Volunteers Needed at Buddy Break
Buddy Break 2 Photo Booth Crop
My volunteering efforts over the years have tended to focus on activities in which my daughter was involved: I was her soccer and volleyball coach, and her Girl Scout leader. I realized recently that it was time to shift that focus to outside our family.
While we were putting together Neapolitan Family’s annual list of local nonprofit organizations, one group in particular caught my attention. Since January, I’ve volunteered once a month at Nathaniel’s Hope Buddy Break. Buddy Break Naples is a three-hour session of free child care for kids with special needs. “Typical” siblings also are welcome, so parents can have a few kid-free hours to enjoy date night, run errands, or simply relax.
Once a month, volunteers (buddies), VIPs (the children with special needs), and typicals (siblings) gather at the Naples Seventh Day Adventist Church. Buddies show up 30 minutes before the VIPs to have time to grab a slice of pizza, read their VIPs file, and chat with other buddies.
I’ve been paired with a different child each month. The organizer matches the VIPs with the buddies—all VIPs have a buddy, so the number of children who can attend every month depends on the number of volunteers, which varies. The matching process takes into consideration the needs and abilities of both buddy and the VIPs. My first night, I was paired with a boy who is a Buddy Break veteran and didn’t require much assistance, which provided a gentle introduction to the evenings.
Buddies and VIPs ham it up at June’s Buddy Break
Courtesy of Naples Photo Booth.
Like parenting, my Buddy Break nights have included a little of everything: running from room to room for three hours straight, turning back on the DVD player and lights that my buddy enjoyed switching off; stretching out on my back on the sidewalk outside and learning new things about our galaxy; assisting in the bathroom or changing a diaper; spending two hours building and playing with a marble maze; helping with craft projects; keeping little hands out of the snacks; petting the therapy dogs; running races outside; and, of course, putting shoes back on. The nights swing from chaotic to boring (two hours is a really long time to play with a marble maze) to fun to relaxing to rewarding and back again.
Some months, Buddy Break turns away VIPs because of a lack of buddies, especially in the summer. This is the ideal volunteer opportunity for anyone, from students to retirees, no matter how busy you are. Volunteers are asked a few weeks ahead of each event if they will attend. There is no requirement to attend every session. Like with most volunteer posts, there are a few forms to fill out, a background check, and training session, but once those are taken care of, you are ready to volunteer.
One of the major benefits for me is that my daughter (who is 12 years old) and I can volunteer together (there are age restrictions for volunteers). She is either paired with me and my buddy, or helps with the typical siblings, or recently has been paired with a girl her age with Asperger’s syndrome. This girl is the reason I was flat on my back in a parking lot in East Naples, looking up at the stars and realizing, as I listened to her name every constellation in the sky, just how much I had to learn from these children.
While Buddy Break always is on the lookout for more volunteers, there also is a pressing need for another group (ideally a church) to host another event each month, according to coordinator Michelle Crombie. Even with more volunteers at the Seventh Day Adventist Church location, Buddy Break is limited by space to a certain number of VIPs. More Buddy Breaks around town would provide an additional night for parents already participating and would allow more kids overall to participate.
To learn about volunteering, contact Michelle Crombie at 239-272-8031 or buddybreaknaples@gmail.com.
LEIGH ANN NEWMAN is the Co-Publisher of Neapolitan Family.