Grandparent for a Day

Bradleyville Elementary School was filled with smiling children and doting grandparents on September 9th.  Hosting “Grandparents Day” on the same day as Book Fair turns out to be a canny combination!  Eight JA volunteers were on hand to assist at the book fair and help with crafts in elementary classrooms. 

Most of the students had plenty of company in picking out books.  Grandparents, many of whom obviously had been through this experience before, gladly helped their young charges select and make a purchase.  A photographer was on hand to take pictures, and JA volunteers helped students in every class to make frames for these keepsakes.

The STEM Center that JA has made possible (with the help of a grant from the Branson Hollister Rotary) at the school is a great contribution.  Having volunteers regularly make the trek to this eastern Taney County town is a terrific gift. This was JA’s first opportunity to be hands-on with the kids, and it was great fun—a special and memorable opportunity.

Bradleyville is a close-knit community and many children were accompanied by two grandparents. But one JA volunteer had the honor of becoming a temporary grandparent for a little girl who was feeling left out of the fun.   The sight of a child’s head nestled into the side of a caring woman who was a stranger but is now a special friend was probably the most memorable moment.   Priceless for all concerned!