COURTNEY MCCLURE The Standard
UXBRIDGE: Do you have all of the mandatory volunteer hours you need to graduate high school? If not, the Uxbridge Public Library has a great opportunity for teens to earn some volunteer hours!
Join the library this September and Novemeber for the Fall Reading Buddies program. The program is run by staff at the Uxbridge Library, including Andrea Stewart. Teens will be paired with a student in Grade 1, 2 or 3. The younger students are called “Little Buddies” while the teens are called “Big Buddies.”
A major benefit of the program, according to Ms. Stewart, is teens can earn some of their required high school community service hours.
“It’s exciting to see many of our volunteers were Little Buddies in the program when they were younger themselves,” said Ms. Stewart.
She said the library has been “lucky” with the response they have received from interested teens.
“In the past year I have been running the program we have had more volunteers than we need for each of the sessions,” explained Ms. Stewart.
Some volunteers continue to come back long after they have received their required community service hours.
“We are lucky to have such dedicated and enthusiastic teenagers here in Uxbridge!” she said.
Typically, Ms. Stewart runs the program with 11 teenage volunteers during each session. Groups have two options for the program, one sessions starts on Tuesday, September 26th and ends on November 14th. And the second session starts on Thursday, September 28th and ends on November 16th. Both sessions start at 3:45 p.m. and end at 5:15 p.m each Tuesday and Thursday respectively.
Ms. Stewart explained the time commitment for this program is 1.5 hours (an hour and a half) per week. The program is eight weeks. There will be a one hour orientation session, too. So, the teens will earn 13 hours for each session.
“During our session our Buddies really seem to bond with each other,” explained Ms. Stewart. “So, we make an effort to match [a Big Buddy] with a Little Buddy who may have similar interests.”
Staff at the library also focus on making the sessions fun and educational for participants. Ms. Stewart said they strive to make sure both the Big and Little Buddies look forward to attending each week.
“I've had many volunteers share their pleasure in seeing the improvement their Little Buddies have made during the session,” said Ms. Stewart. [The teens] are able to build confidence within themselves through that process as well.”
This program has been happening at the library for many years. Although they took a “short break” for the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Ms. Stewart.
The library runs this program three times a year, during the fall, winter and spring. If you are interested in the Fall Reading Buddies program, please contact Andrew Stewart by email at andrea.stewart@uxlib.com directly. She will guide any potential volunteers through the application process.