Before volunteering as a Foster Grandparent, Eleanor Rodney said she sat home, crocheted and cleaned house. Now, she volunteers at the Endicott Children’s Center Head Start. Eleanor says, “I’m very glad I got into the Foster Grandparent Program and Head Start. I feel more alive now. Even when I come home I do more. The children give you a lot of energy and a lot of love.”

 

Pat Pratt, a Foster Grandparent in a first grade classroom in Roosevelt Elementary School, says becoming a Foster Grandparent has changed her life, too. Pat says, “I feel happier, more confident. I didn’t go out a lot and felt lonely. I don’t feel lonely anymore.” Pat has found that a person’s age is a state of mind. Since she’s been working with children she feels young again. Pat says what she enjoys most is each child and their individual personalities. She says they are each unique and “as different as night and day.”

 

Marie Wesser had been retired only a week when she applied to be a Foster Grandparent. She knew she needed something to feel useful. Now a Foster Grandparent volunteer in Kindergarten in the Thomas Jefferson Elementary School in Binghamton, Marie says being a Foster Grandparent “has given my life meaning.” She enjoys the affection the children give her and says, “You can feel the love.”

 

Sixty-two Foster Grandparents volunteer in schools, Head Start programs and daycare centers throughout Broome County. Foster Grandparents work directly with children doing things like reading stories, helping with academic work, playing games and listening to—and talking with—children. In general, they give the extra love, support and attention children need to succeed. Foster Grandparents receive an hourly stipend, mileage reimbursement, a meal at their volunteer site, ongoing training and lives that are enriched. If you are interested in becoming a Foster Grandparent please call 778-2089. (Applicants must be 55 or over and meet income guidelines.) There’s more information at http://www.gobroomecounty.com/senior/fgp/.