By Brain Bohl
The University started a partnership with the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Long Island to help mentor young children. With a healthy mix of schoolwork and recreation, these underprivileged children are enjoying an environment of acceptance and understanding.
“Everyone was really receptive about Hofstra making another contribution to the community,” Dr. Sandy Stacki, assistant professor in the department of curriculum and teaching said.
Most of the children the University is working with are in the third grade and from Walnut Street Elementary School in Uniondale. The children participating are labeled at risk for various reasons.
Mentors are provided to give the children guidance and help, from personal problems to help with class work. Many of the children come from difficult home lives. In some cases, one or both of their parents do not speak English.
“To be able to come to place where they can speak to older people who have gone through similar situations with great success, it shows them that their dreams can come true,” Steven H. Frierman, professor in the department of health professions, said.
Frierman and Stacki helped bring the program to the University.
The partnership is a reciprocal one. The elementary school students receive extra attention, counseling and mentoring. The University students, specifically those in the School of Education and Allied Human Services, get a chance to be a big brother or a big sister and make a difference in a child’s life.
“The core part of the program is to have our [University] student’s become the big brothers and the big sisters for the children at the elementary school. It is a real community service type of learning experience for our students here at Hofstra,” Stacki said. “The program is not mean to replace the parent. It is to establish a mentoring, friendly type of relationship.”
On Wednesdays, the children are bused from Walnut Elementary to Hagedorn Hall. They have a snack and are given help with their homework. In addition to academic work, special events and activities are also scheduled. Two weeks ago the children played some pickup games with the University softball team. The idea of using sports was a natural one.
“When I talked to the kids in October, I asked if they enjoyed sports. They all said yes. The kids seemed very excited about the prospects of coming to the University and playing in a game with the teams,” Frierman said.
Garnering support of teams was not a difficult task. Head softball coach Bill Edwards, Assistant Coach Larissa Anderson and the entire team took the children out on to the softball field Nov. 17.
“The kids were so thrilled to be on a big campus,” Frierman said. “They feel like they are part of a group. The girls on the softball team accepted the kids for who they were.”
Perhaps the biggest positive to come out of the program is the children finally see there are people who care about them and want to see them succeed.
“We want to show them that college is something to look forward to,” Frierman said.