Home » News & Events » Aging Well: Spotlight on Volunteering
Bridging the Generations Through Literacy
Watching reticent students progress into active class participants, improve their grades, and gain a love for reading and math are what 320 active JCA’s Heyman Interages Center® relish.
Ann Jackman began volunteering in 2013 and has been guiding students ever since. “I love the fact that you can develop a relationship and see their progress. All of a sudden, you notice their eyes light up when they come into the room. It’s lovely to have a relationship when you know you can help.”
One of Ann’s students with Grandreaders – the Interages program for second graders designed to build literacy skills and relationships through shared books – was so self-conscious about a speech impediment that she covered her mouth every time she spoke. It took that student a few months to gain the confidence to speak out. It happened slowly, but it happened, Ann said.
Another little boy had trouble pronouncing his vowels.
Ann had difficulty understanding him. “It was a learning process for me,” she said, explaining that at first she struggled with asking him to repeat himself without making him feel bad. “I felt like he was a smart little boy.” He loved facts and science books.
Ann also volunteers with the Interages’ middle school virtual book club, a partnership with the Montgomery County Public Library system. The book clubs meet weekly for a month, four times a year. She loves to see what the students come up with at the end of the session for their reflection piece. Rather than writing a book report, the students present something about the book. Some students design book covers, others write letters to authors, and some do research on a topic or issue from the book.
The book club is a safe space where students are free to say what they like – and don’t like – about a book or a particular character. When asked what they liked about the program, one student replied, “I loved how there was complete creative liberty when creating our final projects. It was a wonderful way to show how much variety a single topic holds!”
Another participant said, “I learned how to communicate with others, not just students close to my age, but older individuals and students from different schools, which I enjoyed. I also like that I read a book, which I am trying to do more.”
“One of my passions in life is literacy,” Ann said. Here, the students are encouraged to participate and read books they may never have chosen for themselves. Another plus for Ann is the friends she has made amongst other volunteers. “We will go out and have coffee or breakfast once in a while,” she said, adding that she “makes good friends in a low-key way.”
Ann and former volunteer Terrie Manchester wrote a book for new Grandreaders participants titled As Best Friends Do: Will and Rosa Meet the Grandreaders. This book about volunteering and friendship shows new members that their adult volunteers are there to help in a stress-free environment. It shows students who struggle, but not because they aren’t smart, Ann explained.
Volunteer Emily Harris participates in the Thriving Germantown program, which focuses on students and their families who need extra support. Emily bonds so well with her students that she often continues to see them even when their time in the program ends.
Emily meets her students either on Zoom or at the Gaithersburg library. She started volunteering with Interages in 2020, right before the pandemic. She had just retired and quickly realized that doing nothing was not her thing.
She sits in the back of classrooms and assists whichever student a teacher sends to her for extra help. While she enjoys math, she also helps out with reading skills. One plus for Emily was learning how Montgomery County Public Schools teaches math, which she said, “is way different than when I went to school.” Helping seventh and eighth graders with algebra led her to relearn algebra anew.
“I love kids,” and prefer working in small groups. With Thrive,
Emily can reach students one-on-one without the chaos of a whole classroom. “I just feel like every kid deserves a good education,” she said. “Some kids need a little extra help,” she said, adding, “Most of the kids are hilarious, and that makes it fun.” For Emily, a lot of the enjoyment of volunteering comes from listening to young people’s perspectives.
A music lover, Emily sometimes entertains students while playing the ukulele or guitar and dancing. She also enjoys volunteering with Reader’s Theater and watching 2nd-5th graders bring stories to life during performances for kindergarten and first graders. The support she provides is as important as the education. “At least I feel like somebody cares. Sometimes that’s all kids need to know, someone cares about them.”
Together, Interages senior volunteers spent 4,296 hours last year in a variety of programs that include helping young English learners and students who need to continue their studies throughout the summer.
For more information on how you can make a difference, please complete our interest form on the Interages Volunteer Portal.
