THURSDAY JANUARY 18, 2024
SOUTH BOSTON ONLINE
VOLUME XIX- ISSUE 74
“I Have A Dream”
Why Volunteer? Sharing a Love of Reading By Carol Masshardt
F
or South Boston’s Linda Chiaramonte, it started a dozen years ago when she spotted a flyer at the library. Literation’s, a program designed to help students reach reading proficiency by fifth grade was seeking volunteers to help students at the Boy’s and Girl’s Club after school program. “My husband was quite ill, and I had to stay close, but also needed something. And I thought working with children, which I hadn’t done, would be good when I was so absorbed in illness,” she said. “There is fun and energy with young people.” She has continued ever since. Ellie Sullivan started eight years ago, when she wanted to do something meaningful and local. Both Linda and Ellie had leadership positions through their lives, and though each
lived in South Boston for more than a decade, a wish to be involved in another way beckoned them. In addition to volunteers from various addresses around the city and beyond, the Boys and Girls Club on West Sixth St. became more than a structure to pass. “I love it,” said Ellie. “The connection to the kids is great and being part of a group of people who want to make life a little better is a big part of it. Just yesterday a girl I worked with when she was in first or second grade and now in seventh came back. She didn’t remember my name, but she remembered the book we read. That was a great moment.” Working two to four afternoon hours a week, the volunteers offer the priceless gift of working one to one with children who are in elementary school. “The goals of the program are clear,” according to Site Manager, Continued on Page 2
SBCA News Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr
T
he students in Ms. Samantha Guildford’s 4A Class and Mrs. Patricia Colemman’s 4B Class at South Boston Catholic Academy had a chance to learn about and then do a special class project in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. based on his famous “I have a
Dream Speech”... “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” ― Martin Luther King Jr. They were given three categories to write about and share...My dream for myself; My dream for my community; and My dream for the world. Some wrote... “My dream Continued on Page 8
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