Who couldn't use an extra grandma?
The Foster Grandparent program was developed in the 1960s by Sargent Shriver and was designed to attract low-income seniors to volunteer work. Qualifying "grandparents" are given a small stipend to offset the cost of volunteering -- transportation, food, perhaps a new outfit -- and in return they give their time to local classrooms and students.
But the program means far more than that.
Meet Grandma Isabel Paulo. She was born in Spain, moved to Brazil in her 20s, then to the United States. She lives in Lansing; her children and grandchildren live in Florida, Brazil and Spain.
"I don't have family here," Paulo said.
What she has instead are 31 substitute grandchildren in the form of Thomas Dye's fourth-grade class at Red Cedar Elementary School in East Lansing.
"For me, it's wonderful," Paulo said. "I'll retire when I die."
Through a grant from the Capital Region Community Foundation, the local Foster Grandparent program is able to put 66 volunteers -- 63 women and three men -- into classrooms in Ingham, Eaton and Livingston counties.
Paulo has been a Foster Grandparent since 1996 and she volunteers 40 hours a week in Dye's classroom, working individually with students, keeping the class on-task and helping out wherever she's needed.
Each morning, she sits in a chair at the front of the classroom as the students parade past her and say, "Buenos dias, Grandma!" There are hugs, but there are also reminders to take off hoods when they're inside ("I teach them to be polite," she notes) and turn in their homework.
Paulo is a good fit at Red Cedar -- students in Dye's class come from several different countries. Paulo makes sure to include small Spanish-vocabulary lessons where she can with the kids.
"She helps a lot," Karen, one of her students, said. "She sharpens our pencils, she gives us hot chocolate when it's cold in the morning."
"She's always willing to help," Keilani added.
Another bonus that comes with a Foster Grandparented classroom: "When the kids have a sub, there are no pranks -- the grandparents know the law of the land," said Laura Fortino, director of the Foster Grandparent program.
"The volunteers are one in a million," said Sandi Stevens, volunteer coordinator for the program. "This gives them a reason to get up in the morning. It feeds them as much as the children they serve. So many adults in kids' lives today are unsure, and through the Foster Grandparents, kids are able to learn to develop trust with an adult."
Filling the gaps
Many years ago, teachers were blessed with an abundance of "room mothers" -- stay-at-home moms who volunteered many hours in the classroom. With many of those moms working now, classrooms don't have that extra hand they often need.
The Foster Grandparent program was developed in the 1960s by Sargent Shriver and was designed to attract low-income seniors to volunteer work. Qualifying "grandparents" are given a small stipend to offset the cost of volunteering -- transportation, food, perhaps a new outfit -- and in return they give their time to local classrooms and students.
But the program means far more than that.
Meet Grandma Isabel Paulo. She was born in Spain, moved to Brazil in her 20s, then to the United States. She lives in Lansing; her children and grandchildren live in Florida, Brazil and Spain.
"I don't have family here," Paulo said.
What she has instead are 31 substitute grandchildren in the form of Thomas Dye's fourth-grade class at Red Cedar Elementary School in East Lansing.
"For me, it's wonderful," Paulo said. "I'll retire when I die."
Through a grant from the Capital Region Community Foundation, the local Foster Grandparent program is able to put 66 volunteers -- 63 women and three men -- into classrooms in Ingham, Eaton and Livingston counties.
Paulo has been a Foster Grandparent since 1996 and she volunteers 40 hours a week in Dye's classroom, working individually with students, keeping the class on-task and helping out wherever she's needed.
Each morning, she sits in a chair at the front of the classroom as the students parade past her and say, "Buenos dias, Grandma!" There are hugs, but there are also reminders to take off hoods when they're inside ("I teach them to be polite," she notes) and turn in their homework.
Paulo is a good fit at Red Cedar -- students in Dye's class come from several different countries. Paulo makes sure to include small Spanish-vocabulary lessons where she can with the kids.
"She helps a lot," Karen, one of her students, said. "She sharpens our pencils, she gives us hot chocolate when it's cold in the morning."
"She's always willing to help," Keilani added.
Another bonus that comes with a Foster Grandparented classroom: "When the kids have a sub, there are no pranks -- the grandparents know the law of the land," said Laura Fortino, director of the Foster Grandparent program.
"The volunteers are one in a million," said Sandi Stevens, volunteer coordinator for the program. "This gives them a reason to get up in the morning. It feeds them as much as the children they serve. So many adults in kids' lives today are unsure, and through the Foster Grandparents, kids are able to learn to develop trust with an adult."
Filling the gaps
Many years ago, teachers were blessed with an abundance of "room mothers" -- stay-at-home moms who volunteered many hours in the classroom. With many of those moms working now, classrooms don't have that extra hand they often need.
Foster Grandparents are able to help fill in the gaps in classrooms. They can sit with an immigrant student who may need extra one-on-one help with a lesson. They can give individual reading attention or help a child learn to write his name.
"Teachers may have 24 to 30 kids in the room and can't always do that one-on-one," Stevens said. "These grandparents can be a godsend."
With today's extended family spread out across the country, kids often lack regular interaction with older adults. The Foster Grandparent program keeps kids in contact with seniors.
"In a perfect world, we'd have a volunteer in every classroom," Stevens said.
A grandma to all
Juanita Lykes has been a Foster Grandparent only since October. She volunteers in a first-grade classroom at Holt's Wilcox Elementary School.
"Those 20 children are my sweet babies," she said.
Lykes retired from Meijer 10 years ago and spent some time baby sitting and providing day care. "I got tired, though," she said. "It takes up a lot of time to have a day care."
As the kids aged out of day care, Lykes decided to rest for a bit but got bored. She called around looking for ideas and discovered the Foster Grandparent program.
"I can still get out and still be with kids," she said. "I thought it was unpaid volunteering, but the stipend was helpful. It makes it easier."
Lykes has seven of her own grandchildren -- and one great-grandchild -- but she's proud to say "I'm grandma to everybody. I have babies at school and babies at home. I'll do it as long as I can. I just love kids."
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