Volunteering the past 11 years as the Kids Hope USA Director and a mentor at Carlson Elementary School has been so rewarding! It has given our Kids Hope Team an amazing opportunity to be engaged in our community, partner with a local school and its staff, and build life-changing relationships with students at the school.
It might look like we are just playing games, reading books together and talking, but there is so much more to it than this! My student, who I’ve been mentoring for the past five years, knows that I am in her corner! I am there on the best of days and on the days that she struggles. We have built a relationship, and she knows that she is deeply cared about. This didn’t happen overnight; it was a process.
I recently read a children’s book called “Have You Filled a Bucket Today” by Carol McCloud. The gist of it is…when you care about others and show that love by the kind things you say and do, you help “fill their bucket”! And you know what else? When you do this, YOU feel good and fill your own bucket too! It’s a win-win! I can only hope that my student’s bucket overflows…just like my bucket does!!
-Lori Cruden