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Making time for the children By Michelle Martin When it comes to the difficult tasks of opening lunch packages and cutting up their food, the preschoolers at St. Maria Goretti Children’s Center don’t have to look far for help. Senior citizens from the parish make time every day to help the children with breakfast and lunch, and they also make time to share stories, play and talk with the children. “They’re a very big help,” said Dorothy Nasti, the center’s director. “They help serve meals, but they also get involved with the children.” And the volunteers say they get as much out of their time at the center as the children. Florence Hadamik, 76, and Jeanne Reither, 77, both spend about two hours at the center every weekday, helping prepare, serve and clean up after lunch. Both grandmothers began volunteering about two years ago, looking for something to do after major changes in their lives. Hadamik began working at the center after being widowed. She wanted to find a volunteer position that would get her out of the house and involved with people. Volunteering with the kids seemed like the perfect opportunity, she said. “All my life I worked, and somebody else took care of my children,” she said. “This is just paying back. They’re like my own little children. I like to goof around with them. When they hurt, I hug them and kiss the boo-boo.” Reither was looking for a way to stay active after she retired from a career as an office manager. “I’ll tell you, I retired, and I found out I was missing something,” Reither said. “I decided to go out and find something to do. Now I miss them when I’m not with them.” The children also miss their friends when they are not there. “If someone isn’t here, the children always ask, ‘Where’s Florence? Where’s Jeanne?’” Nasti said. The children’s center opened about four years ago, and it has used senior citizen volunteers from the parish since its inception. The center provides day care for about 17 3- to 5-year-olds, plus summer day camps and activities for school-age children during school breaks. Most of the children come from the parish, but not all, Nasti said. In addition to serving the lunches provided by an archdiocesan food service program, the two cook for the children in the summer—mostly simple, child-friendly fare like hot dogs, macaroni and cheese or pizza. Breakfast volunteers serve foods like cereal, toaster waffles and other easy-to-make foods the children like. Having the seniors there helps stretch the children’s center budget, Nasti said, and it seems like a match made in heaven. The retirees have time to spend with children, and the children love to spend time with them. “It seems like they can sit back and enjoy the children, and not worry so much about what they should be doing all the time,” Nasti said. “They accept them for who they are.”
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