The Ranger (San Antonio, Tex.), Vol. 81, No. 22, Ed. 1 Friday, April 20, 2007 Page: 31 of 31
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The Ranger • www.theranger.org
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Foster grandparent participant Antonia Urrabazo, 79, helps 3-year-old Kenneth Rodriguez and 2-year-old Emma Quintero while they ride tricycles March 27 at the early childhood center.
Vincent Reyna
Qualifying criteria for day-care through
San Antonio College early childhood center
18 months, is enthusiastic about the program.
“This is a win-win situation for everyone
involved,” McCall said.
“The foster grandparents provide our children
with extra affirmation through their hugs, their
attention and their encouragement.”
Catholic Charities provides the foster grand-
parents in their program with the fringe benefits
Hortencia Ortiz is one of the seven foster grand-
parents who works at the center and is assigned to
“It is hard for me to read to the children, but I
ask them to read to me,” she said.
Ortiz thinks the best medicine in the world
is found in the foster grandparent program. “If I
wasn’t volunteering with these children, I would be
home, feeling sorry for myself.”
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April 20, 2007 • 36
__ Alberto Delcampo
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Hortencia Ortiz eases 5-year-old Sarah Bahlinger from
her nap April 13 at the early childhood center.
• Students must have a GPA of 2.0
• Be receiving financial aid
• Be enrolled in San Antonio College
for three hours during a summer session
or six hours during fall or spring sessions
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W arlene Gonzales was in a quandary.
1 i The director of the San Antonio College
I 1 early childhood center had just learned of
JL^JIa new mandate, requiring a 10-to-l ratio of
’ employees to children, even during nap time.
This would make it difficult for the teachers to
take a lunch -break.
Robert Gorena, program coordinator for the
Foster Grandparent Program through Catholic
tharities, walked through her door one day and
asked, “Would you be interested in some of our
foster grandparents assisting in your day care pro-
gram?”
Gonzales did not hesitate. “I immediately knew
that this program was the solution to our problem,”
she said.
In caring for 82 children, ages 6 weeks through
4 years, even a staff of 21 needs extra hands.
Walking through the center, peeping into class-
rooms, Gonzales watches the volunteers read to
the children or sit on the floor to play games with
them.
“On the playground, the volunteers are right
there beside the children ready to steady their
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of an annual physical examination, supplemental that slightly impacted her speech,
insurance, a small hourly stipend and transporta-
tion costs.
But perhaps the greatest benefit for the elderly
climb up the slide or help them steer their tricycle,” volunteers is knowing they are loved and needed.
Gonzales said. ” L ’* 5 e 11 f~“‘
Tanjia McCall, a lead teacher at the center for
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Foster grandparents volunteer
By Bonnie Robin - . work with the 4- and 5-year-olds.
Ortiz awakens every weekday morning at 5:30
a.m. to perform household chores before leaving
for the center.
At 74, she has the beauty and vitality of a
woman 10 years her junior.
Children run to her with outstretched arms,
some calling her, “Grandma Ortiz.”
Her hugs are hearty and, on occasion, she spon-
taneously breaks into the cumbia, delighting the
children with her energy.
McCall talks of how attached her students are
to Ortiz.
“They will watch the door every morning, wait-
ing for her to come in and their eyes light up when
she enters the room,” McCall said.
Yolanda Cruz, a teacher assistant at the center,
praises Ortiz. “She helps us do the things we cannot
always get to — dusting, straightening the books,
cleaning the toys. She is dependable and never
. misses a day.”
Ortiz experienced a mild stroke in the past year
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San Antonio College. The Ranger (San Antonio, Tex.), Vol. 81, No. 22, Ed. 1 Friday, April 20, 2007, newspaper, April 20, 2007; San Antonio, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1354398/m1/31/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting San Antonio College.