“Thank you”

Last Monday, the long-awaited, much-anticipated literacy tutoring program – Let’s Read! – began.  What six months ago was merely a dream finally took place at the Stedwick Community Center: thirteen families – mostly Latinx, mostly from the Watkins Mill Elementary School zone, and mostly not sure what to expect – arrived with their bright-eyed 2nd graders in tow.  After checking in and getting a snack, each of these 7- and 8-year-olds received a full hour of one-on-one tutoring from an adult volunteer in the community, a stranger they had never met.  It was awkward at first, for both student and tutor, but with a commonly understood mission – learning how to read – each pair wasted no time in getting started on their short vowel sounds: “a-e-i-o-u.”

And once again, I heard a quiet but now familiar refrain among the parents, heard when we first contacted them, reiterated when they registered, and now repeated as they watched a middle-aged or retired volunteer giving their child their undivided attention.  It went something like this: “thank you.”  It wasn’t the ‘thank you’ you hear at the end of a business transaction which basically translates: “are we done here?”  Nor was it the sort of ‘thank you’ heard when a door is held open for someone which means “I realize you’re going out of your way and I feel obligated to acknowledge as much.”  No, this was a different ‘thank you’ altogether.  It was a carefully thought out and unhurried ‘thank you’ that unmistakably communicated “I really, really appreciate what you’re doing here and am humbled to be a part of it.”  The same feeling shared by the volunteers, the staff, and director: what an honor to be investing in these precious lives.

And so, dear supporter, tutor, donor, reader, helper, whoever you are and however you have contributed to this pilot project, I pass on this humble expression from the parents’ lips to the deserving recipients in our GGC community that have given and I know will be giving so much this year: thank you!  You’re making a difference.

Comment(1)

  1. Silvia says

    WHAT A GREAT PROGRAM FOR OUR WATKINS MILL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL COMMUNITY!! MALLI THANKS FOR PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER!! AND ALL THE REST OF THE VOLUNTEERS, THANK YOU!! FOR MAKING IT POSSIBLE!! NORM AND MS. ELSIE, YOU TWO ARE A TRUE BLESSING FOR OUR COMMUNITY! THANK YOU!!

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