50+ Lifestyles

Lead With Experience

By Bill Sedlacek
Retired and Senior Volunteer Program of Eastern Iowa and Western Illnois

Rosalind Meadows: Speaking Volumes Through Service

It was an interesting visit with Rosalind (Roz) Meadows, this month’s Spotlighted Volunteer. At one point we were discussing what is important in both life and volunteering and she said, “Attitude speaks volumes.” That’s true. Thinking of Roz with her gentle nature and positive, insightful attitude and the word ”Volumes,” I’d compare her to a full set of the Encyclopedia Britannia.

Roz started life in Harrisburg and later moved to Zion, both in Illinois, returning to Harrisburg after High School to attend Southeastern Illinois College. She grew up in a blended, multi-generational family, with a mother who stayed at home by choice and always made sure her children knew they came first. Roz realizes that not everyone has had that advantage and volunteers as a way to give back to those in need. Roz is the proud mother of two children and three grand-children, and the multi-generational aspect of her life continues with her being a caregiver for her 17 year old granddaughter. As those of you who have raised children know, this keeps Roz busy with school activities, cheerleading practice and activities at her church, the Olivet Baptist Church in Rock Island.

Rosalind (Roz) Meadows

Roz’s career in Hunan Relations at Deere ended in 1994 after a corporate downsizing. She then spent a couple of years in the Washington DC area working at the Flagstone Child Development Center. It was there that she began to develop an interest in volunteering, helping at her daughter’s nonprofit agency. Upon her return to Rock Island, she began working in early childhood development at Head Start, staying there until her retirement in July of 2014.

Since her retirement, she has continued her work with children, helping out in kindergarten classes at the Rock Island Academy among other activities.  Her work at the Academy is particularly important, as the average kindergarten class size is 28 to 30. It’s hard to imagine a teacher being able to teach that many kindergarteners without volunteer help. Roz works with three children at once while helping them in letters, word recognition and phonemic awareness to give them good reading skills. She also helps them with numbers and colors. Children of that age are her favorite, as they have minds like sponges and if you connect with them, they are eager to soak up knowledge. As she says, you must be creative to hold their interest, encourage them and let them know they can learn to accelerate their learning process.

In addition to her work at the Academy, Roz has and is continuing to volunteer at a number of different jobs. She reads the weekly RSVP E-newsletter and signs up for volunteer assignments that interest her. She has volunteered at ARC, working with people with disabilities, did mailings for the Child Abuse Council, the Animal Welfare agency in Milan, and works with the Heart of Hope Ministry in their clothing and food pantries. She is always ready to do more as the need arises.

As Roz says, volunteering contributes to better mental and physical health and provides satisfaction by knowing you are helping others. She says that you should choose volunteer jobs that interest you. If you are not interested, you will not do your best and won’t get much satisfaction from the effort. As you volunteer, you will interact with people you may not have otherwise met, exposing you to new thoughts and ideas that may stimulate you and help you to grow as a person. This growth should be a lifelong process that does not stop when you retire from the workforce. Volunteering is a way to continue that process throughout your life. To learn about the many interesting and valuable volunteer opportunities through RSVP, call the RSVP office at (309) 793-4425 or email rsvp@wiaaa.org.