Valery Coy has a servant’s heart and a husband who travels on business.
The combination proved dynamite for students in Carla Alexander’s first grade classroom at Hawthorne School.
For the last five months, while her husband was helping develop the electrical portion of the new Safeway store, Mrs. Coy volunteered at the school. Both teacher Alexander and her students said the experience was excellent.
Thursday, her last day in the community, Mrs. Coy was surprised several times by classroom projects that focused on thanking her for her unselfishness.
“I guess you would call me a professional volunteer,” said Mrs. Coy while students were busy working on coloring patchwork quilt paper squares.
“She’s a very good one, too,” Alexander chipped in about her aide.
A stay-at-home mom who “doesn’t like to stay at home” Mrs. Coy’s life as a volunteer began in her daughters’ classrooms and spread throughout their community of Colton near Estacada.
Now that her daughters are grown and her husband has begun to travel with his company, Mrs. Coy saw an opportunity to see new places and also lend a hand in her adopted communities.
“I decided I would check out the local schools,” Mrs. Coy said. “I was immediately accepted by the folks her at Hawthorne.”
Mrs. Coy has helped with field trips and preparing materials for the 15 class members among other duties.
“I just love the kids,” Mrs. Coy said. “I have a servant’s heart. I just can’t sit there and do nothing.”
An exciting reward for her volunteer efforts is seeing the progress made by the students.
“There’s such a difference in 5 1/2 months,” she said.
“It’s so nice to have Valery working with the children,” said Alexander. “She’s not hesitant to ask questions.”
During her tenure in Sweet Home, Mrs. Coy has continued to volunteer at the Willamette Falls Hospital in Oregon City.
“I guess I’ve always been tied to the kids,” Mrs. Coy said of her interests. We have one daughter who works with church camps and another who videos at church camps. I volunteer with them, too.”
Mrs. Coy has appreciated the support given her by the staff, students and administration at Hawthorne.
“They are so supportive. I’m always greeted at the front office with a big smile,” she said.
Sweet Home isn’t the only community in which Mrs. Coy has volunteered. While her husband was working on the Safeway store in Seaside, Mrs. Coy volunteered at a nearby butterfly garden.
“It was wonderful. It was by the beach. I was outside all day long,” she said.
Students said Mrs. Coy was “really nice” and one youngster, Ryan Newton even called her “cute…very pretty.”
Afton Gossett summed up the class’ feelings about their new friend, “I’m going to miss her very much,” she said.