The hardest thing about volunteering is stepping out of your comfort zone
Posted on December 13, 2019
I currently have three organizations that I volunteer for. At the time, I didn’t think I had the ability to any of these jobs, except maybe the last one mentioned below. But I stepped out of my comfort zone and never turned back.
I started as a tutor approximately sixteen years ago for an organization called Action Centered Tutoring Services (ACTS). ACTs provides tutoring and mentoring for children who reside in Springfield, MA from grades 1-5. Initially I was hesitant if I had the skills to tutor a child. It turns out if you ever had to do homework with your own children, you can be a tutor!
I was assigned my first student and the process was very challenging, but I survived and she thrived. As time went on, I’ve tutored several other students. Each time the process for me got a little easier. However, there were two other students who are permanently stamped in my heart. One student, Jada, whom I tutored for two years. Jada struggled with math and hated being pulled out of her classroom to go into a special education room. When I used to ask her, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” she would answer, “smart”. This broke my heart, so I knew I had to do everything in my power to help her. We had some very creative sessions where I did everything I could to teach her math such using measuring cups as a demonstration. Jada began to better understand and apply the concepts she needed and vastly improved. While this program wasn’t the sole reason for her growth, it was certainly a part of it.
My other student, Joyce, I started tutoring when she was in the fifth grade. Typically tutoring through ACTs ends in the fifth grade. However, we just kind of kept going with formal tutoring until she reached the tenth grade. Throughout the years, we’ve had many conversations about good times and struggles in Joyce’s home and school life. I was extremely honored when she asked me to speak at her sweet 16 and I’ve attended many of her school events, including her high school graduation. From all the time spent, we’ve forged a friendship that I will cherish forever.
For a few years, I took a role as a site director, which was a paid position. As rewarding as the job was, I missed the one-to-one of tutoring. So now I’m back to that, just waiting for a student to be assigned to me. And I’m also proud to report that last year I joined the ACTS board of directors!
I also volunteer at a shelter called Craig’s Place in Amherst. The shelter is open from the winter months from November to April. I kind of fell into this volunteering job while I was helping out over the college winter break when most student volunteers go home for the holidays. One day, I was working an overnight shift and I witnessed a staff member making the most appalling scrambled eggs for breakfast. Right then and there I decided I was too old to stay up all night, but that I could cook. Growing up Sunday breakfast was usually something special, and I try to create that on a bit of a larger scale. Now every Saturday morning for the winter season, you can find me whipping up the tastiest eggs along with some yummy sides for breakfast to feed the shelter’s residents.
Through casual conversations about recipes and listening to long and disjointed ramblings I am often reminded that sometimes life is what you decide to do; but sometimes it’s what life decides to do to you. I have met pregnant woman sleeping on a cot, couples who have to spend the night in separate rooms, and a college student who couldn’t afford room and board and many hardworking adults who lost their housing. Some of our guests look like what you would picture a homeless person, others look like they could be a student at UMASS. It’s truly a rewarding and humbling experience that has allowed me the privilege of understanding the circumstances of others.
Lastly, because it’s mostly fun, my husband and I foster for Furever Homes for Felines. My house is full of cats, kittens and love!
-Joan S.
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