Mark has been integrating V-VOLUNTEER since his wife died a few years ago. Here he shares a small snapshot of his new life with the A2Z community…
Mark in his Watch D.O.G.S. Volunteer T-shirt 🙂
I volunteer once a week at school full of first and second graders- it’s a guaranteed temporary relief from grief for at least that amount of time. I joined a local elementary school’s Watch D.O.G.S. Program (Dads of Great Students after my wife died. Watch D.O.G.S is a national program that recruits dads, granddads, uncles, and male role models to work with the kids. I start the day helping the principal direct the incoming student drop-off traffic (nobody takes the bus anymore) then I work in the classroom with small groups of children on their spelling, math or reading assignments. The best part is that I was assigned to work in the classroom with my grandkids and I also have lunch and play basketball with the students at recess. I end the day by getting my picture taken with the class kids and it goes up on the Watch D.O.G.S. bulletin board. These kids have so much energy; they give me some grief relief and give me faith in the younger generation.
