April 28, 2017

National Volunteer Appreciation Week Reflections

Volunteers are a vital part of our daily lives here at Mercy Home for Boys & Girls. Without our tutors, mentors and special event volunteers, we would not be able to do the work that we do in order to ensure that we are giving our young people the best possible care.

This is National Volunteer Appreciation Week, and I have had the pleasure of reconnecting with our volunteers and discussing how important their role is to our mission and how very much we all appreciate them and the time that they take from their busy lives to give back to the community. Specifically choosing to spend that time helping the young people at Mercy Home has been humbling and rewarding for us all.

I spoke to several of our tutors this week, and asked them about some of the challenges that have come up during their tutoring sessions this school year. Although each tutoring experience is unique, the challenges are met with understanding and enthusiasm by all of our tutors. It is not an easy task to juggle schedules and ensure that all of our youth will be ready for their sessions. Our young people have so much going on after school, from sporting events to after school jobs and appointments, that homework and study time is not always met with the same enthusiasm that our tutors have upon their arrival. Yet, our tutors have special ways of making homework fun and rewarding for each child.

One of our tutors, Patrick, told me that his tutee was not always happy about homework sessions, as he was not doing very well in some of his classes. But, as soon as our young man began to get A’s on homework assignments and tests, he began to see how working with a tutor completely changed his school experience. Through Patrick’s perseverance and understanding, homework and tutoring sessions are now met with eagerness and excitement for getting to that next academic level. All of our tutors have had similar circumstances and outcomes.

We wish to thank all of our volunteers who have changed the lives of our young people in a variety of different ways! You are appreciated and loved!