By Kathy DenOtter, Montrose, SD
I started volunteering in a classroom two years ago at LifeScape. My daughter teaches there and asked if I’d like to volunteer at school. Without hesitation I said, “Sure! I’d love to.” That is the moment when God’s plan started to unfold before my very eyes.
I met a little girl who was 6 years old at the time. She was kind of quiet and reserved, but she soon stole my heart. Although she doesn’t speak, that didn’t stop us from developing a special bond that I will forever cherish.
After several months of volunteering, I found out she needed a surrogate parent to represent her on her Individual Education Plan. I was asked if I’d be interested in becoming this little girl’s surrogate. Again, without hesitation, I said “Absolutely.” I wasn’t familiar with the surrogate parent program, so I just let God take the lead.
I became her surrogate parent in mid-summer, advocating for her in her education program. By then, we had developed such a bond that I wanted to become more involved in her life. I was approved to take her on an outing to Levitt at the Falls for a family reunion. I was so nervous about how it would go. The reunion was on my mom’s side of the family, and as you probably know, the Irish love to talk. I had nothing to worry about—she stole everyone’s heart, and they loved talking to her and watching her “dance” to the music.
After the initial outing went so well, we took her on all kind of adventures. She’s been to the Mall of America, the Omaha Zoo, and even took a cruise on the Mississippi River while meeting my extended family from Texas. This last Thanksgiving, we took her to the Black Hills and went for a ride on the 1880 train to meet Santa at the North Pole. Her favorite place to visit is my nephew’s house because he builds race cars. It is her favorite thing to talk about on her communication device. She is the best traveler and it is so fun to experience these new places through her big, beautiful, brown eyes. These are just a few of the adventures we’ve been on in the last year and a half. We do have some down time together and I will visit her in her dorm room and cuddle in the recliner watching a movie or Taylor Swift videos. I really love those moments.
I’ve seen huge changes in her since becoming her surrogate parent. She seems more confident and smiles more. Using her eye gaze communication device, she loves to tell everyone about her extended family and our adventures. She has a huge extended family that loves her and she is such a blessing to all of us. I’m so grateful for the surrogate and volunteer programs at LifeScape. This little girl has been a huge and wonderful life changer for me.
