Carol has been volunteering for eleven years. She decided to become an RSVP volunteer so she could help, meet, and be around people. Carol is involved with SPEAK UP! and manages the Low Vision support group.
Her favorite memory from her volunteer work has been with SPEAK UP! A young man in the fifth grade class was scheduled to give his speech on the very last day. He told Carol that he had forgotten his speech at home and wouldn't be able to give it. She asked him what he was going to talk about in his speech and he said bike riding. She encouraged him to give his speech without his notes. He went in front of the class and was really nervous. Carol asked him questions about his bike and he answered them. Pretty soon, his classmates were asking him questions too and he completed his speech without his notes. Carol said she is always impressed with how respectful the other children are to the person giving their speech.
With SPEAK UP!, Carol sees children gain self-confidence. She also sees a lot of improvement in their speaking skills. "The children really want to improve themselves." At the end of the program she asks, "Who wants to give another speech?" and many of them would like to because they want to do better and want to improve. Carol said it is very rewarding to see changes in children and feels programs like these mean a lot to both the children and volunteers.
