Volunteen Project a real "eye opener"!

With Susanne Magyar-Chapiel are (L to R) LPM's Youth Advisory Council members Courtney Hill, Lindsay Kavalench, Marianna Boukailo, Tara Maltman. Missing: Kiera Pannel and Inez Okanovic.

LPM's first Youth Advisory Council members all agreed that their volunteering experience was richly rewarding. Their orientation to LPM and literacy as a social issue was a real “eye opener” for all of them, said Susanne Magyar-Chapiel (Volunteen Coordinator).

Initially, the group held a lengthy discussion on several literacy-related questions such as what is your definition of literacy, why do some teens and adults have trouble with reading and writing, what percentage of Canadians have low literacy skills, and is literacy essential in today’s society.

Meeting the Learner Speakers

After reviewing the LPM information kit and meeting with Marg Rose and Bunny Cobb, the students listened to members of the Learners Speakers’ Bureau. “You are the most courageous group of people I have ever met,” said Kiera Pannell (Silver Heights Collegiate) when thanking them for sharing their stories.

“Meeting them definitely had the greatest impact on all of us,” added Courtney Hill (Silver Heights Collegiate). “The way they talked about how they were able to change their lives was really moving. We all developed a greater understanding of the many problems they faced and the ways in which literacy helped improve their lives. It gave us the feeling that by volunteering we could make a difference.”

“I learned that illiteracy wears many faces; that it does not discriminate to a particular culture, age, gender or social status,” added Lindsay Kavalench (Silver Heights). “And I recognized that LPM is an organization that clearly represents hope and the chance of a better life for thousands of Canadians.”

In subsequent meetings the group worked towards developing a number of youth oriented recruiting tools including a volunteer application form, a recruiting poster, and several volunteer job descriptions. As well, the team members discussed and came up with an orientation program geared towards youth and a list of recommendations for volunteer recognition ideas.

The poster went into production in late June. “Distribution will be primarily to all Winnipeg area high schools, as well as places we thought youth would most likely spot them,” said Marianna Boukailo (Miles MacDonnell Collegiate). “We decided two posters for every high school, as well as posters for community and recreation centres, public pools, malls, coffee shops, book stores, libraries, colleges and universities.”

The Youth Volunteer Application form and a number of youth volunteer job descriptions were completed early in the project, and were posted on the LPM website and the Volunteer Centre’s “Volunteer Opportunities Exchange” site http://www.voe-reb.org/

Council members also spent time discussing a possible mascot for LPM. “We had great fun coming up with the mascot ideas,” said Lindsay. “Our favorite was the Literacy Lion, but we also came up with the Spelling Bee, a character like Miss Frizzle from the Magic School Bus books, and the Literacy Wizard.” (One student volunteered to be LPM’s first mascot – provided she didn’t have to wear a bee costume!)

Recommendations

The council members also came up with a list of recommendations regarding volunteer recognition for youth, including individual letters of reference outlining the work done by the volunteer, certificates indicating number of hours donated or special project worked on, group events like lunch at a restaurant or a pizza party, useful items such as day timers, pens, gift certificates, and souvenirs such as t-shirts, photos or a poster.

Satisfaction of Volunteering

The council members wrapped up their work on Friday June 2^nd with a special hour-long presentation to LPM staff and their teachers, followed by lunch at a nearby restaurant.

“Overall, this experience was immensely worthwhile and I hope to continue volunteering at LPM next year,” said Tara Maltman (Transcona Collegiate). “ I want to increase awareness of literacy issues at my school.”

“It’s hard to believe we could accomplish so much in so little time, but we did it,” says Magyar-Chapiel. “The key to our success was the quality of students I was able to recruit. All were exceptional, hard-working students, so once they understood what we wanted to do, there was no stopping them.”

Visit the LPM website to hear and read what each of the students said about their overall experience.