UpDate - Vol. 13, No. 8, Page 6
October 21, 1993
United Way volunteers receive more than they give
Numerous members of the University community contribute their talents
to agencies affilitated with the United Way of Delaware. During the annual
campus campaign, which continues through Oct. 27, the volunteer efforts of
a few of these University employees are spotlighted.
Page Bristow
Adult illiteracy
Illiteracy in America continues to grow. Page Bristow, associate
director of the Adult Literacy Research and Development Cooperative in the
Department of Educational Studies, has been tackling this problem for
nearly a decade.
Bristow began her volunteer work in Delaware when she met a woman
whose husband couldn't read.
The 57-year-old man had been hiding his inability to read from his
children. "He said it was hard to have to depend on someone else all the
time," Bristow said.
She worked with him on-and-off for three years. "I think my work with
him has motivated most of my work in adult literacy," she said.
Today, Bristow is the membership chairperson for the Delaware
Coalition for Literacy (DCL), an affiliate of the United Way of Delaware.
Bristow said the organization's goals are to unify and mobilize groups
and individuals who are interested in the promotion of literacy, as well as
to increase public awareness and support for literacy efforts statewide.
Other objectives include providing information and support for current
programs and recruiting volunteers.
Although the Delaware coalition does focus on all ages, Bristow's
interest lies in the adult end of the literacy campaign. In Delaware, it's
almost impossible to get a decent job where you have some future without a
high school diploma or high school diploma-level skills," she said.
"Interest is the most important qualification" for literacy
volunteers, Bristow said. Many volunteers are placed in programs supported
by DCL. There are also a number of DCL programs , such as the Literacy Help
Line, an 800 number that provides information about literacy services.
Many companies are committed to promote literacy programs in
conjunction with DCL.
Delaware Trust, MBNA, and The News Journal are all involved in funding
for publicity and publication of brochures, and there are corporate
fundraising events, such as a spelling bee, in which different
organizations donate money to DCL so their representatives can participate.
Bristow, who has a doctorate in reading education, has been working at
the University for the past six years in adult education. She says her
volunteer work is "not a quick fix situation," but it is rewarding.
-Rachel Cericola
The coalition, an affiliate of the United Way welcomes new members. For
information, call 656-9404. To volunteer for DCL or any other United Way
affiliated agency, contact Lawrence Miller, vice president of community
resources at the United Way, at 573-2424.
* * *
Scott Mason
Wilmington Senior Center
Every year when Scott Mason, assistant director at the Perkins Student
Center, makes his pledge to the United Way he earmarks his contribution for
the Wilmington Senior Center. In his heart it is a contribution in memory
of his great-grandmother Bertha Naylor, who was an active participant and
volunteer.
Mrs. Naylor died just a year ago, at the age of 104. Mason and other
family members credit her involvement with the senior center for prolonging
her active life.
"My great-grandmother worked for over 25 years as a volunteer at the
Wilmington Senior Center, a United Way agency," Mason said. "She went there
for the activities and ended up working in the office, doing filing,
keeping attendance records and other things. In 1983, when she was 94, she
was given a special award as the center's outstanding volunteer. That same
year, she was one of four United Way volunteers featured on the campaign
poster.
"She lived in Wilmington and took the bus to the senior center every
day and, basically, that involvement is what kept her going. She outlived
her husband by 30 years and lived in a one-bedroom apartment. She lived on
her own until she was 99. Aside from her family, which is scattered all
across the country, the center was the focus of her life. If she missed a
day at the center, you knew she was really sick.
"The fact that she worked at the center, instead of just taking
advantage of its programs, was indicative of her life. She always gave, she
never just took."
Mrs. Naylor was born in 1888 and at the time of her death last year,
was survived by four children, 13 grandchildren, 39 great-grandchildren, 52
great-great-grandchildren and four great-great-great-grandchildren.
"I'm proud of her life and all she achieved," Mason said. "It's a
great lesson that if a 95-year-old can find so much to do then all of us
can. I'm grateful to the United Way that the center was there for her. It's
what kept her with us for 104 years."
-Beth Thomas
For information on the Wilmington Senior Center, call 651-3400.
* * *
Jorge Cubillos
AIDS Hotline
A wide array of questions about AIDS and its causes is what Jorge
Cubillos encounters in his work as a volunteer on the AIDS information
hotline. The service is provided by the Delaware Lesbian and Gay Health
Advocates (DLGHA), a United Way affiliated agency.
Cubillos, an assistant professor of Spanish in the Department of
Foreign Languages and Literatures, devotes one afternoon a week to DLGHA,
providing hotline callers with answers about HIV.
He said donating time to help people with HIV-related problems gives
him a feeling of accomplishment and self-worth. "It puts everything in
perspective. You leave that place feeling very grateful to be alive, in
good health and able to help," he said.
Cubillos first became interested in helping people with HIV concerns
after one of his friends died of AIDS, and he met volunteers who came to
visit, providing support for his friend and his family. "They were just
people from the community who wanted to help. I was very taken by that."
Cubillos began his volunteer work in Pennsylvania, where he was
assigned as a "buddy" to a person with the HIV infection. He said the work
was emotionally draining because he had to watch his friend's condition
deteriorate: "It was very hard when my friend didn't recognize me, and when
he was in pain."
Because of these difficult experiences, Cubillos said he decided to
focus his efforts on the educational programs offered by DLGHA, the local
AIDS assistance organization, which also offers financial and psychological
assistance, including companionship and friendship.
But, he added, there is also a constant need for volunteers because
there is so much to do. He said he was concerned because of the amount of
misinformation about the causes of HIV and the ways one may become exposed
to the virus or become infected.
The training for his work provided Cubillos with an insight into pain
and the process of dying.
He had to learn the path the disease takes and the emotional and
physical tolls on its victims, families and friends. He said the training
involves classroom work, but also includes role playing to prepare
volunteers for what they will encounter when they get involved with
patients.
Cubillos also took a closer look at himself through his training.
"There's a lot of introspection and self-analysis and discovery of
what aspects of your own self will be most helpful to a person facing an
HIV condition," he said.
Callers to the hotline range from misinformed and confused to worried
and panic-stricken. Cubillos said the service is helpful to people because
"they hear a voice that is not judgmental and is willing to help, to listen
and to be as supportative as possible."
Cubillos said he considers his volunteer work very rewarding because
he touches many people's lives through the hotline. "You get 10 times more
out of it than what you put into it," he said.
-Rachel Cericola
The AIDS Hotline number, 1-800-422-0429, is open Monday through Friday from
8 a.m. to 9 p.m. The Delaware Lesbian and Gay Health Advocates (DLGHA), is
an affiliate of the United Way. For additional information, call 652-6776.
Training sessions are held twice a year, usually in September and March.