GrandPals program seeks volunteers

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If you love books and enjoy reading to young children, the GrandPals program could use your help.

The Princeton Senior Resource Center is sponsoring an orientation for the GrandPals program at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept.13 at the Suzanne Patterson Building, which is located at 45 Stockton Street in Princeton behind the former borough hall.

Volunteers will discuss choosing books and strategies for various reading situations. Two new interns for the program who will be taking over the management of GrandPals next spring will also be introduced.

The GrandPals program matches older adult volunteers with children in the Princeton Public Schools to promote a love of learning. Volunteers from Princeton and neighboring towns are paired with one to two children for the school year. Most volunteers read once a week during the school day. The children  are in kindergarten through second grade. The program encourages intergenerational friendships for both children and older adults who may not have a grandparenting relationship nearby. You don’t have to be a grandparent to participate. Anyone 50 years or older who enjoys reading and the company of kids can become a GrandPal.

Visit the orientation and mingle with new and returning GrandPals to see if you would like to join the more than 100 GrandPals who read with children in the schools every week. The program is free. Light refreshments will be served. Call Olivian Boon at (609) 924-7108 to register.