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Christina Smith
Daily Egyptian

A retiree reads aloud to an attentive child in a corner of a Carbondale classroom. Volunteers read to pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and first-grade students at Parish school in Carbondale.

The Illinois Retiree Volunteer Program connects volunteers with local school districts help to improve students' reading skills. The Find Five program is a part of the Retiree Volunteer Program and is funded by the Illinois Board of Higher Education.

Find Five encourages retirees to spend an hour a week reading to local children in the schools. The name Find Five comes from the idea that if every volunteer could find five more volunteers, there would be more than enough volunteers for each child to receive individual attention.

In Carbondale, the Emeritus and Annuitant Association, the Southern Illinois Learning in Retirement and the Office of the Chancellor sponsor the program, organizer Mary Shelton said. Find Five works with Carbondale City Schools and plans to work with children from pre-kindergarten to eighth grade.

"Many of these youngsters do not have a person at home to help them learn how to read," Shelton said.

Last fall, there were about 12 volunteers and Shelton is hoping to get more people involved this fall.

"It is important that people who have the time to volunteer give their time," Shelton said.

So far, most of the volunteering has been done at Parish school, said Jane Angelis, director of Intergenerational Initiative at SIUC.

Angelis said the organizers of the program decided to start small by focusing on one school and are planning to expand to work with more schools.

The Chancellor's office is helping to set up a database to track where the volunteers are, which will provide a lot of help, Shelton said.

Retirees interested in volunteering are required to fill out a background check form as a safety measure. The form allows volunteers to list times they are available and the school where they want to volunteer.

Shelton is planning on having an orientation in August to allow the volunteers to get to know each other. She expects tutoring to begin in late August or early September.

The purpose of the program is to help the teachers, and so far, the volunteers are enthusiastic, Shelton said.

Angelis said previous volunteers feel like they are continuing to give back and to be involved, which makes them feel good.

"We are hoping that other universities will develop programs like this," Angelis said.

Reporter Christina Smith can be reached at christina_smith@dailyegyptian.com.