The Goderich Signal-Star, 1987-01-21, Page 19hy do volunteers /
help? They all h:1:e
their own reasons
Simply, they want to volunteer
and it makes them feel good
By LOU -ANN HOPE •
The Bluewater Centre for Young Of-
fenders offers something to both its
residents and people in the surrounding
• .community. It offers a chance to get in-
volved with one another, to do something
productive yet, at the same time it is
something that benefits both parties. ,
• It is the volunteer program and more
than 40 people from the community spend
their free time with a group of boys who
appreciate contact with community
members. '
Since it's beginning in March of 1986.
under the direction of volunteer co-
ordinator Jahe Whitney, the program has
grown from the. original ,group of 12
volunteers to it's present size of 42 and the
.programs offered to the centre's residents
have been expanded - all because of, the in-
- terest shown from both the volunteers and
the residents. .
However, some members of the cam-
. munity do not understand why people
volunteer at Bluewater Centre. tre. This is ap-
parent
-parent
in the most often asked question of
volunteers: "Why do you volunteer.
there?"
In talking to a group of Bluewater Centre
volunteers and residents of the secure
custody institution, one can see that they
"participate because they want to, because
• it makes thein feel good and mainly
because it , fills an empty space inside
them.•
Supply teacher 4uleen Theriault is a
volunteer at the centre. She became in-
terested in, volunteering at Bluewater
following a.,tour of the facility with the
Catholic Women's League. Since starting
to volunteer at`the centre in September of
.1986 she has .been tutoring one .boy in,
English and reading and has weekly visits
with another „young man. Last week she
• began conducting a ceramics class to a
rl irt
'' ' ;y ivh'doesyAie vol'uhteei'? ' '
'"I have nine, and -10-year-old girls at
home but when you leave here you feel that
something else has been fulfilled and even
though they don't always say thank -you,
you can see it in their eyes. When you
Come outhere, you're doing it because you
want to," she said. •
As one 17 -year-old resident in the s>jing
art program said, " -I come out to the pro-
grams because they're fun. You get to see
people from the outside. You get to talk to
people, meet people and make things that
you cangive as gifts or keep for yourself.
' The volunteers, well, they're great ...
fantastic."
Melodie VanderWal leads a cooking pro-
gram. She has been volunteering since
March of 1986.
FE ATUR '
REPORT
'A big part of me gets angry when peo-
ple don't understand why I volunteer here.
I volunteer because it fills•a void in my life
of always wanting to be a teacher." •
"The only difference between the boys
here and those who are on the outside' are
that the ones here are • those who got
caught. Any volunteer that is here, is here
because he or she wants to be here. They
are friendly, caring people," added
Catherine Boddy who volunteers in the
visiting,school tutoring and ceramics
programs.
Often the residents. take , the programs
because it occupies their time. However,
some of the boys 'take a specific program
it because
is something 'want to do in
g they
`the future.
"I take painting because it is interesting.
I enjoypainting and doing lots of art. Jane
Whitney introduced me to Greg Schmidt ( a
volunteer artist who conducts a painting
class) and it was decided that maybe he
could help me and I could help him. The,
experience comes in handy because I want
to be a commercial artist," said the
16 -year-old resident:
•Schmidt has been volunteering at
Bluewater Centre since March of 1986. A
self -described artist, he conducts a class
for boys interested. in, painting. They are
currently working on several large murals
which, when completed, will hang on the
wails throughout the bui-lding. Some of the
painting are replicas of artwork that the
boys haVe submitted for approval.
"The time frame is the biggest problem.
It'seenis as if you just get Started and then
you have to clean up. Transfers and
releases also "affect the work," Schmidt
said, explaining that one of the murals cur-
' rently underway was drawn by ,a former
resident who began painting it but was
then transferred. "He'll never see ,it
finished," he said, although other boys are
working to finish it.
Curiosity often gets the better part' of
some of the boys who sign up for a pro-
gram, as one 17 -year-old resident said.
"This (the leather program) is the first
program I've taken. I heard some of the
other guys talking about it so I asked Jane
about it and she said she would be sending
out sign-up sheets. I signed up for leather
out of curiosity. I've never worked with
leather before so this is experimental. I'm
learning
something new,
he said, as he
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Gi)DERICH SIGNAL -STAR, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 1987—PAGE 3A
Volunteer Greg Schmidt and a Bluewater Centre resident work on a tre. When completed, many of the murals will be hung throughout
mural during the Wednesday night art and craft classes at the cen- the centre. (photo by Lou -Ann Hope)
worked on a belt for himself.
Del" Geddes conducts' the leather pro-
gram assisted by Beverly Dalton. The
boys can make such things as belts,
wallets and moccassins, or as Geddes
says, "anything to do with leather." •
Geddes became a volunteer because she
"thought she had something to offer to the
residents. '
"I acquired the skill of leatherwork that
I thought I could pass on to young people
and when they are released maybe they
would be able to use it."
• Many of the boys who have taken the
leather program have made items for
themselves as well as gifts for friends, like
the key chain one boy made for' his father's
birthday an d the belt he made 'for his
Volunteers make the difference
for,
offenders at Bluewater. Centre
;girlfriend.
The volunteer program has made a dif-
ference to the volunteers and the
residents. Through the programs, contact
with other people has helped to fill voids in
both of the groups lives. As volunteer
Marilyn McMahon says, "There are 'a lot
Of other things T want to do but this hais
become a priority."'
• from page 1
with the community • . This is done on a one-
a-one.basis on evenings and weekends;
(3)Tutoring •- Bluewater Secondary ,
School-- Volunteers aid Bluewater Secon-
dary School teaching staff by.providing 1-1 ,
tutoring to students who require help. Con-
ducted during school hours;
.(.4 )Tilitoring -- • Volunteers provide
assistance to those residents not involved .
in the School Program .and who request
special assistance. Conducted during-,
evenings and weekends;
'(5)Volunteer activity night — Volunteers
conduct art and craft activities on Tuesday
and Wednesday nights for interested
residents. Courses include leatherwork,
string • art, cooking, ceramics, board
'games, clay, painting and mosaic tiles.
Each activity specifies which level of point
system the resident must have attained to
be involved;
(6 )Alcoholics Anonymous — Regular .
meetings conducted on Monday. evenings
by AA 'members from the community.
Residents sign up ;through ,the volunteer'
co-ordinator and attend as long as they
choose;,
(7)Recreation — Currently being plann-
ed. Could include some type of fitness
.class. .
How residents take part in programs
Residents interested in taking part in
any program, sign. up for the program
when. the sign-up sheets are posted in the
housing units. To sign up for an activity,
the boy must Have attained the necessary
point level' to be admitted to the program.
"In order to give as many residents a
chance to participate as possible, we have
to use some kind of point system. It'
:doesn't take a lot of points for a boy to be
able to play a board game with a
.volunteer,'t Whitney said.
• Signing • up for a'" program is totally
• voluntary. Whitney noted that about 45
residents usually sign up for various pro-
grams. (Currently, the total number, of
residents is approximately 85.) Some boys
take the program again in the next session
due to interest or compatibility with the
volunteer. .
Whitney 'said the residents sign up for a
program based on an interest in the par-
ticular program, What they hear from
other residents who have taken a, program,
or what they hear•about the volunteer.
Often, the boys sign up for a program
because they find a person who cares
about. them and is willing to spend some
time with them.
"I witness,effective relationships form-
ed between' volunteers and residents.
because of the fact that the volunteers are
here because they want to be and the kids
pick that up on some level. It's an open-
. ended relationship.
"Often the volunteers underestimate the
importance of being a listener. For the
boys, being listened to is a real luxury. ---
The volunteers have to recognize that they
are making a valuable contribution in be-
ing a listener and role model: in being.
what they Ore," Wbit-ney said:
'If you are interested'in volunteering
"Currently,.we are trying to increase the
program. I have a solid core of volunteers
(original volunteers 'from March 1986+tind
September 1986). There is now enough
strength and resourcefulness in that grouli
that they can now start to help me train
new people," Whitney said.
Whitney's goal .is to eventually have
enough volunteers to equal the number of
residents. Currently, there are' 42
volunteers compared to approximately 85
• residents.
If you are interested in becoming a
volunteer or learning more about the
volunteer program, call Jane Whitney at
524-2107. •
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