading aloud. Impressed by the child’s reading ability, the librarian disregarded Cicero’s young age and gave her a library card after all.

Cicero held a passion for reading at age four and it remains today. Another one of her passions? Helping children. When she read a newspaper notice about an opportunity that involved both of these passions, Cicero responded.

“I can’t even tell you how much I love it,” says Cicero, who has been volunteering as a Reading Partner at the Linden School in Malden twice a week for the past year. “It’s the highlight of my week.”

The Reading Partners program, sponsored by the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) and hosted by Mystic Valley Elder Services (MVES), pairs people 55 and older with students in kindergarten through third grade. The volunteers dedicate at least four hours per week during the school year to work one-on-one with students who need help sharpening their literacy skills.

Lauren Reid, RSVP Director and Volunteer Program Director at MVES, says that participation in the program is a positive experience for all parties involved. “It’s really a win-win situation for the kids and for the volunteers,” says Reid. “The volunteers feel great about helping the students and at the same time the students get excited about reading.”

The students, who are selected by their regular classroom teachers, gain confidence with the experience and also truly seem to enjoy it. “I think they like the special attention they get,” says Cicero of her students. “They’re so responsive to the help.”

Cicero recalls a student who benefited from the extra attention and overcame an obstacle. “He was the last in his class to be able to spell Massachusetts,” she remembers. After Cicero and the student worked together, they accomplished their goal and the student spelled it enthusiastically in front of his teacher and classmates. “He was so happy with himself, which made me so proud,” she says.

As beneficial as the program is to the students, Cicero knows she gains from the experience too. “You’ll definitely get more than you give,” says Cicero.

When Reid hears such positive feedback from a Reading Partner, she hopes that more people will be inspired to get involved. “We are always looking to recruit and train new volunteers,” she says. “If you’d like to positively affect kids’ attitudes about reading, you should consider volunteering for this program.” People interested in the program can contact Reid at 1-781-324-7705, ext. 174 to find out about upcoming Reading Partners training in September.