First Impressions
There are no words that can thoroughly describe the emotions, energy, and satisfaction one experiences while volunteering. After rushing across the frozen parking lot and bursting through the front doors of A Chance To Grow, we were enveloped by a swift heat wave and beckoned into the front office. There we stood as our guide introduced us to a slew of helpful characters. I am not one to remember more than one name at a time, so the introductions breezed past me. Once we had picked up our nametags, signed in, and survived the early morning photo op we were led down a well-lit hallway to the third door on the right. Our guide then deserted us as we entered and introduced ourselves to the swarm of third graders, begging for assistance. I was genuinely impressed by the commitment every student made to learning. There were constantly five kids at my side begging for assistance on some sort of assignment. I was initially assigned to work with a young lad who was copying down definitions from his textbook. He stayed focused despite the numerous distractions. Once he was called away to take a test, I decided to walk around the classroom of over 20 bubbling students. I did not get far before a young girl tugged at my sleeve and asked me if I would like to help her read a book. I agreed and we breezed through the story of pigs, puddles, and ooey-gooey mud. The teacher then suggested I take one young lad out into the hall where the level of distraction was significantly lower. We went into the hall and he read me a story of Spiderman explaining additional snip-its from the movie all along the way. We then took the reading quiz, and with his generous background in Spiderman, he aced the quiz. The look of triumph that swept across his face as he glanced at his score was magnificent. After a few more books, some crossword assistance, and some vocabulary practice, it was time for the volunteers to leave. Our two hours had flown by, and I wished I could stay in the class all day, but there was college to return to and homework to master. The kids asked when we would return and were obviously going to miss our assistance. We promised we would be back next week and then rushed out to the car.