CRESTVIEW — For the third year, Lynn Coppler is a volunteer at Riverside Elementary School, where her granddaughter is a second-grader.
The Crestview resident and military veteran of 13 years says when it comes to serving at the school, she's hooked.
“I think I get addicted to the kids,” she said. “They always wave at me and say ‘hi’ to me in the morning.”
Last year, Coppler said she spent an average of six hours, each Monday through Friday, at the school.
On Friday, she set up a display board inside the school hallway to display photos of students.
Coppler hopes volunteering will show students how she and many other residents invest their time and effort into education.
“It’s important to teach these kids to give back,” she said.
Volunteers assist teachers and administrators in many ways –from preparing snacks for school functions to mentoring students and raising funds for teaching supplies.
But Pam Moseley –Riverside’s parent teacher organization president and a former teacher –said that as a teacher, she did not realize the amount of work and time volunteers regularly put in at local schools.
“It’s different being on the teacher’s side of it,” she said. “You don’t know all of the leg work that goes into it.”
To help ease her two daughters into Riverside after moved from a Pensacola private school, Melissa Dobbins decided to volunteer.
She said that while helping her children adapt to their new school, she hopes to connect more with the city.
“We are hoping to be more active in the community and reach out, (get) play dates and make more friends,” the stay-at-home mom said.
Joining Dobbins as a first-time volunteer at Riverside is Rosaline Mailandt-Norris, who has twins in the second grade.
Mailandt-Norris said she never had the opportunity to volunteer during her 25 years in the U.S. Air Force. However, now, as a retiree, she can.
“Now that I am a stay-at-home (mom), this is my passion,” she said. “This is my first year (volunteering) and I just want to jump on in.”
Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story stated that Lynn Coppler volunteers six hours per week. Actually, she volunteers six hours each Monday through Friday.
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Matthew Brown, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: 'ADDICTED TO THE KIDS': Parents, grandparents volunteer at local schools