Volunteers make special program work for CFS
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/04/2010 (5709 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
For more than 25 years, volunteers for Child and Family Services of Western Manitoba (CFS Western) have been delivering a home-based literacy program called the Parent-Child Home Program (PCHP) to Westman families.
"It’s the volunteers who make this program a success," says program co-ordinator Barb Martens.
"Without them, we literally would not be able to offer this program to our community members."
That’s because the number of families participating in the program solely depends on the number of volunteers in place to deliver it. Currently, there are 23 volunteers taking the program to 23 families.
Volunteers are specially trained and, using carefully chosen books and toys, visit the parent and child at home twice weekly between October and April over a two-year period. The volunteer works together with the parent and child to help them communicate, learn and play together. The toys and books are gifted to the family so they can continue learning between visits and long after they finish the program.
"Volunteers often make life-long friendships with the families they work with," says Martens.
"And the families involved often return to us later to become volunteers for the same program."
One past volunteer said her experience with PCHP families was personally rewarding. She said it was great to see the families progress from start to finish of the program as together they learned how to play, communicate and interact with each other.
A former program participant, now in high school, says the volunteer’s work helped show her how to reach her goals, achieve what was important to her and build self-confidence. Her mom says the volunteer taught her how to interact with her children more creatively.
Martens, a former volunteer herself, has been with PCHP for nearly 10 years. She was initially attracted to the program because she feels that parents are the most important people in their preschoolers lives.
The program targets parents with children between 18 months and two-and-a-half years old. Families are sometimes referred to the program through CFS Western resources, Regional Health Authorities and schools. A lot of families refer themselves to the program because they’ve heard about its value from other sources. Family participation is completely voluntary.
CFS Western has more than 70 volunteers participating in a variety of roles in many different programs. All of them were scheduled to be honoured at a VIP (Volunteers in Progress) event on Wednesday, April 28, at the agency’s Family and Community Development Centre.
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