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Volunteering for Read Aloud Delaware is a family affair

February 20, 2017

What do a retired USDA botanist, a former credit manager, a CPA, and a teacher of the deaf have in common? They are all volunteers for Read Aloud Delaware. And they all volunteer along with one or more family members.

In fact, the Sussex County branch of Read Aloud Delaware boasts seven families participating in the children’s literacy program, including a mother and twin daughters, and six husband-and-wife teams.

Their mission is to ensure that each preschool child in Delaware is regularly read to one-on-one. There are currently 230 volunteers doing just that throughout Sussex County.

After an ad in the Cape Gazette caught the eye of Linda Tobin of Milton, Read Aloud Delaware gained not one but three new volunteers when Linda, her twin sister Susan and their mother Fran all signed on.

Fran helps out around the Read Aloud office in Georgetown, while Linda and Susan both read at Beach Babies in Lewes where Linda is the site leader. Linda organizes the volunteers, keeps track of the books on hand, and stays on top of the paperwork involved. Linda says, “Since I’m the boss, I get to boss Susan around. Love it! I love watching the intensity Susan puts into her reading and the joy she gets from the children.” Being twins only adds to the enjoyment. “It’s been fun watching the kids figure out who’s who. We are always sharing the funny things the kids say. The best was when a little boy demanded ‘the other one’ (referring to Susan) when he didn’t get a turn to read with me,” says Linda.

“The kids keep me coming back,” says Susan. “They are so excited by the books.” One little boy told her he loves to read all day long.

When a Read Aloud coordinator made a presentation at a local women’s club 11 years ago, it set off a chain reaction that ultimately brought four volunteers to Lord Baltimore Elementary School in Ocean View. Stephen Trodden of Bethany Beach happened to wander in at the end of the presentation as volunteers were being recruited. He recalls being motivated by what he heard. “Delaware has a high illiteracy rate, and the most causative fact is the absence of adults reading to kids. That’s what this program is all about,” says Trodden. Stephen and wife Regina both became volunteers, and Regina now leads a team of 13 at Lord Baltimore.

Among them are Jerry and Rosemary Hardiman of Bethany Beach, who were brought on board by the Troddens. Both are retired attorneys, but as Regina, who was a clinical dietician, points out, “We all come from different experiences, but we all care about children.” 

Jerry enjoys developing relationships with the children. “You see their progress from the time you start until the end of the year, even in things like their artwork,” he says.

Rosemary agrees. “Sometimes by the end of the year, they want to read to you! You become a friend. They want to share with you,” she says.

Both Stephen and Jerry would like to see more men become involved in Read Aloud, as many of the students lack male influences in their lives. “Every time you are with a child,” Regina said, “you are affirming that that child is special.” 

Al and Polly Lehtonen of Lewes got involved with Read Aloud after Polly learned about the organization at a Lunch With a Purpose event last year. Al signed on first and has been reading one-on-one to preschoolers at Children’s Beach House in Lewes and Georgetown Head Start since October 2016. “Al loves the kids,” said Polly, so she decided to leave her volunteer position at Beebe Hospital and join the Read Aloud family. She recently completed her training and soon will begin reading at one of the county’s 36 preschool and kindergarten sites. The Lehtonens appreciate the freedom to work as much or as little as their schedules allow.

Don and Laura Lanspery of Harrington have been reading at the Morris Early Childhood Center in Lincoln for six years after moving to Delaware and finding out about Read Aloud on a website for Volunteer Delaware 50+ (formerly RSVP). Both were looking for a way to get involved with the community, and reading to the special education preschoolers at Morris has been a perfect fit. Don says, “You know you make an impression when students you see outside of school years later remember you.”

Laura enjoys seeing the children’s advancements in social skills and their excitement over a favorite book. “One nonverbal boy this year does a jig to express happiness and excitement when it is his turn,” says Laura.  

But perhaps the value of the program was best summed up by the child who said, ”Pancakes for breakfast and Read Aloud make this a perfect day.”

For more information on becoming a Read Aloud Delaware volunteer, call Sussex County Coordinator Lisa Coldiron at 302-856-2527.

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