Jill has been volunteering in a variety of ways since September 2022. When she retired, she was determined to stay active and begin volunteering. She began by helping with the English language program at Dayton Metro Library, as well as off-site at Residence Park International School for Dayton Public Schools. When asked why she sought out this volunteer opportunity with the Library, Jill explained that she did so because she has aunts from France, Norway, and Romania, and cousins living in Santiago, Chile, and Israel. Her husband is a Russian/Israeli American, and one of her daughters is soon to marry someone from Afghanistan.
Jill was born and raised in New York City—mostly Queens, with some time on Long Island, then back to Queens. When the government lost her husband’s paperwork, she saw firsthand how immigrants were being treated. “I was appalled,” she said. They spent two years trying to straighten out his paperwork, with a lot of runaround, and she noticed that treatment toward them changed when she spoke up as an American.
In recent years, most of her volunteer work has been at the Huber Heights Branch. Jill is one of the last Reading Buddies running a Reading Buddy station independently in the Children’s area. Only one other Branch offers the Reading Buddy program. The other locations were combined with DML’s former Homework Help Centers, now called Student Success Centers, where students receive help with reading and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) activities.
Her motivation to help young children struggling to read is deeply rooted in her own experience. She struggled, and no one knew until she was a teenager that she had dyslexia. She heard painful messages from teachers and family members that she was stupid, and even when it was finally documented as a learning disability, there was still a stigma, and the label was hurtful. But Jill was determined.
She went to junior college and then back to NYU for a bachelor's degree. She wants to show kids that it's okay, and even if it takes longer, “It’s OKAY!” Today Jill cheers kids on with patience and in a supportive space. She knows literacy is not just reading the words on the page. Jill has also used the toys in the Children’s area to engage with kids and break the ice. She knows anything can be used to ask open-ended questions and to generate the back-and-forth conversation needed in the AWE method: Ask an open question. Wait for a response. Expand on the child’s answer (to enhance vocabulary and comprehension).
When Jill sought out a volunteer opportunity to stay active in retirement, she and her husband also joined the Silver Sneakers program at the YMCA. They exercise balance with weights, walking, and resistance training. She also joined the local Senior Center and has been enjoying programs like line dancing. Jill has also been volunteering with The League of Women Voters of the Greater Dayton Area, handwriting postcards to newly registered voters. She loves handwritten letters, and her family keeps her stocked with beautiful stationery.
Jill is a natural Library Ambassador, connecting people she meets back to all the amazing resources DML offers. She loves the artwork at each Branch and the welcoming space. Her favorite spot is the cozy area between the fireplace and the piano where the Saturday Serenade program is held at the Huber Heights Branch.
In addition to her husband, she shares a home with two dogs, Elliot and Hazel, and a nearly 30-year-old dwarf African frog!
Thank you, Jill, for over 207 hours of service and counting!
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