This is Brammer Engineering’s fourth year to allow their employees to have an hour a week of company time during the spring to work with students at the LightHouse, after-school and summer program, as a way to give back to children in our community.
During the 6-week volunteer period, each Brammer employee was paired with a student one-on-one. They started their afternoons with homework and then moved on to other academic activities to help the students prepare for assessment testing. And sometimes they just had a lot of fun!
Deb McCuller is 1 of ten employees who volunteered this year and it was her first time to visit the LightHouse program. “I was nervous at first, but it went really well,” McCuller said. “I wasn’t sure I was smart enough to do math, but volunteering was so rewarding and I hope to be able to do it again.”
For McCuller, volunteering at the LightHouse was a very fulfilling experience and a full circle moment in her life. “Before I was asked about the tutoring, I had been thinking about volunteering in some capacity with Volunteers of America North Louisiana,” she shared. “I am an adopted baby from Volunteers of America in August of 1963. I volunteer at my church, but I also wanted to give back to the place that brought me together with my parents. I believe it is our duty to help others.”
McCuller also added she absolutely loved the experience. After the 6-week program concluded at the end of April, the children made a special poster (pictured) for the Brammer volunteers and personally wrote a thank you note to their tutors.