Connecting with the community through Book Buddies

Joanna Perdomo

Every week we volunteer at the Greater Grand Crossing Library as a part of the Book Buddies Program. We were very fortunate to have found this program in our second day of SSP. David, Ben, and I were exploring the neighborhood and visited the library where we spoke to the library managers who told us that Book Buddies, a program where teens mentor kids ages 5-12 in reading, was unfortunately going to go on hiatus for the summer unless a group of teens came along to take the lead. The following week we presented the volunteer opportunity to Marissa, Diamond, and Tiara, and they were excited to pursue it. Since our second week together, we have been going to the library every Tuesday afternoon. In addition to reading with the young kids from the neighborhood, the girls also teach the kids how to prepare a healthy snack, which they make recipe cards for beforehand, and lead the kids in active games.  

We have been volunteering at Book Buddies for a month, and this week I had two experiences that affirmed what a wonderful and fortunate opportunity it has been for our group. First, at Book Buddies this Tuesday one of the parents who has three of his children in the program had a long conversation with David and I about healthy eating, promoting healthy habits, and most excitingly, how he and his kids have been using the recipe cards in their home. The girls had been questioning whether making the recipe cards every week was a worthwhile endeavor, or whether the kids were just throwing them away, so hearing that they were actually being used and that there was a desire for more was a great feeling for our team. The second thing that happened this week was that we ran into three of the Book Buddies kids while walking around the neighborhood on Thursday afternoon. We talked with them for a while and then they followed us back to GCYC where we played volleyball into the evening.  I was so excited to have run into the kids on a non-Book Buddies day, and this occurrence shed light on the fact that in the short time we’ve spend in Greater Grand Crossing we’ve begun to make friends and forge bonds with the people and places in the neighborhood. With three weeks of SSP left, I hope that through Book Buddies and our budding exercise program, these community connections only continue to strengthen.