The L.O.V.E. Letter ~ No. 17

The Newsletter of Project L.O.V.E. ~ Fall 2004 ~ PO Box 2000 Charlottetown PE C1A 7N8
Telephone 368-4695 Fax 368-3269. Toll Free 1-866-741-5683 Email: peivol@isn.net Home Page: www.nald.ca/peivol

BOASTing about this thing called L.O.V.E.!

Project L.O.V.E. stands for Let Older Volunteers Educate, and is our elementary school project. BOAST stands for Bringing Older Adults and Students Together, and we find BOAST volunteers in intermediate and high schools.

In 37 schools across PEI, more than 270 very committed (mainly retired) older volunteers help students with their school work in various areas. In the elementary program, help is usually in that most important area, reading.

L.O.V.E. Volunteers go to their school once a week, spending between an hour and a whole morning or afternoon in the school.

They usually help one student at a time, listening and coaching them with words, reading aloud to model good pronunciation and expression for them, helping with classroom projects or to get caught up on missed assignments.

BOAST Volunteers are more flexible - some visit the school once a week, while others work on short-term projects, which may involve more visits over a shorter period of time. The volunteer work is usually focussed on the areas of expertise of the volunteer.

Teachers whose students work with the Project L.O.V.E. and BOAST volunteers all agree: Their students benefit greatly from this help, gaining selfconfidence through the interest shown in them by the volunteers.

Education Minister Dover speaks at June Luncheon

The Hon. Mildred Dover. Minister of Education, spoke at the June Luncheon and also presented our 10- year volunteers with plaques honouring their stellar service to Project L.O.V.E.

In her remarks, Minister Dover told LOVE volunteers:

“ Thank you for inviting me to join you today. I’ve heard nothing but great things about Project L.O.V.E, and I’m glad to finally have this opportunity to meet you and learn more about your work.

“ I want to begin by saying thank you for giving your time and expertise to this very worthy project.

“ Project L.O.V.E. benefits many people in very important ways. It helps children feel good about themselves and confident about their ability to learn. It also lets them experience the joy of reading through quiet comforting moments with a special friend.

“ It provides older persons with opportunities to spend time with children, and to share the wealth of experiential wisdom you’ve gained through your own experiences as parents and teachers.

“ Current research on early literacy confirms the thinking we’ve had for many years: that a child’s ability to read is a powerful indicator of that child’s ability to succeed in school and in life.

“ Overcoming difficulties with reading in the early grades can make a world of difference for a young child, in terms of how they understand what is being taught, and how they view their own ability to learn.

“ For these reasons, I believe we are extremely fortunate to have a wide variety of effective early literacy programs in place in our schools.

“ The more a child is supported to read at home, the better chance they will have at achieving early success in school. When children are involved in family literacy activities such as reading a recipe or writing a grocery list, and when they see their family members reading, they see that learning is valued, and that learning is fun.

“ It is very comforting then to know that children who don‘t receive as much support at home have the help of a very special Project L.O.V.E. volunteer who understands and cares.