{"id":3469,"date":"2015-04-08T12:20:06","date_gmt":"2015-04-08T16:20:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/?p=3469"},"modified":"2015-04-09T11:39:00","modified_gmt":"2015-04-09T15:39:00","slug":"volunteers-of-vbcps-tim-jennison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/volunteers-of-vbcps-tim-jennison\/","title":{"rendered":"Volunteers of VBCPS: Tim Jennison"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tim Jennison really<\/em> doesn\u2019t want to talk about the fact that he was named Pembroke Elementary School\u2019s Volunteer of the Year. But, everyone else does.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is not our Volunteer of the Year, he is our Hero<\/em> of the Year,\u201d says one teacher in the hallway.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s the most amazing man,\u201d says another passerby. \u201cWe heart Tim.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all love him,\u201d adds a third fan,\u00a0\u201cand his humility is wonderful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t even know what that word means,\u201d says Jennison, responding to each compliment with self-deprecation as he makes his way to the school\u2019s bus loop.<\/p>\n

Rain, sleet, snow or sunshine \u0336 that\u2019s where Tim can be found several mornings each week helping teachers greet and escort students with disabilities from the more than 20 buses that arrive each day. It\u2019s not unusual for him to bring coffee, and sometimes doughnuts, for staff.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_4453_Tim<\/a>His presence honors his wife Barbara,\u00a0a Pembroke Elementary clinic assistant who died of cancer three years ago.<\/p>\n

Jennison won\u2019t talk about his volunteer recognition, but he will talk about his wife,\u00a0albeit briefly.\u00a0\u201cOne of the promises she made me give before she died,\u201d he explains, \u201cwas to come up and check on her kids. She loved these kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

The conversation quickly turns back to the students whose buses are due any minute. Jennison mentions a few \u201cfavorites\u201d by name \u2013 Solomon, Katie, Emily, Brady and more. One senses that, in truth, every student arriving that morning is a favorite.<\/p>\n

He helps with a backpack. He pushes a wheelchair.\u00a0He takes a hand. He gives a high five. Every gesture is met with an adoring gaze from the student Jennison is assisting.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_4480_Tim<\/a>\u201cThe students look forward to seeing him and always have a special smile just for him,\u201d says school nurse Heidi Sowala.<\/p>\n

Judy Wiggins, intellectual disability teacher, agrees.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Jennison is well known for his positive attitude, kind words and dedication to children,\u201d she says. \u201cHe takes great pride in volunteering at our school, and he continues to be an appreciated member of our Pembroke family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jennison is also well known for being quite handy with small repairs around the school. Staff members note his help with a squeaky wheel, broken cart or shaky bookshelf, not to mention a few things he has constructed for use in the school.<\/p>\n

Not surprising, his helping hands are not exclusive to Pembroke Elementary. Before arriving at the bus loop that morning, he was up early helping a neighbor with a water leak that ran into the street. Jennison was due to check on his friend at 2 p.m. However, before that, he planned to help Sowala secure a fence around the school\u2019s memorial garden. He explained the garden as a place to honor the Pembroke staff members who have died, and notes that he is going to add a rose bush.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_4499_Tim<\/a>Someone mentions that spring break is only a day away and Jennison shows his humor.\u00a0\u201cWhat am I going to do for a week,\u201d he asks. \u201cI\u2019ll have to come up here and stand in the parking lot by myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Without a doubt, when school reopens April 13, Jennison will be there, greeting students and staff with a hearty hug, handshake or high-five.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy do I do it,\u201d he asks, finally responding to a question about his volunteer service, \u201cI just like kids. I really love these kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

To find ways you can get involved, visit the division\u2019s Get Connected page at <\/em>vbschools.com\/getconnected<\/em><\/a> and find volunteer opportunities available in VBCPS schools. For more information about the <\/em>Volunteers in Education<\/em><\/a> program as a whole, visit the page to learn more about the service of VBCPS volunteers.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tim Jennison really doesn\u2019t want to talk about the fact that he was named Pembroke Elementary School\u2019s Volunteer of the Year. But, everyone else does. \u201cHe is not our Volunteer […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[111,112],"class_list":["post-3469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-community-connections","tag-pembroke-elementary","tag-volunteer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3469","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3469"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3469\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3474,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3469\/revisions\/3474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}