Local senior lends skills to Head Start Program, quality time spent together great for toddlers and elders alike
By Theron Larkins
Special to the Pioneer Times
HOULTON — As northern Maine infants continue to age through Aroostook County Action Program’s Child and Family Services Head Start, so do a few select senior citizens who may be striving to fill some kind of void in their life. Under the auspices of ACAP’s Foster Grandparent Program, caring community members are offering a helpful hand and years of experience to the classroom and Head Start children benefit from some extra comfort and one-on-one attention.
Contributed photo/Theron Larkins
Houlton’s Lester Burns spends several hours of quality time each week at the Aroostook County Action Program Head Start Center on North Street as a Foster Grandparent. The agency invites other area seniors to participate in the rewarding volunteer support role as a mentor to a young child.
Currently the only volunteer working in the program throughout all of Aroostook County is an influential man named Lester Burns.
Burns began volunteering for the program a few months ago, but it only took a few days before all the 2-year-olds knew his name and found their eyes lighting up whenever he entered the room. “At first the process was slightly overwhelming,” admitted Burns, “but after overcoming the overwhelming care required for these children I began to learn how to react to the children’s needs.”
Burns has been working five hours a day for four days a week. This schedule may seem slightly strenuous, but the satisfaction Burns claims to receive from volunteering with the children is well worth the time spent. The volunteer’s philosophy when it comes to dealing with the children is the idea that there is no such thing as a bad child. “Positive actions produce positive results,” he said.
ACAP Child and Family Services staff members greatly appreciate senior volunteers like Burns, and would love to see more grandparents participating in the program. The volunteers do not only benefit the children, and aid the staff at ACAP, but the grandparents may be able to find a great sense of satisfaction from working with the young children.
Those interested in sharing their time and talents with area Head Start children are encouraged to contact any of the Aroostook County offices of ACAP at 1-800-424-8867. Pamphlets are also being handed out at Ricker Plaza Housing for the Elderly and at the ACAP Center on North Street.
Volunteers can also contact the Penquis County Action Program offices at 1-800-215-4942, extension 684, and simply ask for Cindy Whitney.
“The grandparents receive just as much as they give, simply by the warmth they receive from the children’s hearts and their sheer loving actions,” Burns said. He would also love to see other grandparents who may need to either fill a void, or simply feel the warmth that radiates from these children’s hearts.
“Give the program a try,” Burns added.
