“You just got dumped.”
That’s the unusual but completely true statement that the facilitator said when a child doesn’t come back to you and moves on to someone else. She proceeded to talk about the instructions when we read to these homeless children. I was at an event called Read to Me, at the UMOM shelter, where people volunteer to read to homeless children. My knee bounced at a repetition that seemed unnatural. I couldn’t help it though, because I have a nephew that is 4 years old and he is definitely a handful. I had to try to mentally prepare myself for a room full of 75 kids and about 30 volunteers reading to each one of them. I just didn’t know what to expect.
Not all the kids were that young; the ages ranged from 4 to probably about 13 years old. Each one of these poor children without a place to call their actual home but still lucky to have a roof over their head.
We were told to wait for the kids to come up to us and start reading. There were books about animals, the alphabet, and morals that a child could understand. There were also the favorite books like I Spy, Where’s Waldo, and pop out books. I’m just sitting at the table finding the most attractive book like I’m trying to sell myself to the kids. This will be the first time that I talk or spend time with a homeless child, so I obviously want to be as entertaining and lovable as possible.
As the first few kids trickle in, I sit there holding my book and my breath waiting for one to come up to me. A boy comes sprinting in and screams with excitement as he hugs one of the volunteers. He was a man in his twenties, but he acted like a 16 year old brother to the youngster as they laughed and joked around. My eyes were close to tearing up because it was really remarkable to see this boy so overjoyed to see a volunteer. I was oblivious to the fact that there could be relationships built up to that point with volunteers who come regularly. It gave me a sense of comfort that these children had something to look forward to.
I had a new mindset after seeing this, and I couldn’t be happier to be where I was sitting. I read to three different children that night. All of them with their own different, strong personalities. All of them with the love for reading. It’s refreshing to know that despite their families’ situations, they still have something to look forward to. Just talking to them and seeing them smile warms my heart. They were all so unbelievably happy to be reading with a random stranger. I was in a joyful shock that all these kids had such positive and lovable attitudes towards one another and all the volunteers.
It made me realize that many children and teens take their own lives for granted. Sometimes I feel like I do. I am so blessed to have my own home over my head and don’t have to worry about having food on the table. I never really apprehended that there are so many kids that don’t have a home and have to live in a shelter. It’s heartbreaking.
Reading that dinosaur book to little Michael and being rambunctious, and seeing Ashley’s face light up while reading a Disney princess book truly made my night. This would be something that I would be more than willing to come back be a part of again. I want to be the reason these kids have something to look forward to in their lives.