Being There First & Making It Last

In 1999, KOREH L.A. trained its first reading partners. Seven years later, 55 of those original volunteers are still actively volunteering, and going strong. We recently asked some of them to reflect on their meaningful experiences as long-time volunteers.

Remembering their first students and the challenges they posed led many volunteers to reflect on the causes of low-literacy levels. “(The beginning) was an uphill struggle all the way,” said Armin Szatmary ( Carthay School), who was stunned that his first student did not even know the alphabet. Jim Goodman ( Carthay School) was surprised to find that although his student could barely read in English, she could read fluently in Spanish. “That incident reminded me that language barriers are often the root cause of learning disabilities,” said Jim. Right from the start, KOREH L.A. volunteers gave individualized attention to their reading partners that helped them to ‘get a leg up’ on the barriers that were holding them back.

Often, the children were not native English speakers, and needed to build their language comprehension along with their literacy skills. Randy Beckwith ( Wilton School) remembered her first reading partner, a six-year-old girl who had recently arrived with her family from Korea. In the three years that they worked together, wrote Randy, “her [increasing] understanding of English gradually allowed her to comprehend the double meaning within the books, [and then we were able to] laugh at the misunderstandings [in the stories.] How much more I received than I gave as she became a confident, successful student.” Randy was one of the KOREH L.A. volunteers who became a liaison for her student as she learned about life in the U.S.

Anne Elman (Temple Isaiah EEIP) is another reading partner who constantly addressed issues of transition to life in this country. Anne has volunteered for the past seven years in LAUSD’s Emergency Education Immigration Program at Temple Isaiah, a program for recent immigrant children. One way that she addressed language barriers was by drawing pictures for her sometimes completely non-English speaking students. With kids coming through the program for three or four week sessions throughout the year, she has her hands full with challenges and opportunities. “My mantra for them,” said Anne, “is: good reading; this helps you get good grades, and then you can get good jobs.” Her influence has been immeasurable, and the rewards of her work far-reaching.

At times, the rewards of volunteering have been unspoken, and at times, loud and clear. Fran Shuster ( Canoga Park School) summarized her experience succinctly when she said, “I find the children fun to be with, and our discussions help them to see themselves as individuals.” Mimi Landres recalled a special thank you she received recently: “As I walked past the garden area one day, a boy called out to me, ‘Mrs. Landres, Hi! I’m on the Student Council now!’ He then picked a small flower and gave it to me. That was a price far above rubies.” Whether or not the volunteers ever received an explicit thank-you, they felt gratified by knowing the significance of their contribution to the child’s life.

This month’s Volunteer Corner contributors, Ileene and Sandy Morris ( Open Charter School), were also trained by KOREH L.A. in 1999. “It is important to know that long time volunteers don't necessarily burn out and each new student brings us new challenges,” they said.

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KOREH L.A. would like to give a very special 'thank you' to the volunteers who have been with us since our first year!

Stanley Abrams, Vera Abrams, Isa Aron, Randy Beckwith, Daniel Bourne, Anne Brown, Lillian Cole, Bob Cowan, Mark Elman, Anne Elman, Richard Fishman, Judy Freedman, Arlene Gardener, Sanford Garfield, Faye Globerson, Jim Goodman, Muriel Green, Joseph Greenberg, Geri Gutentag, Phil Gutentag, Anna Mae Haas, Lori Hartz, Beverly Harris, Nancy Horn, Deborah Kalan, Eva Lynn Kipnis, Mimi Landres, Ginger Lawrence, Merry Levine, Mae Lichtig, Donald Mann, David Margulies, Gloria Margulies, Gene Ann Marsh, Rosalie Minsk, Ileene Morris, Shirley Morris, Margot Morrison, Eileen Popkin, Natalie Roberts, Sheri Rosenberg, Florence Sackheim, Don Salper, Fay Samulon, Sara Lynn Savar, Carole Seedman, Fran Shuster, Marvin Smith, Lotte Sohn, Armin Szatmary, Jack Turk, Bunny Wasser, Judith Wexler, George Wolkon, Joel Zuckerbraun