This week we are spotlighting another special St. Joseph County volunteer. This series of interviews is our way of celebrating National Volunteer Week, which falls in April every year, and allows us to give some well-deserved recognition to individuals who are giving back to their communities. We hope that by reading their stories you will find inspiration to create your own story of giving back.
Heidi Needham has volunteered for many years and in several Midwest locations. She and her husband have recently retired to St. Joseph County and, true to her nature, she went in search of some way to connect with people and become better acquainted with her new community. The St. Joseph County Literacy Council caught Heidi’s attention and their urgent need for tutors in the Sturgis area helped her make what seems to be a perfect connection.
Heidi Needham
Heidi is currently tutoring an Hispanic woman who is anxious to improve her ability to read English. Just recently, the woman’s spouse also became a student. Heidi is visibly excited when she talks about her experiences with these students. She describes how they laugh at their attempts to communicate because Heidi’s Spanish is very limited. She says that it’s great fun though and they always find a way to figure out what the other is saying. She says that doing this work makes her feel that she is helping a whole family because, when the mother is better able to understand English, the entire family unit benefits. She is impressed that her students come to tutoring sessions anxious to learn and even beg for additional work to do at home between sessions. Heidi shared with me that the greatest reward for her is “watching their eyes light up when they get it.” Becky Lilly, Executive Director of St. Joseph County Literacy Council, reports that Heidi is really enjoying her students and her students enjoy spending time with her. “Working with her makes me more enthusiastic about literacy,” says Lilly.
Heidi worked as a classroom teacher years ago but she stresses that no one should feel that formal education training is necessary in order to be a literacy tutor. The program materials provided by Literacy Council, she says, are very well designed and easy to use. She attended the optional training offered by Kalamazoo Literacy Council and she felt that was very helpful but again, not a necessity.
The Literacy Council still has a number of students waiting for tutors, especially in the Sturgis area. If you are interested in helping or if you would like more information, contact Becky Lilly at 269-279-9581 or 269-858-9378.
Domestic and Sexual Abuse Services (DASAS) is busy making preparations for their big event, Walk-a-Mile In Her Shoes, on Saturday, May 18 at the Three Rivers High School track. There are several options for participants to walk or run in the event. Deadline for registering as a participant is May 13. DASAS also needs many volunteers on the day of the event in order to keep things running smoothly. If you would like to help this agency continue to do the vital job of helping victims of domestic and sexual violence, please call Rose Parshall at 269-273-6154, ext 101.
Other programs in St. Joseph County that are looking for volunteers and would like to be included in this weekly column are encouraged to register with United Way. Contact Margaret Shultz, Volunteer Services Specialist, at 269-467-9099 or at volunteer.sjcuw@gmail.com.