RTA recognizes volunteer work, educators
Members of the San Benito County Retired Teachers Association
logged more than 10,000 volunteer hours in the last year and were
recognized for their efforts at a luncheon May 4.
At the luncheon, held at San Juan Oaks, the members received
certificates of recognition for their volunteer hours.
RTA recognizes volunteer work, educators
Members of the San Benito County Retired Teachers Association logged more than 10,000 volunteer hours in the last year and were recognized for their efforts at a luncheon May 4.
At the luncheon, held at San Juan Oaks, the members received certificates of recognition for their volunteer hours.
Barbara Ament, the communications director and a retired teacher, said the volunteers help out at such places as Community Pantry, the Community Action Board, the Save the Music Program, tutoring students, with LULAC, as well as at churches and in schools.
“Everywhere you go, you are likely to find retired teacher volunteers,” Ament said.
She noted that the California Retired Teachers Association this year presented a faux check in the amount of $54 million to the California State Teachers’ Retirement System to represent the amount of savings the volunteers offer throughout the state through their free help. She said that San Benito’s volunteers represented $210,000 worth of volunteer hours.
Some volunteers work at least 40 hours a week, volunteering at different locations.
“They do 40 hours at least,” Ament said,” So they are working almost eight-hour days volunteering for Community Pantry or Fishes and Loaves. They work from 8 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon…A lot of them do 20 hours a week. It’s remarkable. It’s just a life of dedication.”
Ament noted that part of the celebration included recognizing the new members who have joined the local chapter of Retired Teachers. She said the chapter has 130 members, including 25 members who joined in the last year.
“We had so many people at the high school and others retiring,” Ament said. “Most of them joined, which was wonderful. We had the largest number of new members in the state for one year.”
In addition to celebrating the members, Ament said the chapter sent out a proclamation to each school in the county to recognize current teachers for their work.
National Teacher Appreciation Week is May 8-13, created in 1982 when the California Teachers Association and the Association of Mexican American Educators sponsored an assembly bill. The Day of the Teacher will be celebrated May 11 in San Benito.
“We sent out a proclamation thanking teachers,” Ament said. “We sent it to 24 schools and asked them to post it this week.”
The proclamations recognize educators who work with children and adults in the community.
Ament said the chapter has not sent out proclamations in the past, but they got the idea from a communication book that had ideas on how to participate in Teacher Appreciation Week.
Part of the proclamation reads, “The SBCRTA congratulates you as a teacher for affecting the lives (of students,) and reinforcing the ethical and moral values needed in a successful life. You are the path that children take to reach the highest potential.”
“Many teachers are so dedicated to making a better life for children and they remain dedicated their whole lives,” Ament said. “It’s nice to recognize them. I do think most are very interested in children reaching their highest potential. There are just so many that are so dedicated. It’s just their lives work, which is commendable.”
