Have you ever felt lonely? Unmotivated? Unappreciated? If you answered yes to any of these questions, I have the opportunity for YOU! Be a Reading Buddy at Camp iRock this summer!
A Reading Buddy is a volunteer who spends about 30 minutes, twice a week reading with a Camp iRock camper. You need to be patient, kind, and encouraging. In return, you will soar to rock star status in the eyes of a child. The love and adoration you will receive is immeasurable. Take it from me, you need this experience in your life.
Let me tell you about these kids. They are invited to Camp iRock based on their reading scores and recommendation from the School District of Pickens County. The school experience hasn’t been a bed of roses for many of them. They withdraw and feel inadequate. Mom and dad know their child is struggling, but they don’t know how to help them. Every year they fall further behind.
Hooray for Camp iRock. At Camp iRock, they receive the intensive and specialized instruction they need, in an environment that is caring and nurturing. They receive so much help in the classroom with an amazing teacher, a Call Me MiSTER intern, and a YMCA counselor. You can actually watch them as they “get it” for the first time in their lives. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, celebrates every victory, no matter how small. Camp iRock is all about success.
The impact of Camp iRock is deep and wide. Yes, it is about improving reading scores, but it is so much more than that. It’s about the whole child; how they feel about themselves and their “world”. The YMCA component of Camp iRock more than just having fun. It’s about changing the way children feel about themselves … a transformation from a glass half-empty to glass half full!
Last year, I had the opportunity to drop by Camp iRock (I find an excuse to go every day) and my favorite counselor, the one who is always bouncing and singing, slumped over her desk. I realized she was crying! She held a rumpled up piece of paper in her hand.
“What is wrong?” I asked. She unfolded the paper and it contained a list of children’s names. They represented children who had answered “NOT TRUE” to three or more questions the Y asks to determine how our campers feel about their life. Some of the questions are; Do you like where you live? Do you feel loved? Do you feel love for others? Do you feel like you have a future?
What 7-year-old feels they have no future?
The Y counselors call this the “love list” and give those kids a little extra attention. They tell them they love them every day. We pair the Reading Buddies with the children who need them the most. So how can YOU be a Reading Buddy? Go to our website, www.uwpickens.org and sign up. We will conduct a background check and plug you into the location and time that works best for you. You will receive training so you will be comfortable.
Reading Buddies are needed from June 10 through July 19 (excluding the week of July 4). For more information please contact Karen Culley, 864-850-7094 x102 or by email, kculley@uwpickens.org.
Be a Reading Buddy this summer. Be the hero in a child’s life. There is nothing better.
Julie Capaldi is president of United Way of Pickens County. She can be reached at jcapaldi@uwpickens.org or 864-850-7094, extension 101.
This article originally appeared in the Sentinel-Progress on June 3, 2019.