IHN Volunteer Stories: Renee
Lake Edge member Renee Sutkay shares her story of volunteering for the first time with her son Reinaldo
Reinaldo and I agreed to volunteer for an hour and a half supervising children who participate in The Road Home program the day they arrived at our church. The task seemed a bit daunting, and on the ride to the church I asked Naldo what we would do with so many kids of varying ages for that time period. He didn't seem to know any more than I! I haven't been around small kids for some time now so I was a little apprehensive. However, I trusted they would lead me with their interests and that Naldo and I could manage it. We even brought a few games from home along, just in case.
At first the kids were fairly wild, running around, being introduced to us, and unsure of what it would mean to spend time with us. But boy were they eager to find out! They showed no signs of shyness and came along without difficulty.
They settled nicely into playing with one another and the toys with intermittent periods of running, screaming, fighting, getting angry with each other, running out of the room, jumping over the couches, throwing things, and generally being kids with LOTS of pent up energy!!!! That being said, I thought the kids were fabulous.... busy, hyper, active, some a bit rowdy - yes.... all of the above... but given their circumstances and that they just moved in there that day, I thought they were a lovely group of kids....they seemed to LOVE the 1:1 attention and the boys - especially - LOVED Naldo's attention... They all sat and put Legos together... were they perfect? No. But they were really enthralled by having Naldo's attention... and it gave him an opportunity to have to take the lead with kids who threw some curve balls his way.
When we left - Naldo asked right away if we could do this again soon....
I work in child protective services (including foster care) and the issues these kiddos deal with are right up my alley.... so it was fine... no surprises....By virtue of living with me, Naldo has heard many stories about children and how their life circumstances can effect their behavior. He has a pretty good handle on staying calm and not being reactive. As a result, he did an excellent job of getting through the chaotic times and focusing on playing and helping the boys negotiate whatever drama was playing out at the moment.
All I know is that we both left there feeling like we had a great time....and we'd love to do it again!
What it's really like to volunteer with IHN
Audrey's Story
Janet's Story
Nicole's Story
Scott's Story
History of IHN at Lake Edge
Reinaldo and I agreed to volunteer for an hour and a half supervising children who participate in The Road Home program the day they arrived at our church. The task seemed a bit daunting, and on the ride to the church I asked Naldo what we would do with so many kids of varying ages for that time period. He didn't seem to know any more than I! I haven't been around small kids for some time now so I was a little apprehensive. However, I trusted they would lead me with their interests and that Naldo and I could manage it. We even brought a few games from home along, just in case.
At first the kids were fairly wild, running around, being introduced to us, and unsure of what it would mean to spend time with us. But boy were they eager to find out! They showed no signs of shyness and came along without difficulty.
They settled nicely into playing with one another and the toys with intermittent periods of running, screaming, fighting, getting angry with each other, running out of the room, jumping over the couches, throwing things, and generally being kids with LOTS of pent up energy!!!! That being said, I thought the kids were fabulous.... busy, hyper, active, some a bit rowdy - yes.... all of the above... but given their circumstances and that they just moved in there that day, I thought they were a lovely group of kids....they seemed to LOVE the 1:1 attention and the boys - especially - LOVED Naldo's attention... They all sat and put Legos together... were they perfect? No. But they were really enthralled by having Naldo's attention... and it gave him an opportunity to have to take the lead with kids who threw some curve balls his way.
When we left - Naldo asked right away if we could do this again soon....
I work in child protective services (including foster care) and the issues these kiddos deal with are right up my alley.... so it was fine... no surprises....By virtue of living with me, Naldo has heard many stories about children and how their life circumstances can effect their behavior. He has a pretty good handle on staying calm and not being reactive. As a result, he did an excellent job of getting through the chaotic times and focusing on playing and helping the boys negotiate whatever drama was playing out at the moment.
All I know is that we both left there feeling like we had a great time....and we'd love to do it again!
What it's really like to volunteer with IHN
Audrey's Story
Janet's Story
Nicole's Story
Scott's Story
History of IHN at Lake Edge