Reading has always been an important part of Patti Mottler’s life — and she’s thrilled to be able to share it with her third- grade Reading Buddy. Mottler is a Centralia resident who volunteers with the United Way’s Reading Buddies program. The program teams adult volunteers with elementary-aged students in Thurston, Lewis and Mason County schools.
Mottler is in her second year participating as a Reading Buddy at Jefferson-Lincoln Elementary School in Centralia. In that time, she’s mentored four different students in the school’s Reading Buddies program, working with them for an hour a day, twice a week after school.
According to Mottler, children participate in the program for different reasons. For example, one girl she worked with was an ESL student who needed to brush up on her English reading skills. Another needed to develop more self-confidence for reading aloud. A third child was a decent reader, but just didn’t enjoy it much.
Mottler notes that teachers set the goals for each student in the program, but the mentors have a lot of input, as well.
“If we notice something that needs attention, we just talk to the teacher,” she said. “The teachers are wonderful to work with. They are so nice. I think elementary school teachers are just the best.”
Volunteers may take different approaches to working with the students based on a child’s needs. For example, one mentor may have a child read aloud to him or her, while another may read along with the child.
Mottler has done a lot of volunteer work throughout her life, including serving as a court appointed special advocate (CASA) for abused and neglected children in King County for eight years. She now volunteers with Our Literacy Council and tutors ESL students at Centralia College.
Helping kids read is very close to her heart.
“Reading has been a lifelong passion of mine,” Mottler shared. “Every week, my sister would take me to the library, and I’d come home with a stack of seven or eight books. I always had my nose in a book, but it helped me learn what the world was like outside of my little capsule. I want the kids I work with to know that, too.”
Mottler, who will begin working in May as the new volunteer coordinator for Our Literacy Council, believes literacy is very important, and that it is necessary to lay the proper foundation for reading in the early grades.
“If you can’t read, you’re going to have trouble accomplishing anything,” she said, adding, “I am actively convinced illiteracy is at the root of all of the world’s problems.”
Mottler feels her passion for reading played a huge role in the adult she became.
“Books saved me,” she recalled. “I was a latchkey kid. My parents dropped out of school early and had kids. They scrambled to make ends meet, and they had no time to spend reading. My extended family all lived the same way. If I hadn’t had books, I would have ended up like that, too.”
Currently, the United Way’s Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) is seeking volunteer Reading Buddies as part of a national movement to recruit more than one million buddies, tutors, and mentors.
According to United Way RSVP literature, “Volunteers support teachers who must provide quality education to greater numbers of students per classroom by helping students who may be struggling to read at grade level or that simply require more one-on-one skill building time.”
The Reading Buddies program asks for a one-hour per week commitment from volunteers, although they may opt to do more. Orientation is provided.
Jennifer Thompson is the Thurston County United Way RSVP Volunteer Coordinator and she’s heading up the program in Lewis County schools. Those interested in volunteering can contact her at jthompson@unitedway-thurston.org, or by calling 360-943-2773 extension 21.
“All you really need is to be able to read,” Mottler said of volunteering. “There’s such a need for this work.”
According to Mottler, even working with a student an hour per week can have a significant impact. She believes reading opens doors to new worlds for children, and she’s thrilled she has the opportunity to help make reading part of their lives.
“If I can help just one kid realize how important it is, then I’m happy,” she notes. “I want to help them understand they can do anything if they know how to read. They can be anything. They can go anywhere.”