Kevin Vogt had never imagined himself as a coach, so he was taken aback when he offered to be a tutor to a student.
When the Village of Caroline native relocated to The Villages from Ohio, he realized he wanted to give back and tried to find ways to do so.
Vogt came across a volunteer opportunity with The Salvation Army of Lake & Sumter County and decided to take it. He realized as soon as he walked in that mentoring a student was something he wanted to do. The Salvation Army is also in need of more volunteers to serve as mentors or in the kitchen.
“We work one-on-one with the kids the majority of the time,” Vogt said. “We do assignments together, and when they don’t, we focus on assignments that are appropriate for their age group and grade level. It’s usually spelling, math and a little reading.”
Alexander Morpas, a third-grade student at Beverly Shores Elementary School in Leesburg, is Vogt’s second student. He has been with the nonprofit for around a year and is now supporting his second student.
“Alexander is a great kid,” Vogt said. “Sometimes he will lose focus, but that challenges me to find another way to help him.”
The two played a game of Scrabble to help him concentrate and work on his spelling and math, and Alexander was searching for an advantage in the game.
“This is the first time playing this game, and so far, I am beating him by a landslide,” Alexander said.
As he began swapping out tiles and finding words to put on the board, Alexander said. “I took his word ‘tee’ and changed it to ‘teen’. It has more points, so maybe I’ll beat him now.”
Since he wanted something to do, Vogt said he became even more interested as a mentor.
“Because of the pandemic, my social life dried up, and then my interests dried up,” he said. “I knew there was something extra I could be doing with my time, so I began looking for possibilities. On Mondays, I volunteer at The Salvation Army, Tuesdays at a food pantry, and Wednesdays at Habitat for Humanity of Lake Sumter, where I work on newsletters.”
Alexander expressed his delight in being able to collaborate with Vogt.
He explained, “Sometimes we do stuff like play games. It adds to the fun.”
The Salvation Army of Lake & Sumter County’s volunteer coordinator, Major Marie Harris, said she loves getting to know her volunteers.
“They’re all fantastic,” said the Village Santiago resident. “The Villages is full of loving individuals who go above and beyond to give back to the society. I’m very enthusiastic about my work and everything we do, so it’s great that they share my enthusiasm.”
Volunteers would only have to devote two and a half hours to the company or their mentee, according to Harris.
“They can work full-time one day a week or split their time between both days,” she said. “On Monday and Tuesday, we have availability. The kids are amazing, and it’s a perfect way for us to connect since they’re the future, and we are assisting them in being the best they can be.”
Call Harris at 352-365-0079, ext. 26761 if you want to serve as a tutor or work in the kitchen with The Salvation Army.
– Attributed Source, The Villages Daily Sun