CMU volunteers spend time with special needs children


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Morgan Taylor | Staff Photographer West Bloomfield Senior Justin Tout helps Jeremy Powers, 14, make a basket in the pool in the SAC on Tuesday, September 24.

Nicole Downing stood at the edge of the pool in the Student Activity Center, snapping photos and smiling as she watched her 4-year-old daughter Olivia experience her first time swimming in a pool, assisted by her Applied Behavior Analysis aide Megan Hilts.

Since 2002, the special needs program, Connections That Count, under the College of Education and Human Services’ Counseling and Special Education department, has been interacting and assisting children with special needs, providing much-needed social interaction and helping older children develop life skills.

“(Olivia) loves the water and loves to swim in lakes. This was her first time in a pool and she loved it,” Downing said.

The program is made up entirely of student volunteers who are purely helping the kids on a volunteer basis. There are no payments, class credits or special requirements for any of the students in the program. They are simply there to help the children and gain a worthwhile life experience.

“If you’re doing this to fill a resumé, that’s the wrong answer. We don’t do that,” said Sault Ste. Marie senior and volunteer in the program Cody Gonyeau.

The program’s supervisor and professor of counseling and special education Joan Hogan has been working to expand the program and reach as many children as possible working with other agencies, such as the Department of Human Services, intermediate school districts and referrals from psychiatrists and psychologists.

“We have 20 volunteers and growing,” Hogan said. “We like to pair volunteers up with kids with similar interests, especially for the kids who need the one-on-one interaction. We have great volunteers who really care about the kids.”

The experience level of the volunteers varies from students who are working with special needs children for the first time to experienced students who want to continue to enrich lives.

“I did something similar to this program back in high school," Saline senior James Gentile said. "I've been looking for something like this since then. Helping these kids is a great experience.”

The activities the program organizes for the kids range from swimming, bowling and rock climbing, to arts and crafts, museum visits and, for some, help with homework and the development of life skills so they can learn to take care of themselves when they get older.

“We’re making a difference, especially for kids with disabilities,” St. Louis senior Jordan Miller said. “For the younger kids, we do fun activities and games. For the older kids, we try to focus on daily activities to help them live a normal life.”

The program arranged to have some pool time for the kids in the Student Activity Center last month. Three children and their parents arrived and were greeted by a host of eager volunteers, excited to work with the children.

Keri Powers, mother of 14-year-old Jeremy, cheered as she watched her son play pool basketball with the volunteers during his first time in the program, splashing and smiling with every shot.

“He loves to play basketball and loves water. It’s great to see him so happy,” Powers said.

Penny Lepley waved at her 7-year-old son Jay as he played with toy boats alongside South Lyon senior Julie Kapler.

“The program is great for the kids. It gets them out in the community, giving them a chance to interact with people,” Kapler said.

The following day, a brother and sister met with volunteers at the SAC bowling alley to knock down a few pins and have a blast

Jacob Huguelet, 14, and Shyann Huguelet, 16, have been in the program since 2012, participating in as many activities as they can with the volunteers.

“They couldn’t wait to come back," said Jacob and Shyann’s mother, June Huguelet. "It’s not often you see kids wanting the summer to end sooner so they can come have fun with these guys.”

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