Seniors Sought for Volunteer Program

Western Nebraska is looking for some senior volunteers for mentoring, according to the following article from the Star Herald.

The Foster Grandparent program is looking for seniors over the age of 60 to volunteer for the program.

The program is administered by the Community Action Partnership of Western Nebraska. Foster grandparents work with children, mentoring, tutoring and helping them to learn, according to materials on the program. Most foster grandparents work with children in the early elementary school grades. Foster grandparents also work in Headstart Programs, day cares, some in junior high and any sites that are nonprofit organizations or schools.

 The program has foster grandparents in over 40 sites in 13 or 14 communities and nine counties including the towns of North Platte, Sutherland, Hershey, Ogalalla, Leyton (Gurley site),  Sidney, Potter-Dix, Kimball, Bridgeport, Morrill, Mitchell, Bayard, Scottsbluff and Gering. Program director Cathy Schumacher said the program is seeking a foster grandparent to travel to the Harrisburg school.

There are a lot of rewards to being a foster grandparent including the love and hugs they receive from the children, Schumacher said.

“It gets you out of the house, you stay active and the schools get extra help,” she said

Ann VanAnne, a foster grandparent at Leyton Public Schools, said she loves to feel useful through the program and give back.

“I love what I’m doing. I enjoy helping,” she said.

Jeannette Hayden, a foster grandparent of the Kimball Public Schools, worked for seven years with the kindergarten class and has currently been working with the first grade glass for three years.

Hayden said, “The whole school calls me Grandma Hayden. When I am walking down the street they call me Grandma Hayden. I love it especially when I see youngsters I have helped from years back. It is very rewarding to see what some of the youngsters have grown up to be.

“...I wouldn’t change this job for any other one,” she said.

To work with the Foster Grandparent program, seniors must be 60 years of age and older and meet income guidelines or be a volunteer. Schumacher said the majority of Foster Grandparents get paid a small stipend, which she explains is non-taxable because it is considered for living expenses not a salary. Foster Grandparents have to commit to working 15 hours a week.

For more information on the program, contact Schumacher at (308) 635-3089 or toll free at (888) 448-9665, ext. 3348, or e-mail Cathy at cshumacher@pcswn.com.