By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Volunteering has its rewards.
Nancy Davis and Don Gerke, volunteers with the Court Appointed Special Advocate Program, know the personal payoff.
The retired teachers advocate for the rights of children caught in difficult family situations – families that abandoned them, parents who abuse and neglect them.
Their services are needed more than ever, Davis said, with the worsening opiate addiction crisis.
Though they deal with emotionally difficult situations, Gerke said he’s never felt like he‘d had enough of a family. There are rewards. It’s when a grandparent thanks him for insisting that a family get the services a child needs. Or it’s when he’s in a store and he sees a member of a family and they don’t shy away from him and avoid eye contact, but rather stop, smile and chat.
Now a state program, Give Back. Go Forward, launched Thursday by Bowling Green State University, will give older volunteers a more tangible reward.
Volunteers over the age of 60 will receive a voucher for a three-credit course if they volunteer for more than 100 hours. Jane Rosser, director of the Center for Civic and Community Engagement, said these credits can be used to finish an undergraduate degree or pursue an interest.
Or, she said, they can be given to a current or prospective BGSU student. That’s another way to give back.
The initiative originated in Gov. John Kasich, Ohio Chancellor of Higher Education John Carey said. The choice of BGSU as a pioneer for Give Back. Go Forward was deliberate. “We did not ask every university to do it.” Carey said. “As an early adopter we needed to figure out how it will work. We needed a partner who would do it well.”
Mayor Richard Edwards said in his extensive experience with higher education, he understands how difficult it is to implement such a program. “You picked the right place.”
The program fits well with the university’s commitment to engage students with the community, and with its year-old Optimal Aging Institute, President Mary Ellen Mazey said.
“The students at Bowling Green State University are very service oriented,” she said. “We are dedicated to our town-gown relationships. We want to be the model for how universities and communities work together.”
The institute and the center will work together to find volunteer opportunities. “You have great skills to contribute that our non-profit partners would love to have,” Rosser said.
Many older citizens are already volunteering in one or more capacities. Senior volunteers can also be used in partnership with university students.
Kaylene Way, of the Ohio Department of Aging, said that bringing generations together is a benefit of the program. She wondered why society is pushing the generations apart.
The program itself by keeping older citizens engaged promotes health and is economically beneficial, Way said.
The service can be through any established entity that benefits the broader community. Program details, requirements and an online application are available at bgsu.edu/gbgf.
