Tuesday, January 10, 2012

The StarShine Effect


Sometimes when my eighty something friends realize that I volunteer a StarShine, that I am the librarian, reader of books, and teach an etiquette class they remind me that I am eighty-two. They say, “You’re doing too much, you’re using up all your energy.” I just laugh when I hear this and say, “I’m doing just fine.”

What they don’t understand, is that the most important thing is not what I give to StarShine, but what StarShine gives to me.


I find such happiness in spending time with needy children. They make me laugh, and when their stories are just too sad, they make me cry. But mostly, I talk, hug and receive such a blessing from each child – from Kindergartners to high school students.  I have met some of the most remarkable kids – kids just like your kids and mine, except they are ‘Kids Without Stuff’.

An extra bonus is my relationship with the wonderful teachers at StarShine and the tutors I help find for them. 

It is a blessing to be volunteering where my daughter Jan works and to be a surrogate mother to the founder of StarShine, Trish McCarty.

Lois Jamieson and Jan Shoop

Yes, I’m doing just fine, even if I am eighty two.

By Lois Jamieson

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