-Martin Luther King
Deirdre, 54, a Swansea native, works full time. Since her children are now grown up and on their own, Deirdre has been thinking about how she might be able to give more of her time to her community, not knowing exactly where she was needed or what she would do. She was open to volunteering, and an opportunity came along that fit perfectly. SMILES, a mentoring agency based in New Bedford, matches adult volunteer “mentors” with school-aged “mentees” to spend time together during the school-week, in a supervised setting.
Although the time commitment adds up to just a little more than one hour a week, including driving back and forth to Hayden-MacFadden, the elementary school where Deirdre mentors, the rewards filter throughout the rest of Deirdre’s week. “I wake up and think, ahh, Friday (her day to mentor at Hayden MacFadden). I get one hour of sweetness in my work week.” The sweetness comes in the form of an eight-year old girl, a vivacious third grader; for the majority of the hour Deirdre and the girl take turns reading to each other.
“What I love about SMILES is that it’s highly organized. They are so prepared. It’s all about the child; the whole 45 minutes, it’s just for me and her.” Deirdre had to go through initial training that explained the role of the mentors, as well as the boundaries set by SMILES. For example, SMILES provides every child with a gift of a book, and they discourage outside gifts from mentors – they want to keep everything equal. Should a mentor and mentee feel that they want to spend more time together, say at a baseball game or a family barbecue, and forge a longer-term connection, SMILES and the Big Brother/Big Sister program collaborates to make that happen, with the stipulation of additional training.
When Deirdre relocated for work last year, away from Swansea and into the city, she noticed, “a higher number of children apparently on their own,” and “moms looking tired.” Having been a mother of three young children herself, she had empathy for that particular dilemma. “Everyone has something to give,” she says. “I love that SMILES is one on one. You really do feel like you’re making a difference. At the end of the session, when the kids line up to go, you get that one last look from your child – it just brightens your day.”
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