I am an armchair activist. I’ll write letters, make donations and sign pledges, but as far as actually going out and doing something I have fallen short. This is partly because of all of the years I worked at a job that required a lot of business travel, when I couldn’t commit to a regular schedule of anything. I never signed up for a class, a volunteer gig, or, well, anything. Nothing, nada, zip. Retirement, thus far, has been…busy. But I know I’ll have to figure this out eventually, and understand that whatever organization I decide to give my time to is not going to let me run the place, which is usually what I try to do. Or worse, maybe they WILL let me run the place. Thinking like this makes me go back to writing letters, making donations and signing pledges.
My husband, on the other hand, has chosen to make a difference. For the past several years he has donated his time to SOWMA, School on Wheels of Massachusetts, where he volunteers by tutoring homeless children in a local shelter. The kids can be there for a semester, a month, or a year, depending on their family situation. As soon as they leave the shelter they no longer have this resource, but while they are there this dedicated group of tutors makes a huge difference in these kid’s lives. It can be a difficult process. For instance, we learned math very differently than they teach it today. My eyes crossed when Steve tried to explain it to me. And the kids he tutors are all ages, from kindergarten to high school. He has to be ready for anything. I know I couldn’t do it. And the results they have achieved have been outstanding. For the first time this year one of their students graduated college.
This video shows a bit about the program and has several shots of Steve and one of his students working at the Harbor House homeless shelter in New Bedford. Cheryl Opper, Founder and Executive Director of School on Wheels, says they are tackling poverty, one student at a time. My husband is helping. I couldn’t be prouder.
