Volunteer Jeff Stanley is building a tower out of colorful foam blocks, coaxing energetic 2-year-olds into taking turns rolling trucks through its doorway.
“Emma, where are your shoes?” he exclaims moments later, as he helps usher 10 little ones to the playground. There, he spends 20 minutes chasing tricycles, climbing on jungle gyms, urging toddlers down the slide … and again searching for Emma’s shoes.
Back in class, children vie to sit on his lap during story and song time. Jeff excels at “Itsy Bitsy Spider.”
And that’s just the first hour of a typical Wednesday morning in classroom #3 at Childhaven’s Broadway branch.
“There is nothing selfless about what I do here—this is definitely my selfish time of the week,” Jeff says. “They give me a lot more than I give them.”
Volunteers are essential at Childhaven, offering the teaching staff critical extra time to work one on one with children. Following a thorough background and criminal records check, volunteers go through training before being assigned to a classroom.
“We can be having a really crazy day and Jeff comes in and he’s a blessing,” states teacher Kimberly Hulbert. “The kids love him, he serves as a positive role model in their lives, and he makes us all laugh. Having him here allows us to spend more quality therapeutic time with the children.”
After attending the Childhaven luncheon for several years, Jeff thought about volunteering but was afraid he might be unable to handle the emotional impact of working with abused children.
“From the first minute I walked into the classroom, it was not tough at all,” says the Seattle real estate agent, who’s been volunteering for nearly four years. “For these kids, it’s the best time of their day. They are so happy to be here.”
Jeff says he’s always loved kids and he loves his time at Childhaven. “It helps that I’m also a child myself at 46 years old. My motto is ‘Peter Pan forever!’” he smiles.
When Jeff and his partner, Alain Peracca, threw a party to celebrate their fifth anniversary, they asked for donations to Childhaven instead of gifts and raised $2,000.
“Childhaven is so vital,” Jeff says. “I can’t think of another organization like it that does a better job—the research, the training, the history and more success stories than you could ever imagine.”