Foster Grandparents looking for more volunteers to help

Foster Grandparents needs more volunteers to serve in area schools.

The program offered by Community Action Partnership of Western Nebraska is looking for retired seniors to serve as a supportive presence for students, Linda Massie, CAPWN recruiter, said.

“It’s a non-profit community action program to put seniors into schools to help students learn,” Massie said. “We do everything from preschools to junior high.”

Foster Grandparents are neither paraeducators nor parents. They are “warm and fuzzies.”

“We help the kids,” Massie said. “They’ll tell us things or they’ll come to us when they don’t feel comfortable going to the teacher. We help them read and write, if that’s appropriate. We socially adjust them. If they eat, we have meals where we sit down with them and eat and the instructor tells them nobody touches the table until everybody’s got food.”

Right now, there are only 70 Foster Grandparents in Sidney and surrounding area schools.

“We need many more, from Sidney to the ‘Bluffs and all the little towns in between,” Massie said. “We need at least one in every school. We need two or three here in Sidney. And in preschools.”

She added, “We want as many as we can get.”

Becoming a Foster Grandparent offers many rewards for seniors, Massie said.

“It’s the kids. If you’ve had kids, and you’ve had grandkids, you know you never see enough of them. These kids they need people. They need grandparents,” she said. “For the grandparent, you’ve got something to do every day. You can work from 15 to 40 hours a week. It gets you out of the house, it keeps you sharp, and it keeps you interacting with people.”

With the position comes a stipend and mileage reimbursement, Massie said. Volunteers must be at least 55 years old and meet certain income guidelines.

“It’s only during the school year that they work,” she said. “During the summer, we have a lot of fun activities we do for each other, so we’re kept sharp.”

To become a Foster Grandparent contact Kathy Schumacher at the Gering office at (308) 635-3089.