YouthFriends Share Volunteer Experiences
By Tiffany Thomas & Sherry Pruter
Learning how to interact with children is an experience many students at Lyons High School have the opportunity to get involved in through YouthFriends Corp. YouthFriends is an LHS class that allows high school students to go into an elementary classroom and work with children in many different areas and a variety of subjects. YouthFriends not only gives high school students a great opportunity to work with children, but volunteers can also list their hours as community service when applying for scholarships.
“It makes me feel warm and fuzzy to be able to help students with groups, activities and even with social skills,” Senior Angela Martinez said.
Martinez helps in several different areas including library, recess, and math in Mrs. Tina Ludwig’s first grade classroom at Central School. Martinez particularly enjoys teaching students who struggle with comprehension how to read better.
Even though Youth Corp. at the high school is a pass/fail class, this experience is invaluable for the students, allowing them the opportunity to build bonds with elementary children, and helps them to feel good about themselves as well.
“My interaction with children and helping them learn makes me happy,” Senior Ashli Tucker said. “I love to encourage them to learn and achieve goals.”
Marian Poe and Valerie Orth, YouthFriend Coordinators, try to place students in 
the area the students are most interested in. Senior Allie Dwyer was considering Speech Language Pathology as a career option upon graduation, and was placed with Laura Sandbo, USD 405 Speech Language Pathologist, where she has the opportunity to work with speech students at Park Elementary School.
“When she [Dwyer] has been around my kids, she appears comfortable and easy with them,” Sandbo said. “She has observed a couple of evaluations of students and tells me what she notices, asks how I qualify students, and seems genuinely interested in what I do. I think Allie will make a great SLP should she choose to pursue it as a career.”
Although it was just a career option she was considering, the experience Dwyer received helped her to confirm her vocational choice. “Because of this experience, now I feel really confident in my decision to become a Speech-Language Pathologist,” Dwyer said.
Senior Caitlin Ferguson also decided which level she wanted to teach at based on her YouthFriends experience. “YouthFriends made me decide I want to teach first grade because the students at that level are full of life, energy and always ready to learn!”
Other skills the Youth Corp volunteers learn are responsibility and social skills. They treat Youth Friends as a “job” and call in sick or let the school or
teacher know when they are unable to come. Volunteers must complete an application complete with background check, provide references and are required to attend a leadership and life skills training if accepted into the program. Students learn to reach goals and are more willing to work with kids and help them succeed.
Transitioning from junior high to high school can be intimidating for some students, and YouthFriends volunteers also help them with that transition.
“Since I work with the eighth grade, I get the opportunity to inspire students to prepare for high school and show them that high school can be fun,” Senior Evan Barber said.
Another area of YouthFriends is with Adult volunteers. Coordinators are able to connect young people one-on-one with caring adult volunteers in the elementary or high schools. If patrons in the community are interested in becoming a Youth Friend at either level, contact Marian Poe at taxladypoe@aol.com, or call 620-204-0853 (office).
Whether it’s when you receive compliments from a younger student, or how your YouthFriend makes you smile, high school students and adult volunteers have the opportunity to not only make a difference in someone else’s life, but receive a blessing themselves.
“One of the best things about being a YouthFriend is watching students thrive in their potential throughout the year,” Junior Tiffany Thomas said. “I definitely recommend this organization to anyone who enjoys (or thinks they might enjoy) working with kids!”
