After a health scare, Lindsay Gustafson has found meaning and community as a volunteer at Aulneau Renewal Centre (ARC). Gustafson, a grade 1 and 2 teacher, has the soft and supportive demeanour you’d expect from someone who cares for young children every day. She brought her gifts and experience to the ARC family literacy program held once a month, where children and their caregivers are encouraged to explore and practice reading together.
“I was diagnosed with cancer two years ago and have been off work,” explains Gustafson. “It’s really hard to be away when you’re a teacher, when you’re so passionate about your work and the kids. The classroom is your home and the kids become your family. When I got through the hardest parts of my treatment, I felt ready to find some purpose again, even if I wasn’t quite ready to go back to work.”
While she continued to heal and rest, she also began to contemplate how she could contribute in new ways. “When you’ve had time off to really think, and you’ve faced some difficult things, you start to wonder about how you can make the world a better place,” Gustafson continues. “So now I get to work with the kids once a month, while another volunteer works with parents. We do a literacy-based craft, we read picture books together. We’re enhancing skills, but we’re also creating a love and desire for reading, which is the main thing.”
Gustafson believes that reading supports can be simple, fun and easy. “The most important thing we tell people is to read with their children nightly,” she explains. “The kids can read to you, or you can read to them, it doesn’t really matter. Nightly bedtime stories make such a big difference in a child’s vocabulary, passion for reading, imagination and creativity.”
With so many organisations in Winnipeg currently seeking volunteers, Gustafson is happy that she found a home with ARC. “I love the atmosphere here,” she shares. “The first time I walked in, it was such a beautiful, homey space. And I felt that the staff was incredibly inviting and positive. I honestly just think of it as a bright light in the community. It attracts so many with its safety, warmth, coziness and all the resources available.”
In fact, she was heartened to see that some families never miss their group programs. “There are two families that come every month,” she continues. “Even if they forgot to register, we knew they were coming. There are such solid connections being made and participants are telling others about it. The kids get a picture book to take home, a little snack and a fun activity that we do together, while parents are connecting with each other and our literacy experts.”
As her health continues to improve and she begins to look towards the future, Gustafson is grateful for the opportunity she had to be a part of the ARC community. “This has been so rewarding,” she concludes. “I was looking for a purpose and those kids bring so much light and energy to your day. There’s something about how they view life; I found so much purpose in being able to connect.”