Mexico School District #59

Volunteering Comes From the Heart
By: Christine Harper

            You have heard many times that in a school district, it takes a village.  And it truly does.  From parents to teachers to secretaries to custodians and everyone in between, it takes all of us to make the system work.  The volunteers that come into our buildings to work with kids, be a mentor, help teachers, whatever role they fill are an integral part of that village.  “Those who can do, do.  Those who can do more, volunteer.”

            There are many ways someone can volunteer with Mexico Public Schools.  MPS has a great partnership with Bright Futures and through Bright Futures, there is the Lunch Buddy Program.  You can sign up to be a Lunch Buddy at any school in the district.  There is a simple application and a basic background check and you’re in.  You will then get paired with a student and at least once a month, you come and have lunch with your Lunch Buddy.  We have several Lunch Buddy volunteers that have been with their student since day one of the program and absolutely love it.  If you are interested in something like this, contact Lori at Central Office at 581-3773.

Another volunteer opportunity is the Oasis Intergenerational Tutoring Program, which was implemented last year at McMillan, Hawthorne, and Eugene Field.  This requires a little more of a time commitment on the volunteer’s part.  It is once a week for an hour, and you would be working one-on-one with a kiddo in reading.  Oasis provides the training and there is more of a background check that has to be done, but what an opportunity!  We are blessed to have Oasis Tutors helping our students in reading.  If you are interested in something like this, contact Amanda Plybon at [email protected].