Column: Volunteers are special at Worthington Middle School

• District 518

District 518

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WORTHINGTON — Do you want to know what the best thing is about Tuesday mornings at Worthington Middle School? Tuesday is the day we have volunteer greeters come to our building and welcome our students with a smile and a handshake.

It may not sound like much, but what a way to start the day. We have five retired gentlemen who start arriving before 7 in the morning (they like to greet the early arriving teachers, too), and they stay at the doors until every student has entered the building. Then they are off to the cafeteria for a cup of coffee and breakfast.

Bill Knigge, one of our greeters, has always been an early riser, so this was an opportunity that came easy to him. He likes coming so that he can show the kids that there are people who care about them. His goal each Tuesday is to “get just one kid to smile that maybe had a bad start to their day.” As a witness to is efforts, he makes hundreds of kids smile every Tuesday. He also says, “They make me happy, just by them being happy.”

Our greeters come to us through RSVP of SW Minnesota. We would love to have them every day of the week, but they only have so many volunteers to go around.

We have other volunteers at Worthington Middle School. Field trips require a few extra parents to keep everyone safe. The band always needs help with parades and concerts. Every once in a while we’ll get a guest speaker to volunteer their time and expertise to a class. We also have many area businesses that volunteer coupons, cash and prizes to some or our different events here at the school.

I can’t say how much we appreciate our volunteers, and they all have a way of brightening our day. Just stop in on a Tuesday morning and I know they’ll put a smile on your face, too.

Jeff Luke is the principal at Worthington Middle School.

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