GE continues power lunch program with students at Drewicz

LYNN – It may not seem like much, but the simple sacrifice of one lunch break a week has made a world of difference for second and third graders at Drewicz Elementary School.For 15 years, General Electric has been sponsoring the Power Lunch program at the Hood Street school, sending volunteers to the third-floor library each week to sit and read with second and third graders.Thursday, the city’s largest employer took its partnership with the school one step further, donating $500 to the library at its final meeting of the year.”These children love the reading,” said Drewicz Principal Bernadette Stam. “But I went around to each child today and asked them to tell me something that they loved and they told me they not only love to read but they love having someone here, someone to talk to and something to do during lunch.”The GE volunteers come to the school each week to read to children in the library during their lunch period, just a portion of the charity work they do with the Lynn Public Schools, including a science program with the fourth graders at Drewicz.”We are just trying to do what we can to support the schools, who are really our neighbors,” said Krystal Parker of GE. “The kids run up the stairs when they know we are here, I am always worried they are going to trip and fall, and the volunteers are always excited to come read.”Drewicz teacher Thomas Furey has been a part of the program for several years and says having the volunteers interacting with the children makes more of a difference than they will ever know.”They volunteer their time and they bring a happiness and sunshine to the kids. These kids love the time they spend with their reading buddy,” he said. “The one-on-one, Visa would say in a commercial – priceless. A lot of these kids really need the interaction, and we couldn’t do it without them. Plus, they learn from a team of volunteers that act as good role models for them.A lot of these volunteers are even retired and they are still coming back every year. How amazing is that?”Along with the donation of time and money, General Electric has also supported the library through book drives.”I am just truly thankful for the GE’s generous participation in the Power Lunch Program, it makes sense to have them right at the end of the street, but to have them actually come in like this is wonderful,” said Stamm. “Every volunteer that has come in has touched the hearts of the students they sit with.”