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Show SST! _ Fall 2001 The West View - Issue #3 page 8 Thoughts of a Jackson Volunteer by Kellie Davis I began work as a Vista volunteer in November of 1999 in a literacy program called Wasatch Reads, a branch of the America Reads program. I was placed at random in Jackson Elementary in the Fairpark Community, where I was assigned to work with students in mostly nonEnglish-speaking families. The Salt Lake Valley had come through Thanksgiving without snowfall, but when the first serious snowfall came - the kind that would slow traffic and require windshield sweeping - | was amazed to arrive at Jackson to see many children without any winter wear, including coats. As the bell rang for morning recess, I watched a tiny, blonde girl run to the playground, dressed in a pair of badly shrunken leggings, with the cheapest slip-on style shoes and no socks. I went shopping that very afternoon and bought socks for that little girl. But, to my dismay, the next morning I was unable to find her. I calmed myself by concluding that perhaps her socks had slipped down into her shoes, or maybe it was laundry day for her family, and she'd simply run out of clean socks. This made it easier to continue my daily teaching without so much distraction over the girl's plight and the overall effects of poverty on children. Later that winter, a co-worker in for a coat. I'd never been aware of the difficulty that low-income families face in trying to dress their children properly for school. It was something I had never considered before. The pit in my stomach hollowed at the thought of children without winter coats, mit- tens, or boots. While the depth of need was profound to me, this program both comforted as well as disturbed me. I was delighted that the program existed, but was equally concerned about the effects of giving anyone and everyone all the material items they need. Perhaps, it just deepens the hole created by such programs, leaving the taxpayers to provide more and more programs to cover more and more needs. Once someone steps into the welfare/public assistance cycle, it becomes a merry-go-round of everincreasing speed where the centrifugal force deepens the problem of stopping the cycle. It's a nightmare. But, what is the solution? Each student I see at Jackson receives a chance to select a reward for working with me. In the reward bag | keep pencils, erasers, socks, shoelaces, combs and other practical items. It is very hard work for anyone to begin reading in a new language. This is why the students get a reward. During the holiday seasons, I bake decorated cookies to add to the reward bag. It is truly warming to see a child overlook the pretty cookies during holidays to select, instead, "shoelaces for my dad”. The general rule in Vista is that no another volunteer program, called Americorp, asked me to pass out winter coats for a school-wide donation program. I was amazed to find it took me four hours to assist in delivering the assigned coats to the dozens of applicants, most of whom had been wearing a pullover hooded sweatshirt one can exceed a 3-year commitment. Minimum out poverty wages. I was talking about workers who support families. Exceptions should be made for small businesses that hire persons like high school students, college students and retired persons. These people already have incomes, are not supporting Wage Clarification by Leon Johnson I would like to add a footnote to an article, entitled "Minimum Wage", which was published in the last issue of this newspaper. It referred to Senate Bill 138, passed by the Utah State Legislature as Section 34-30106, outlawing living wage ordinances. I said that this law is not only unfair to labor, but is also detrimental to the economy. I said that a living wage increases the buying power of the consumer, and reduces tax expenditure on public assistance by wiping My 3rd year will begin in November and end in November 2002, when a new Vista volunteer will fill my position. But, I strongly suspect that I will find it difficult to continue on my merry way, void of this rewarding work. + families and, therefore, do not need a living wage. If such establishments were required to pay a living wage, they would go bankrupt, and their employees would lose their jobs. I would like Senate Bill 138 substituted with the Shurtliff Amendment, proposed by Representative Shurtliff. This amendment exempts businesses worth less than $1,000, who hire less than 15 persons, or who do small jobs like catering for parties. # |
