Project Report
| Jan 10, 2013
Lunch Buddy Program
By Linda Parsons | Program Coordinator
January 2013 has brought a renewed interest in volunteering. We started the year with several new potential Lunch Buddy volunteers and are hoping to gain even more interested adults with the publication of articles in the Milwaukie Pilot newsletter and the Happy Valley newsletter about the great work our program does in our community.
We are currently serving 65 children in 15 different North Clackamas elementary schools. There are children on waiting lists in every school so we are hoping to reach at least 85-90 volunteers by the end of the 2012-2013 school year.
A Principal at one of the schools we serve recently said, "the studens at our school that are lucky enough to have a Lunch Buddy benefit greatly from the relationship they develop with a caring adult mentor. It is a joy to see the faces of our studens light up when their Buddy arrives for lunch, often bringing with them a craft project, or game to complete with their student. Some of these relationships last throughout the student's elementary school experience, and by the end of that journey, the buddy is really more like family. Our studens learn ad grow from the guidance, patience and focused attention of these caring volunteers. We couldn't ask for better relationships, we would only ask for more volunteers, as we have a very long wiating list of studens who are hoping to be partnered up soon!"
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Oct 25, 2012
Lunch Buddy Program
By Linda Parsons | Program Coordinator
This is the 20th year of the North Clackamas Lunch Buddy program and we have hit the school year running! We had very few adult Buddies leave the program after last school year and we've gotten all of the remaining adult Buddies rematched either with their previous Buddy or a new one. We also have 17 new adults in various stages of being screened and trained to be Lunch Buddy mentors. We have Lunch Buddies meeting in 14 elementary schools and 1 middle school in North Clackamas.
An exciting trend this Fall is that the majority of our new adult mentors are men. They are being matched up with boys around the district, many of whom have been in need of extra support since last school year. Both the adults and the children seem to be thrilled with their new friend. Seeing the look on a child's face when they meet their new Buddy for the first time is typically priceless. Children are so excited to have one-on-one support and attention from a caring, consistent adult. The adults have seemed equally enthralled with this new young person who is soaking up their attention and reminding them what it is like to be a kid again.
There are children at every elementary school that could benefit from a positive adult in their lives. Not only are we always seeking additional adult mentors but we are a privately funded program that contracts with the North Clackamas School District. The number of children we can serve each year is limited to the amount of money we are able to raise to keep this very worthy program going.
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Aug 7, 2012
Lunch Buddy recap for 2011-2012 School Year
By Linda Parsons | Program Coordinator
The North Clackamas Lunch Buddy Program enjoyed another successful year for the 2011-2012 school year. We had 82 Lunch Buddy matches this year and that was with one less grade (6th) than we had the previous school year. We are hoping to reach 90 mentor matches for the 2012-2013 school year.
On June 1st, we had a very exciting End of Year celebration carnival for all of the children and their Lunch Buddies. Everyone had a fun filled time and it was a great way to say good bye for the summer or permanently if the child was moving on to Middle School this year.
The Lunch Buddy program continues to match adult volunteers with deserving North Clackamas Elementary School students. The pairs spend one lunch hour a week together for a minimum of one school year and the adult is able to provide friendship, support and positive role modeling to a child who may not be getting these things outside of their school day.
If you are interested in being a Lunch Buddy mentor, please contact Linda Parsons at lunchbuddy@nclack.k12.or.us.
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