MOUNT VERNON — Molly Payne and Mary Breece, both retired, enjoy their “jobs.” They happily go to their assignments, and both claim to love the work they do.
They are foster grandparents with the Retired Seniors Volunteer Program, Payne at the Mount Vernon Developmental Center and Breece at Head Start.
“I like it very much,” said Breece. “I retired two years ago from Knox County Job & Family Services, after 17 years. A little over a year ago I started doing some volunteer work at church, and I still spend four hours on Friday mornings at Interchurch Social Services. I knew the clientele because of my job, so I decided to volunteer for this program.”
Breece works at Head Start in a classroom with 17 3- and 4-year-olds and three teachers. She is assigned to three of the children. Not having experience with young children has made her work a daily adventure.
“They all come to you, and you do different things every day,” said Breece. “This is an age group I had never worked with, but they are so much fun and so interesting, growing mentally and physically daily. I love it. It’s like starting over, something different in retirement. I read to them, I tie a million shoes a day, help zip their coats, distribute tissues. A couple of weeks ago, they were learning how to cut with scissors. I guess I’d forgotten how difficult some of these skills are that children learn.”
Payne pats the hand of Frances, who sits in her wheelchair.
“I take her every morning and sometimes in the afternoon,” she said. “I feed her breakfast and lunch.”
Payne worked at MVDC for years, then retired in 1996 and moved to Florida. She returned to Ohio at the urging of her children, and now spends five days a week at MVDC, feeding and entertaining her charges, sitting in the summer sun with them and going on shopping trips.
“I love the people, the clients at MVDC,” she said. “The people I work with are great. I took care of a lot of the clients when I worked here. I like to work with this kind of people ... they’re a joy to be around. They need somebody one-on-one. With Frances, she is blind but you take her outside and she hears the different noises and you can see she’s listening. She hums and sings a lot. She’s a joy to work with.”
The Knox County Foster Grandparent Program is administered by Kno-Ho-Co-Ashland Community Action Council, said Debbie Taylor, director of the program, and is part of Senior Corps, a national organization that includes the RSVP and the Senior Companion Program. Volunteers must be at least 60 years of age and on a limited income. For their work, they receive a stipend, meals, mileage reimbursement and supplemental insurance. They may choose to work at nonprofit daycare centers and preschools, Head Start, MRDD centers or The Alternative Center, with people up to 21 years of age, or who are at-risk, in need of study help or tutoring, teen parenting skills and more. Taylor said the Foster Grandparent Program is always in need of more volunteers, as there is much work to be done.
“This is why I love the job ... these people,” said Taylor, looking at Breece and Payne. “The kids benefit, but we benefit, too.”
“We get as much out of it as they do,” said Payne. “I want to do this as long as I can.”
