Log in

Rizzi: Volunteers needed at Apache Junction Unified School District

Posted

Volunteering is one of the most rewarding experiences a person can do to support their community or favorite organization.

As a volunteer, not only are you supporting one of your passions, but you help yourself, too. Volunteering keeps you more physically fit. You have a purpose, and you are more energized. It also allows you to share your skills and talents, which is so greatly appreciated.

Being a volunteer at one of the Apache Junction Unified School District schools is a wonderful way to help our community youth. As a school volunteer, you make a difference in a child's life. The teachers too.

Teachers appreciate the classroom help and the warmth and love shared with each student.

This year, unfortunately, due to the pandemic, students aren't able to attend their school. All classroom instruction is happening online.

The district was one of the first in the nation to begin school on July 21. It is also a model for all Arizona schools in how to provide online classroom instruction.

Though there are not any students in the classroom, sitting next to their fellow classmates and raising their hand for a question, they are still together in a virtual setting. And, they raise their hands for questions.

So, if you wanted to volunteer for the school district what can you do? There are still great opportunities to support our children and their education. There are going to be some volunteers needed to help with online classes.

Some teachers can use a volunteer to work with students in breakout groups for reading, tutoring or working on crafts. Of course, you would need to feel comfortable in the Zoom environment. As a governing board member and City Council member, I learned how to participate in Zoom meetings and have found them quite useful.

If you don't want to sit in on a classroom, perhaps you would want to help the district distribute food to children and families? The Food Services Department delivers breakfast and lunch to children at their homes on a daily basis. Some families prefer to pick up their meals once a week at Four Peaks Elementary School or Apache Junction High School. The district also offers the community fresh vegetables and milk once a week at no cost. These are opportunities to help a few hours a week, and make a difference, too.

When our children are allowed back in the schools, they will need all the items they used in class such as scissors, glue sticks, markers, and the like. The older students will need binders, pens, and notebooks. These may be a hardship for many families to purchase. Teachers, too, may appreciate extra supplies and incentive gifts for their students. They often purchase supplies for up to 200 students out of their own pockets.

Other items that will be just as important are disinfectant wipes, masks, tissues and hand sanitizer. Now is a great time to start collecting these types of items. Collecting a little here and there, next you know is that you have a lot to give.

As you can see, even during a pandemic, there are ways to volunteer and help a child. We'll get through this stronger than before. It's the Apache Junction way.

If you would like to be a volunteer for the Apache Junction Unified School District, go to ajusd.org and register today.


Editor's note: Christa Rizzi is a member of the Apache Junction Unified School District Governing Board.