BonnerSprings.com

Every Tuesday morning Darrell Donahue gets in his car and drives to school.

Donahue is a senior, but he's not in high school.

The Bonner Springs retiree is one of more than 160 Youth Friends volunteers for the Bonner Springs-Edwardsville School District.

Donahue spends three hours a week working with students at Clark Middle School on subjects like reading, writing and spelling.

Youth Friends is a national organization that matches adults with students who benefit from some extra one-on-one attention.

The Bonner Springs-Edwardsville schools have been in the program for three years, led by Larry Berg.

Local volunteers logged 4,800 hours last year.

"The average parent spends less than 15 minutes a day interacting with their children and the No. 1 need of young people is connection with a caring adult," Berg said.

Volunteers can serve the program in a variety of ways, Berg explained. Some spend time reading to students, others are what Berg calls lunch buddies.

"They may have lunch with a student or group of students once a week," he said. "They talk about a variety of things with the kids. The key is the ability to listen."

Other volunteers, like Donahue, spend time working with students on an academic level. Unlike many of his counterparts, Donahue doesn't meet with the same students every week. According to middle school English teacher Elaine Berg, Donahue gets around to everyone eventually.

Elaine, Larry's wife, said it's by design that she sends students who are doing well along with students who are struggling.

"Then you get a role-model type of thing going," she said. "The students look forward to it. On the days when he's scheduled to be here, the students will look for him in the hallway."

Donahue recently worked with a student who was having trouble spelling, Elaine said. After a session, the student scored 100 percent on a spelling test.

"They want to do well to make him proud," she said.

Donahue said stories like that made his efforts worthwhile, "that makes you feel good."

The Basehor-Linwood School District began a Youth Friends program this year and Co-Director Mary Leonard said there have been many volunteers.

Leonard, who shares her title with Tammy Potts, said the district has 82 volunteer applications, but more are needed.

"We especially need volunteers at the middle school and high school levels," she said. "People think the older kids don't need the help, but that's just not true."

Leonard had been trying to organize a volunteer program at the schools for several years before hearing of Youth Friends.

"My husband picked up a newspaper and a flier from the Bonner Springs-Edwardsville Youth Friends fell out," she said. "He brought it to me and said, 'I think this is what you're trying to do here.'"

Leonard brought the idea to school officials and they agreed to let her give it a try. Once the program was up and running, Leonard said, she hoped the district would hire someone to take her place. She and Potts both volunteer their time.

"I hope they can make it a paid position, but if they do, it won't be me," she said. "I want to be in the classrooms volunteering. That was the whole reason I got into this."