Getting there before the phone rings
July 19, 2004
By Cam Tait
HAMMONDS PLAINS, NS // Lianne Nixon really hopes the phones stop ringing. That's because every time a phone rings at Kids Help Phone it means a young person is in trouble, or scared, or needs someone to talk to.
Back in January of this year Lianne was looking for a new opportunity in volunteering. A friend suggested she call the Kids Help Phone office. "I wanted to work with kids and have always had a lot of respect for Kids Help Phone. I think students should be encouraged to volunteer. My first volunteer role happened because it was an option in one of my courses at school. I enjoyed it so much that I started looking for more volunteer work in the areas that interest me."
Lianne believes an ounce of prevention can lead to tons of trouble-free kids. She volunteers at junior high and high schools to put on bullying awareness workshops. "This was a pilot program put on through KHP where they offered the workshop to the schools and when requested, another volunteer and I would teach the group of kids about bully awareness," she says.
Listening to the students' reactions is one of the parts of the role she enjoys the most. "Whether they were learning something new about bullying or they were hearing something they had already known and agreed with," she continues. "The reactions were always very powerful because everyone in the room had experienced bullying in some form."
At one point, the workshop students are asked to make instant decisions on certain situations, which forces them to form opinions about someone without talking to them. "After the questions are asked and the students find out that their opinions of their partners were sometimes very wrong they see how easily it is to misjudge someone based on their appearance or their actions. This is something I continuously think about now."
While the workshop is designed for the students it's rubbing off on Lianne herself. "Since I have started the workshops I am approaching people with a very open mind and taking the time to get to know them before forming an opinion. I believe this is something everyone could benefit from as it is so easy to misjudge someone."
Talking to teenagers can be challenging in any situation, even more so when you're talking about such a tender subject as bullying. "Thisvolunteer work has given me a lot of patience," says Lianne.
She has been volunteering for eight years and is aware that nonprofit organizations have tighter budgets and more work every year. Their saviour? Volunteers...and Lianne says studies show that fewer people are volunteering, and those who still are have increased their volunteer roles.
"I would like to see that trend reverse and have more people getting involved in their community," says Lianne. "If we promote volunteering to students, they will start young and get hooked. Just giving a small amount of your time to volunteer can make a huge difference in someone's life."
Hmm. Might Lianne conduct a future workshop on the need for more volunteers?
Do you know someone who deserves to be in the Charity Village Spotlight? Send us their name, telephone number and details about their community involvement to cam@charityvillage.com.
