Volunteers wanted: School group matches tutors' skills with kids

When her youngest daughter began first grade last August, stay-at-home mom Jenny Cooley knew she was going to have time on her hands.

So when a friend asked if she would be interested in volunteering at a local school, she decided it would be worthwhile.

Cooley spends one day a week at Margaret R. Brown Elementary School in Seymour, helping students with reading.

She started volunteering in October, and she feels like she’s making progress.

“I’ve noticed improvement in their fluency, and they enjoy reading to me,” Cooley said of the two girls she tutors. “It’s awesome to hear them sound out a word and get it right all by themselves.”

The Reading Forward program, overseen by READ Jackson County and AmeriCorps, is one of several local opportunities for adults to experience the personal rewards of volunteering in schools and to help make a difference in a child’s life.

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