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Bright Futures of Neosho has kicked off a new program to provide children in the Neosho R-5 School District with some needed extra attention.
The Lunch Buddies program, serving grades kindergarten through seventh, will pair up adult volunteers with a child once a week for lunch.
Jonathan Russell, chair of the advisory board for Bright Futures of Neosho, said the program’s goal is to provide children with the adult companionship they may not be getting at home.
“We have a lot of kids in the district who come from troubled homes, whether the home is a divorce situation or maybe a parent is ill,” Russell said. “So the goal of lunch buddies is to give those kids just a little bit of extra time with an adult.”
Bright Futures of Neosho is a community-based organization formed last year to help provide for students in the Neosho school district.
Russell said the volunteers have not started attending lunches with their buddies, but should start in two to three weeks.
“We’ve got some kids who have been identified as being in need of this program but we have to get parent permission and that’s kind of what we’re waiting on at this point,” Russell said.
He previously served as a lunch buddy in the Joplin program, and said though a weekly lunch amounts to only around 20 minutes per week spent with the child, it’s still enough time to have a positive influence in their life.
“When I was having lunch with my lunch buddy, his teacher actually told me that he behaved better on the days that I came,” Russell said. “After I’d have lunch with him he’d have a better afternoon, he wouldn’t act out as much and he’d be a little more patient and calm that afternoon and I think it was just having that little extra attention that helped him.”
Though the program in Joplin is similar to Neosho’s Lunch Buddies, it is through the Big Brother Big Sister program, which Neosho’s is not.
Russell said the group is currently holding training sessions as needed, as more volunteers sign up.
On Friday morning, Bright Futures held a training session at the Baptist Student Union, where seven Crowder College students signed up to be lunch buddies.
Emily Gritten was one of the volunteers who signed up with the program Friday. She said though her interest in being a lunch buddy is partially based on her goal to become an elementary music teacher, she also just wants to help out.
Bright Futures of Neosho has kicked off a new program to provide children in the Neosho R-5 School District with some needed extra attention.
The Lunch Buddies program, serving grades kindergarten through seventh, will pair up adult volunteers with a child once a week for lunch.
Jonathan Russell, chair of the advisory board for Bright Futures of Neosho, said the program’s goal is to provide children with the adult companionship they may not be getting at home.
“We have a lot of kids in the district who come from troubled homes, whether the home is a divorce situation or maybe a parent is ill,” Russell said. “So the goal of lunch buddies is to give those kids just a little bit of extra time with an adult.”
Bright Futures of Neosho is a community-based organization formed last year to help provide for students in the Neosho school district.
Russell said the volunteers have not started attending lunches with their buddies, but should start in two to three weeks.
“We’ve got some kids who have been identified as being in need of this program but we have to get parent permission and that’s kind of what we’re waiting on at this point,” Russell said.
He previously served as a lunch buddy in the Joplin program, and said though a weekly lunch amounts to only around 20 minutes per week spent with the child, it’s still enough time to have a positive influence in their life.
“When I was having lunch with my lunch buddy, his teacher actually told me that he behaved better on the days that I came,” Russell said. “After I’d have lunch with him he’d have a better afternoon, he wouldn’t act out as much and he’d be a little more patient and calm that afternoon and I think it was just having that little extra attention that helped him.”
Though the program in Joplin is similar to Neosho’s Lunch Buddies, it is through the Big Brother Big Sister program, which Neosho’s is not.
Russell said the group is currently holding training sessions as needed, as more volunteers sign up.
On Friday morning, Bright Futures held a training session at the Baptist Student Union, where seven Crowder College students signed up to be lunch buddies.
Emily Gritten was one of the volunteers who signed up with the program Friday. She said though her interest in being a lunch buddy is partially based on her goal to become an elementary music teacher, she also just wants to help out.
“I like kids a lot and I know that some kids don’t have the best influences so I figured that it would be a good thing to do,” Gritten said.
For those interested in taking part in the program, it isn’t too late. Russell said the group would continue to hold training sessions as needed. Plus, he says it may be just as rewarding for the volunteer as it is for the child.
“It was great. I actually feel like I got more of a reward out of it than he did,” Russell said. “I later ended up becoming his big brother. Initially, just being his lunch buddy, it was kind of difficult at first because he didn’t talk much to me because he didn’t have much trust for adults. Once he knew I was coming back week after week and that I was going to be there he started opening up to me.”
Russell said those interested in participating in the program need to have patience, as the children will usually take several visits to warm up to their buddies. He also stressed the importance of consistency in showing up once a week. The commitment would be until the end of the semester.
To be accepted to the program, applicants must pass a thorough background check, including two positive references, and must attend the training session.
For more information, or to sign up, contact Brian Cook at 451-8600, ext. 1162.
