Faces of FCSS Tina

Tina Telan,
Volunteer,
The Hub Family Resource Centre

First of all, I would like to take this opportunity to thank The Hub for accommodating me as one of the volunteers in the centre. As I am journeying in this kind of endeavor, I gain lots of beautiful memories and substantial life experiences from the diverse families that I meet along with my journey. I look forward to coming to The Hub everyday as I am anticipating the warm love, smiles, hugs and laughter from the kids as they enter the door excitedly and happy to see the parents/caregivers for another opportunity to have meaningful conversations with them.

As a mom myself and a former teacher, dealing with supporting families is kind of a second skin to me. The diversity of families that come to The Hub reminds me of the different personalities of my students in the classroom. The kind of approach differs from each and every family, but the key is listening to identify the uniqueness of each family.

Being retired from 37 long years of teaching, I am not used to staying at home. I get bored easily and it’s lonely and as a senior citizen, I still want to be as productive as I was, hence, volunteering at The Hub. I want to share my know-how especially in planning and preparing activities for Early Childhood Development programs of The Hub to help parents/caregivers to encourage their children’s development. With this, I still feel fulfillment as an individual, and still an important part of the community.

The Hub Family Resource Centre brings great help to families in the community. I learned that it’s not only through the activities that it offers in the programs that’s helping the caregivers/families but merely by listening to them vent out their daily life struggles and telling them they’re not alone and validating their feelings is very important. I also learned that there are lots of families in the community that are benefiting from The Hub’s free programs. Another one, is through volunteering, I learned a lot about the Indigenous Peoples and learning the history and culture of Canada.

To The Hub management and staff, congratulations for a job well done! You are an integral part of the community!

Tina Telan