Shelter volunteers deserve the best from Manatee board: a contract

During Hurricane Irma, my husband and I shared Miss G's third-grade classroom at Bayshore Gardens Elementary School on 26th Street in Bradenton with three dogs and 25 evacuees, ranging in age from grandparents to walkers, crawlers, near walkers, and middle schoolers. All was calm and peaceful.

During our 24-hour stay, the remarkable all-volunteer staff of teachers, administrators and a custodian cared for us with generosity and concern. They registered us; they helped us up the stairs and down the stairs. They checked in on us; they fed us, kept us cool during the day and warm at night. They kept our bathroom stocked with paper towels and toilet paper. They removed trash at least three times. In short, these extraordinary volunteers gave of themselves to make all 1,700 of us as comfortable and safe as we could be.

It is my fervent hope that the paid members of the Manatee Board of Education will reward these marvelous volunteers (I underscore volunteers) with more than a token note of appreciation: A timely, appropriate contract would be a start.

This story was originally published September 23, 2017 at 2:56 PM with the headline "Shelter volunteers deserve the best from Manatee board: a contract."