Volunteers turn out for United Way's Days of Caring

Dorothy Plumb wants to learn again.

The Cape Girardeau woman had used computers at work, and when she retired she thought she had said goodbye to the machines.

Not anymore.

"The desire to learn something new has been rekindled," Plumb said. "It's not work anymore. It's something I don't have to do but what I want to do instead."

Plumb took a computer class at the Cape Girardeau Public Library on Saturday. The class was aided by volunteers during the United Way Days of Caring, a three-day event that invites any resident to volunteer for a host of short- or long-term community projects.

Although Thursday kicked off the event with Cape Girardeau and Jackson mayors cooking pancakes at the Salvation Army in Cape Girardeau, the event's sponsors, the United Way of Southeast Missouri and the Volunteer Intergenerational Center, sought requests for volunteer projects from the agencies they serve a few months ago.

Requests from 10 agencies ranged from clerical work to painting and cleaning to holding drives for personal care, baby and office items to sorting clothes to constructing homes.

Three Central High School students from the Future Business Leaders of America and a Southeast Missouri State University associate professor of communication disorders assisted the group of 10 signed up to learn basic computer skills at a class led by reference assistant Rhonda Cole on Saturday.

"We usually don't have helpers," Cole said, "but when we do we can bump it up to 15 in the class. It's great to have them."

Library adult services coordinator Paula Fetherston said, "In the computer class, for an instructor to not have to stop and help each individual, it really makes a big difference in making the classes run smoother. We really appreciate the volunteers."

Fetherston said the library plans to continue partnering with the United Way.

Jayanti Ray, the professor, said she became aware of the United Way by signs posted at local agencies that said "United Way at work here." However, she signed up this year to help at the library after receiving an e-mail from a colleague who recruits donations for the United Way's annual campaign.

"Last year I helped out at a drive for personal care items at Hoover Elderly Care Center. I chose the library because it's nice to be involved in promoting adult computer literacy," Ray said.

She also helped at Thursday's computer class. "They were asking questions about health-related information. It was rewarding to help them find the resources and it's nice they're interested in learning. Now they can find a lot of information for themselves."

'Something I can do'

The FBLA students weren't that familiar with United Way or VIC but were interested in "helping people who don't know the basic skills," according to Brittany Graham, a sophomore at Central.

"My parents and grandparents taught me everything I know. I can't really teach them anything," she said. "But this is something I can do."

Angel Gaither, a senior at Central, said, "I feel like this is such a big thing because a lot of people love to criticize and ridicule African-American people for not giving back to the community and here we are -- three African-Americans who are so close helping with something no one else would take a Saturday morning to do. I know I can speak for all of us when I say we refuse to be a statistic."

As for Plumb, she has used the library's computer to begin work on genealogy and is considering buying a laptop.

cpagano@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 133